In our increasingly digital world, innovation and technological advancement face unprecedented challenges, compounded by a myriad of factors. Geopolitical conflicts add another layer of complexity. 

Amidst these challenges, innovators must explore opportunities for global expansion not only to penetrate new markets and offer solutions where they are needed but also to partner and collaborate with other ecosystem stakeholders that can help push for better innovation.

Connecting regional innovators to the global ecosystem

With this ethos in mind, the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) completed the first Elevator Pitch Competition 2024 (EPiC) Region Semi-Final in Singapore on 22 and 23 February 2024. With the goal of bridging innovators to global markets, EPiC serves as a catalyst for regional startups to explore market expansion opportunities.

“[We want to] attract overseas tech venture companies to come to Hong Kong and provide an opportunity for them to look at the whole Asian market for [business] expansion. A lot of companies from Europe and the US interested in Hong Kong or China don’t know what to do. Elevator Pitch gives them the platform to understand the Asia market, what they need to do if they want to set up an entity here, what the market potential is, what they need if they want to be listed in the Hong Kong stock exchange, what they need if they want to expand to China, among others. All these things, through the EPiC competition, we will be able to provide,” shared Eric Or, Head of Partnerships at HKSTP.

A total of 222 of the Asia Pacific region’s brightest startups battled for 20 semi-final slots at the EPiC 2024 Grand Finale in Hong Kong on 26 April 2024. All applicants of EPiC 2024 target a US$45 million funding to be arranged through investors (including funds managed by HKSTP Corporate Venture Fund, Beyond Ventures, BitRock Capital, Gaw Capital, HKX, InnoAngel, Jafco Asia, Mindworks Capital, and Radiant Tech Ventures) all of whom consider investing in applicants (subject to terms and conditions to be agreed between the parties), and qualify for a chance to have up to US$5 million investment by the HKSTP CVF, US$240,000 in cash prizes, plus partnership opportunities.

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As Hong Kong’s largest incubator, HKSTP integrates high-growth ventures directly into its innovation ecosystem and seamlessly to the HKD2,827 billion (USD 362 billion) economic opportunity in China’s Greater Bay Area (GBA) encompassing Guangdong and the even the broader mainland China market and beyond.

Guangdong Province is China’s largest provincial economy, projecting 5% GDP growth in 2024. Being in Hong Kong, EPiC forms a critical growth launchpad which positions Asia Pacific innovators at the heart of the Greater Bay Area (GBA) innovation powerhouse and connects the surging investment and market potential of the globe, Mainland China, and beyond.

EPiC 2024 can be a great launching pad for global startups to explore opportunities in the broad Asian market, while also connecting startups from the region to major markets across North America and Europe.

Going global with the help of HKSTP

Hong Kong serves as a vital gateway for Southeast Asian startups aiming to seize the burgeoning opportunities within the Greater Bay Area, an expanding innovation hub spanning China and North Asia. EPiC 2024 strategically provides essential elements for success, including access to capital, valuable market insights, strategic partnership opportunities, and a conducive environment for scaling operations due to Hong Kong’s strategic location. Utilising Hong Kong as a launchpad enables startups not only to navigate the complexities of the Greater Bay Area but also to expand into neighbouring markets, unlocking abundant opportunities for sustained growth and expansion.

Two great examples of how EPiC helped launch global expansions are Archireef, Champion of EPiC 2021, and Ultipa, a finalist for EPiC 2023.

Archireef is a nature-tech company dedicated to providing eco-engineering solutions for active restoration and fostering nature-positivity in the future of marine ecosystems, spanning shorelines to coral reefs. The homegrown Hong Kong-based startup is on a meteoric rise, going from obscurity with no hope of funding to making waves with deals and partnerships at the recent COP28 in Dubai.

“Since clinching the EPiC 2021 award, our trajectory has been nothing short of exhilarating. We are thrilled about the prospects ahead, which fuels our commitment to restoring marine ecosystems,” said Vriko Yu, Co-founder and CEO of Archireef. “Currently, we operate in both Hong Kong and the UAE, having successfully deployed over 500 of our Reef Tiles across these regions. Our growth is continuous, and we’ve seen revenue increase eight times in Q4 2023.”

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Yu acknowledges the vital role of the HKSTP ecosystem in their journey, expressing gratitude for the diverse talent and expertise it has provided, both locally and internationally. The HKSTP incubation programs were instrumental in refining Archireef’s business model and translating academic research into viable commercial solutions. Following this support, the company has rapidly expanded and received acclaim and awards from renowned institutions like the World Economic Forum, IUCN, Forbes Asia, Bloomberg, and Geneva Inventions. Additionally, Archireef has garnered support from an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company, as well as venture capital firms in Singapore.

Meanwhile, Ultipa is a Silicon Valley-originated developer of a high-performance graph database system. Selected as one of the 10 finalists in EPiC 2023, the firm is looking to expand its business to the mainland China market and more broadly across Asia. The proximity to Shenzhen, along with the seamless resources provided by Hong Kong and HKSTP for startup expansion and growth, were key factors influencing Ultipa’s decision to choose HKSTP as its starting point in Asia.

“HKSTP provides business matching, investment referrals, exclusive membership of a city-wide and cross-industry virtual lab, access to co-working space as well as an extensive talent pool by reaching out to Hong Kong’s renowned universities,” shared Monica Liu, Founder and COO of Ultipa. “We found that EPiC is a global and valuable platform and probably the fastest track for our AI solutions to expand to the Greater Bay Area and Asia-Pacific markets,” Liu added.

Ultipa’s graph technology integrates AI acceleration, augmentation, and explainability, driven by its distinctive next-gen horizontally scalable graph computing and storage engine. Renowned for delivering unparalleled computing solutions, Ultipa has garnered international recognition, notably winning the 2023 Banking Technology Awards (UK) in the category of “Tech of the Future – AI and Data.” Trusted by leading banks and financial institutions worldwide, Ultipa continues to set industry standards with its innovative solutions.

A strong showing for APAC at the EPiC 2024 Regional Semi-finals

The Singapore regional semi-final took place at The Great Room Centennial Tower, with 94 participants in the FinTech track, 65 in PropTech, and 63 in MobilityTech. The FinTech and PropTech innovations are on Day 1, with MobilityTech innovations featured on Day 2.

Hosting the first-ever Asia Pacific EPiC semi-final in Singapore is a key step in the EPiC mission to attract the very best startups from around the world. The 222 semi-finalists fiercely competed across FinTech, PropTech and MobilityTech tracks while pitching their innovative ideas and business models in a strict eight-minute period with a two-minute Q&A session to a professional judging panel.

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Eric Or emphasised the impressive showing of fintech in the Singapore semi-final, which demonstrated an array of innovative solutions and presentations. “Singapore is really up there in terms of fintech,” remarked Eric Or. “Singapore is mature in terms of doing the more advanced fintech solutions like blockchain, crypto, AI, and others. Every company we saw today had an element of AI in them, so I’m impressed with that.” He also noted a remarkable showing in robotic solutions and other related verticals.

The shortlisted 20 startups will join fellow semi-finalists from the Silicon Valley semi-final that took place on 18-19 January 2024, with further rounds in Hong Kong (29 Feb 2024) and in Stuttgart in Germany (4-5 Mar 2024), seeing over 70 semi-finalists selected for the Grand Finale at the iconic Sky100 venue atop Hong Kong’s tallest building, International Commerce Centre.

About Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation

Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) was established in 2001 to create a thriving I&T ecosystem grooming 12 unicorns, more than 14,000 research professionals and over 1,700 technology companies from 26 countries and regions focused on developing healthtech, AI and robotics, fintech and smart city technologies, etc.

Our growing innovation ecosystem offers comprehensive support to attract and nurture talent, and accelerate and commercialise innovation for technology ventures, with the I&T journey built around our key locations of Hong Kong Science Park in Shatin, InnoCentre in Kowloon Tong and three modern InnoParks in Tai Po, Tseung Kwan O and Yuen Long realising a vision of new industrialisation for Hong Kong, where sectors including advanced manufacturing, micro-electronics and biotechnology are being reimagined.

Hong Kong Science Park Shenzhen Branch in Futian, Shenzhen plays positive roles in connecting the world and the mainland with our proximity, strengthening cross-border exchange to bring advantages in attracting global talent and allowing possibilities for the development of technology companies in seven key areas: Medtech, big data and AI, robotics, new materials, microelectronics, fintech and sustainability, with both dry and wet laboratories, co-working space, conference and exhibition facilities, and more.

Through our R&D infrastructure, startup support and enterprise services, commercialisation and investment expertise, partnership networks and talent traction, HKSTP continues to contribute to establishing I&T as a pillar of growth for Hong Kong. 

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

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by Edelman

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