HKSTP
Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) held its annual Elevator Pitch Competition 2020 (EPiC) virtually for the first time to unveil new and exciting pitching, investment and partnership opportunities as global startups face a challenging business landscape. US-based biotechnology startup, Mi Terro, topped other finalists to be crowned champion and claimed the top prize at the competition today.
HKSTP’s annual flagship event this year expanded to a week-long virtual programme. It garnered a great response with over 77,000 live views at today’s pitching competition. This year, EPiC attracted 476 entries from 37 countries and cities across five continents. A total of 170 contestants from 31 different markets entered the semi-final round, with nearly 70% of them coming from overseas.
Mi Terro, champion and winner of the Smart City category, is a company that upcycles and re-engineers protein food waste into plastic and cotton alternative fibres for the fashion, medical and packaging industries. The three Tech Category Winners, including UK-based AI & Robotics startup Arctoris, Philippines-based fintech startup PearlPay, and Portugal-based health technology startup RUBYnanomed, showcased their full potential as innovators in the competition.
Albert Wong, CEO of HKSTP, said: “This year’s successful staging of the 5th EPiC is a clear sign of our determination to provide a platform of unmatched opportunities to startups around the world to showcase their innovations and demonstrate their entrepreneurial spirit. The week-long programme is also a show of strength and resilience for Hong Kong’s rapidly-growing innovation and technology ecosystem which propels startups and their ideas to success in Hong Kong, Asia and beyond.”
Since inception in 2016, EPiC has drawn a huge number of international startups to make a live one-minute elevator pitch to leading investors and judges at the International Commerce Centre (ICC), the tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong. This year, our contestants switched modes to present their innovative business ideas, with a one-minute video pitch submitted to simulate the signature 60-second elevator ride.
The top ten finalists were given another opportunity to face the judges in a three-minute live pitch and two-minute Q&A, before announcing the overall champion, who took away a cash prize of US$100,000 while each of the category winners received a cash prize of US$10,000 and all ten finalists won US$6,000 each.
The competition marks a major progression for startups who gained valuable exposure among investors and industry leaders in their ongoing entrepreneurship journey. To further bolster the growth and development of local and overseas startups, this year’s EPiC provides a wider array of business opportunities to explore and acquire better understanding of the investment landscape in the region with the upcoming “Global Matching” programme from 9 to 12 November and the “Investment x Corporate Innovation Conference” on 13 November.
List of Winners
Award |
Company Name |
Market |
||
Champion and Tech Category Winner – Smart City |
United States |
|||
Tech Category Winner – Artificial Intelligence & Robotics |
United Kingdom |
|||
Tech Category Winner – FinTech |
Philippines |
|||
Tech Category Winner – Health Technology |
Portugal |
|||
Other Top 10 Finalists |
Australia |
|||
|
Hong Kong |
|||
|
United States |
|||
|
Hong Kong |
|||
|
Denmark |
|||
|
Hong Kong |
About Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation
Comprising Science Park, InnoCentre and Industrial Estates, Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) is a statutory body dedicated to building a vibrant innovation and technology ecosystem to connect stakeholders, nurture technology talents, facilitate collaboration, and catalyse innovations to deliver social and economic benefits to Hong Kong and the region.
Established in May 2001, HKSTP has been driving the development of Hong Kong into a regional hub for innovation and growth in several focused clusters including Electronics, Information & Communications Technology, Green Technology, Biomedical Technology, Materials and Precision Engineering. We enable science and technology companies to nurture ideas, innovate and grow, supported by our R&D facilities, infrastructure, and market-led laboratories and technical centres with professional support services. We also offer value added services and comprehensive incubation programmes for technology start-ups to accelerate their growth.
Technology businesses benefit from our specialised services and infrastructure at Science Park for applied research and product development; enterprises can find creative design support at InnoCentre; while skill-intensive businesses are served by our three industrial estates at Tai Po, Tseung Kwan O and Yuen Long. More information about HKSTP is available at www.hkstp.org .
