Business Wire

HKSTP

Share
HKSTP’s First-Ever Virtual Elevator Pitch Competition 2020 Opens New Investment and Partnership Opportunities for Global Startups

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

Mi Terro

United States

Tech Category Winner – Artificial Intelligence & Robotics

Arctoris

United Kingdom

Tech Category Winner – FinTech

PearlPay

Philippines

Tech Category Winner – Health Technology

RUBYnanomed

Portugal

Other Top 10 Finalists

Augmented Bionics

Australia

 

D-Engraver

Hong Kong

 

FindOurView

United States

 

Pivotal Technologies Limited

Hong Kong

 

PurCity

Denmark

 

Qi Sensor Technologies Limited

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 .

Link:

ClickThru

About Business Wire

Business Wire
Business Wire
101 California Street, 20th Floor
CA 94111 San Francisco

http://businesswire.com

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

Court Finds That Two Advanced Cell Diagnostics Patents Are Not Infringed by Molecular Instruments’ Proprietary HCR™ RNA-ISH Technology25.11.2025 17:30:00 CET | Press release

Molecular Instruments, Inc. announced today that the Unified Patent Court (UPC) of the European Union has found that Molecular Instruments’ HCR™ RNA-ISH technology does not infringe two patents owned by Advanced Cell Diagnostics, Inc. (a Bio-Techne group company). In a 2024 lawsuit filed in the UPC (proceedings no. UPC CFI 187/2024), Advanced Cell Diagnostics alleged that Molecular Instruments’ HCR™ RNA-ISH technology infringes European patents (EP) 2,500,439 and 1,910,572. The Court in its judgment of 18 November 2025 has rejected that claim and dismissed all of Advanced Cell Diagnostics' lawsuit, ruling that the patents are not infringed either literally or by equivalence (UPC Judgment). This 2025 UPC judgment follows on the heels of an April 2024 UK judgment in which the High Court of England and Wales had already dismissed an earlier infringement lawsuit by revoking the UK parts of the same two Advanced Cell Diagnostics patents (proceedings no. HP-2022-000026), ruling that they wer

Pure Lithium Receives Saudi Patent for Vertically Integrated Lithium Metal Battery Technology25.11.2025 14:20:00 CET | Press release

Pure Lithium Corporation, a disruptive lithium metal battery technology company, is pleased to announce that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has granted the company a foundational patent titled “Vertically Integrated Pure Lithium Metal Production and Lithium Battery Production.” This broad patent covers technology that combines lithium extraction, anode production and battery manufacturing. Pure Lithium’s Brine to Battery™ is a registered trademark in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, planting a strong base of intellectual property in the region. “The technology is particularly relevant to Saudi Arabia because it is one of the places in the world with lithium-containing brines, and even has an abundance of vanadium, which is used in our second-generation battery,” said Founder, Chairman and CEO Emilie Bodoin. “In order to displace today’s lithium-ion battery, our vision is to create global battery hubs with closed loop supply chains, not just in the U.S., but in the many places in the world whe

‘BLUE LOCK - TOKYO EGOIST -’ kicks off on Saturday, November 2225.11.2025 14:07:00 CET | Press release

“BLUE LOCK” voice actors Kazuki Ura and Hiroshi Kamiya were also blown away by the spectacle! A countdown to the new release was held together with over 2,000 fans gathered at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Plaza. In its efforts to promote nighttime tourism, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is developing new attractions that illuminate the capital after dark. As part of this initiative, projection mapping is being presented year-round on the iconic Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building No. 1, transforming its façade into a canvas of light and sound. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251121922505/en/ ©Muneyuki Kaneshiro, Yusuke Nomura, KODANSHA/BLUE LOCK Production Committee. A brand-new production inspired by the internationally popular soccer anime“BLUE LOCK”, titled BLUE LOCK – TOKYO EGOIST –, began screening on Saturday, November 22. On the first day of the screening, a mini-event was held at the Tokyo M

Infineon and HTEC Showcase Humanoid Robotic Head at Infineon’s OktoberTech™ Silicon Valley 2025 Show25.11.2025 14:00:00 CET | Press release

The demo won the Partner Innovation Award for its innovative 360° multi-sensory awareness and human-interactive robotic capabilities. The long-standing collaboration between Infineon Technologies AG and HTEC reached a new milestone this October at OktoberTech™ Silicon Valley 2025, where the two companies presented their jointly developed 360° Awareness Humanoid Robotic Head. The technology, which is a result of close partnership in embedded engineering, sensor fusion, and AI integration, captured the attention of attendees and was honored with the event’s Partner Innovation Award. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251125008456/en/ The Humanoid Robotic Head, developed by HTEC using Infineon technologies, won the Partner Innovation Award at Infineon's OktoberTech event for its innovative 360° multi-sensory awareness and human-interactive robotic capabilities. The Robotic Head represents a major step toward more pe

Henderson Municipal Power & Light builds multigigabit FTTH network with Adtran fiber access technology25.11.2025 14:00:00 CET | Press release

News summary: Kentucky-based utility and internet provider needed a scalable solution to accelerate city-wide broadband deployment Adtran’s open intelligent access technology with Mosaic One and GLDS BroadHub® streamlines operations and boosts subscriber satisfaction AI-driven insights drive smarter service delivery and open new revenue opportunities Adtran today announced that Henderson Municipal Power & Light (HMP&L) is expanding broadband services across Henderson, Kentucky, using its open, intelligent fiber access platform. The highly scalable network leverages Adtran’s AI-powered insights to boost performance and reliability, enabling HMP&L to deliver fast, dependable multigigabit fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) services to residents and businesses. Fully integrated with Mosaic One and GLDS BroadHub® platforms, the solution simplifies network management and elevates the customer experience. The strong partnership between Adtran and HMP&L is enhancing access to digital resources, providin

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
World GlobeA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye