Business Wire

HKSTP

5.11.2021 15:20:09 CET | Business Wire | Press release

Share
HKSTP Hosts Global Entrepreneurs at First-Ever Hybrid Elevator Pitch Competition to Spark a Week of GBA and International Business Opportunities

Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) today held its first-ever hybrid Elevator Pitch Competition (EPiC), with over 600 startups from Hong Kong and around the world joining the annual signature event. HKSTP is approaching 20 years of leading innovation in Hong Kong with the return of EPiC 2021 to its iconic home at sky100 at the top of the International Commerce Centre in West Kowloon to re-create a genuine 60-second elevator pitch experience.

In its sixth year, the annual EPiC event in hybrid format for the first time, allowed overseas innovators to go beyond geographical boundaries and join the virtual EPiC event and journey live. This year’s event surpassed all expectations, attracting over 600 entries from 40 countries and cities across five continents. A total of over 160 contestants entered the semi-final round, with nearly 60% from overseas.

This year’s overall EPiC Champion, Winner of Green Tech & Construction Tech Category, as well as the “My Favourite Pitcher” award belong to Hong Kong-based archiREEF. The Greentech startup beat all other finalists with its innovative climate solutions and eco-engineering technology for ocean ecosystems restoration. The company combines expertise in marine biology and the latest technologies in 3D printing techniques and material science to create artificial habitats that are best suited for different marine life anywhere in the world.

The other three tech category winners included: FinTech Winner, Hong Kong-based Wizpresso; Health Technology Winner, Hong Kong-based PointFit Technology, and Smart City Winner, Israel-based Intelligent Traffic Control (ITC). All EPiC entries this year were focused on one of four key themes: FinTech, Green Tech & Construction Tech, Health Technology, and Smart City.

Albert Wong, CEO at HKSTP, said: “The return of our flagship pitching and investment event EPiC 2021 at the iconic sky100 is the ideal platform to lead into our 20th year, while the record participation is a showcase of the city’s growing entrepreneurial strength and world-class I&T potential. The EPiC week of activities provides a unique borderless experience that educates and connects innovators around the world with insights to sharpen entrepreneurial skills and deepen knowledge on the thriving Hong Kong and Greater Bay Area market. EPiC is where we unlock opportunities, where innovation begins and where talent flourishes as pioneers and innovators connect in a genuine haven of global innovation and investment.”

EPiC is a week-long platform generating opportunities not only for the winners but for all participants. Global and local entrepreneurs have interacted with active investors and innovation ecosystem leaders at this year’s EPiC competition. Meanwhile, physical and virtual guests from various industries and territories explored a wealth of GBA and international business partnership, as well as investment opportunities. The competition leads on to the Investment & Business Matching from November 8-12 and finally the Investment Conference on November 12, to complete a week of immersion into HKSTP’s world-class I&T ecosystem.

Since its inception in 2016, HKSTP’s EPiC has drawn a huge number of international participants to grasp a one-minute elevator pitch opportunity to some of the most demanding investors and judges in Hong Kong. The top ten finalists were given another opportunity to face the judges in a three-minute live pitch and two-minute Q&A. The overall champion 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.

List of Winners:

Award

Company

Market

Overall Champion and Green Tech & Construction Tech Category Winner

archiREEF

Hong Kong

FinTech Category Winner

Wizpresso

Hong Kong

Health Technology Category Winner

PointFit Technology

Hong Kong

Smart City Category Winner

Intelligent Traffic Control (ITC)

Israel

My Favourite Pitcher

archiREEF

Hong Kong

Other Top 10 Finalists:

Aortyx

Spain

 

Clear Robotics

Hong Kong

 

Novai

UK

 

Papkot

France

 

TicTAP – Simply Connect

Spain

 

Vista InnoTech

Hong Kong

About Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation

Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) has for 20 continuous years committed to building up Hong Kong as an international innovation and technology hub to propel success for local and global pioneers today and tomorrow. HKSTP has established a thriving I&T ecosystem that is home to three unicorns and Hong Kong’s leading R&D hub with over 11,000 research professionals and over 1,000 technology companies focused on healthtech, AI and robotics, fintech and smart city technologies.

Established in 2001, we attract and nurture talent, accelerate and commercialise innovation and technology for entrepreneurs on their journey of growth in Hong Kong, to the Greater Bay Area, Asia and beyond. Our growing innovation ecosystem is built around our key locations of the Hong Kong Science Park in Shatin, InnoCentre in Kowloon Tong and three modern InnoParks in Tai Po, Tseung Kwan O and Yuen Long. The three InnoParks are realizing a vision of re-industrialisation for Hong Kong. The goal is sectors like advanced manufacturing, electronics and biotechnology are being reimagined for a new generation of industry.

Through our infrastructure, services, expertise and network of partnerships, HKSTP will help establish innovation and technology as a pillar of growth for Hong Kong, while reinforcing Hong Kong’s international I&T hub status as a launchpad for global growth at the heart of the GBA innovation powerhouse.

More information about HKSTP is available at www.hkstp.org

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

Incyte Data to Be Highlighted in Four Rapid Oral Presentations at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2026 Support Efforts to Improve Outcomes in Difficult-to-Treat Cancers17.7.2026 19:10:00 CEST | Press release

Rapid oral presentations will highlight new Phase 1 data across Incyte’s solid tumor portfolioBoth INCB161734, an investigational, potent, selective and orally bioavailable KRAS G12D inhibitor, and INCA338901, a TGFβR2×PD-1 bispecific antibody, are being evaluated in ongoing Phase 3 programs as first-line treatments for patients with advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and microsatellite stable (MSS) colorectal cancer, respectively Incyte (Nasdaq:INCY) today announced that it will highlight data from several programs in its oncology portfolio in six presentations at the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2026, being held October 23 - 27, 2026, in Madrid. “The data at ESMO will further illustrate Incyte’s commitment to advancing innovation for patients with cancer,” said Pablo J. Cagnoni, M.D., President, Incyte and Global Head of Research and Development. "Among the presentations are important updates from our KRAS G12D inhibitor in advanced pancreatic ca

STL Expands Its Optical Connectivity Portfolio in the US with the CONCAT Solution17.7.2026 14:24:00 CEST | Press release

STL Optical Connectivity NA, LLC, (STLOC), a U.S. subsidiary of STL (Sterlite Technologies Ltd.) [NSE: STLTECH], a leading connectivity solutions provider for AI-ready digital infrastructure, today announced that it launched its new advanced FTTH solution, CONCAT, after successfully completing field trials on the networks of one of the largest telecom service providers in the United States. Following successful field validation, CONCAT is now available to digital infrastructure providers seeking faster fiber rollouts with reduced deployment complexity and labor. It enables up to 71% in labor cost savings by eliminating most field splicing through factory-assembled, pre-connectorized fiber segments that deliver plug-and-play installation. CONCAT simplifies fiber deployment by shifting critical fiber preparation and termination into a controlled manufacturing environment ensuring consistent quality, faster installation, and lower operational risk in the field. CONCAT solution is ideal fo

Aqemia and Sanofi Expand Their Research Collaboration17.7.2026 12:30:00 CEST | Press release

A new target nomination and a milestone payment mark the next step of the multi-year partnership first announced in December 2023 Aqemia, the drug invention company combining generative AI and quantum-inspired physics to invent small molecule drugs, today announced the expansion of its multi-year research collaboration with the global pharmaceutical company, Sanofi. The expansion is marked by the nomination of a new therapeutic target and an additional payment. The collaboration, first announced in December 2023, makes Aqemia eligible to receive up to a total of $140 million in upfront and milestone payments across programs. It spans the drug discovery journey from the identification of the very first hits to the selection of a development candidate. Aqemia leverages Qemi, its proprietary physics-based generative AI platform, to design novel molecules addressing Sanofi’s targets of choice, working in close collaboration with Sanofi scientific teams. Sanofi leads wet lab research, devel

China's ~$900B Live-Commerce Market Now Approaches US E-Commerce Scale17.7.2026 12:30:00 CEST | Press release

The consumer habits reshaping global retail were built in the East — and most Western shoppers haven't yet adopted them. NIQ report shows that brands still treating live, social, and quick commerce as "emerging" risk being left behind. The center of gravity in global retail has shifted East. The formats now driving the fastest growth in global retail (live shopping, social commerce, and delivery in minutes) were pioneered and scaled in Asia, and most Western consumers have yet to adopt them. According to NIQ (NYSE: NIQ), a leading consumer intelligence company, in its global report The Commerce Revolution: Where East Meets West, the gap between East and West is still vast. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260717253489/en/ China´s USD 900bn live shopping boom now approaches the scale of the US E-commerce The scale is already substantial. China's live-commerce market alone was worth roughly $900 billion in 2025,

Ant International’s Alipay+ Connects Argentina's National QR Payment Scheme via PVS,Enabling for Cross-Border Digital Payment Nationwide at Millions of Merchants17.7.2026 12:17:00 CEST | Press release

Alipay+, a global digital payment gateway under Ant International, today announced that it will enable global travellers to make QR code payments at millions of merchants across Argentina through integration with the country's national QR payment scheme Transferencias 3.0, in partnership with PVS, a fintech company specialized in developing customized payment solutions in Latin America. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260717276406/en/ By connecting to Argentina's national QR payment scheme, Alipay+ now enables global travellers in the country to make convenient QR code payments at merchants nationwide. This service helps to enhance global travellers' travel experiences in Argentina, allowing them to pay seamlessly at restaurants, malls and tourist attractions. Using an Alipay+ partner payment app, they can now scan the national QR code displayed at all merchants to make cross-border payments across Argentina,

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