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201106005290/en/
Link:
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Sodali & Co Announces Executive Leadership Appointments7.1.2026 17:00:00 CET | Press release
Accelerates Firm Strategy to Deliver Global Integrated Stakeholder Solutions Sodali & Co (the ‘firm’ or ‘Sodali’), the leading global capital markets-centric stakeholder advisory firm, is pleased to announce four appointments to its Executive Leadership Team (ELT) under Chief Executive Officer Andrew Benett. These newly created senior roles will strengthen Sodali’s ability to respond to clients’ evolving needs with an integrated suite of shareholder, sustainability, and strategic communications advisory services delivered on a global scale. The appointments are as follows: Brett Clegg has been promoted to Chief Commercial Officer. Brett was previously Chairman of Sodali’s APAC region, based in the firm’s Sydney office. He specializes in advising clients on strategic communications, issues management, and capital markets transactions. Prior to Sodali, Brett spent over two decades in senior executive and editorial roles at some of Australia’s leading news brands, including The Australian
1NCE Continues Growth and Expands Its Software, AI and Services Offering7.1.2026 14:15:00 CET | Press release
In 2025 1NCE added another 10 million endpoints to its foundational IoT platform; now manages 40+ million intelligent products for 30,000 customers in 17 industries. Introduces new software, 1NCE Insights, the AI + IoT fusion of intelligence from its network that gives analytics and benchmark data on how customers can better setup, manage and optimize their device estates. 1NCE, a company offering a plug-and-play platform for creating and managing the world’s best IoT products, reports another strong growth year, adding another 10 million endpoints. The company now manages 40+ million intelligent products for 30,000+ customers across 17 industries. 1NCE’s software and connectivity platform has become a new industry standard, delivering hassle-free IoT in 170+ countries and regions. The company has a unique vantage point in the IoT ecosystem, with four billion data records per day collected through 250+ streams on the world’s largest IoT network in the cloud. The company launched a new
Prudentia Sciences Announces Series A Led by McKesson Ventures, Accelerating Due Diligence for Life Sciences Dealmaking7.1.2026 14:00:00 CET | Press release
Prudentia Sciences, a pioneer in AI-native due diligence for life sciences dealmaking, today announced that it has secured $20 million in Series A financing. The round was led by McKesson Ventures with participation from SignalFire. Existing investors include Iaso Ventures, Virtue and GV. This brings the company’s total funding to $27 million, following a $7 million seed round in 2024. Prudentia Sciences provides an AI-native platform that enables pharma companies, biotechs, and financial institutions to evaluate breakthrough medicines with unprecedented speed and rigor. By synthesizing complex clinical signals into actionable insights, Prudentia accelerates deal throughput and provides strategic leverage for acquisition, licensing, or investment decisions made by business development, investment, and diligence teams. The company’s human-in-the-loop approach orchestrates seamless collaboration between buyers, sellers, and intermediaries. This ensures a secure, compliant infrastructure
Compass Pathways Announces FDA Acceptance of IND Application for PTSD and Hosts Webinar on PTSD and TRD7.1.2026 12:30:00 CET | Press release
FDA Accepts Investigational New Drug (IND) Application for COMP360 for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), enabling initiation of late-stage trialCompass continues to advance commercial preparations to be launch-ready by the end of the year for COMP360 for treatment-resistant depression (TRD)Management will host webinar with KOL and industry leaders to discuss PTSD clinical trial and commercial preparations for TRD from 10:00-11:30 am ET on January 7th Compass Pathways plc (Nasdaq: CMPS), a biotechnology company dedicated to accelerating patient access to evidence-based innovation, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for COMP360, enabling the initiation of a late-stage clinical trial in patients with PTSD. Compass management, along with KOL and industry leaders, will host a webinar today to discuss the company’s clinical trial plans for PTSD, as well as commercial preparations f
Stallergenes Greer Expands Venom Immunotherapy Production Capacity With Acquisition of Entomon s.r.l.7.1.2026 11:07:00 CET | Press release
Stallergenes Greer, a global leader in allergy therapeutics, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Entomon s.r.l., an Italian company specialising in the production of certified stinging-insect venom extracts, notably of the Hymenoptera order, used for the manufacture of diagnostic preparations and Venom Immunotherapy (VIT). The transaction is expected to close by the end of January. Entomon, currently recognised as the only company in Europe capable of extracting pure venom from Hymenoptera insects, produces pharmaceutical-grade insect venom using proprietary techniques (Entomon Capillary Extracted Venom®) for medical use. Through this acquisition, Stallergenes Greer bolsters its venom manufacturing capabilities and supply of raw materials for life-saving VIT treatments, whilst safeguarding patient care continuity. Hymenoptera venom allergy is the most common trigger of severe anaphylaxis in adults1. According to the EAACI guidelines on venom immunotherapy,
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom