HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund/HSBC JUMPSTARTER 2020 Global Pitch Competition Grand Finale today announced the top five winners at the close of the two-day event with 20,000 fans and supporters from 100 countries and regions participated online.
During the Feb. 11-12 event, 40 finalists from eight semifinal pitch competitions battled for the five top slots. After an online roadshow of nearly 400 minutes and a live Q&A with a panel of judges, Asia Regenerative Medicine, Ecoinno, Fano Labs, Snipfeed and The Block Ledger were named as winners. Up to a total US$5 million investment commitments, as well as a total cash prize of US$100,000 will be shared among the five winners. They will also have a chance to connect with the Alibaba ecosystem.
“Despite the various challenges the world is facing, including the novel coronavirus and geopolitics, an entrepreneurial spirit is one that will never give up. We should all stay committed to the values we believe in as we continue towards our mission and vision. Entrepreneurs also need to hire good people and work with talent to achieve sustainable development, which is a crucial step for startups to achieve their dreams,” Executive Vice Chairman of Alibaba Group and Director of Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, Joe Tsai, told webcast viewers.
“With the support of different partners, we are delighted that JUMPSTARTER 2020 was hosted online successfully. The finalists came from over 10 countries and regions, and they had outstanding performance, showcasing forward-looking ideas to address market needs. I hope that all participants in JUMPSTARTER 2020 can benefit from the process and gain useful experience that can help them achieve their entrepreneurial dreams,” said Executive Director of the Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, Cindy Chow.
“JUMPSTARTER 2020 is an excellent showcase of international entrepreneurial talent and serves as an insightful eye to the future. Here we see not only promising start-ups but also game changers who are passionate about creating a better future. HSBC is committed to supporting new and small businesses of all types. As the event’s title sponsor, we look forward to seeing how these ideas could make a positive impact on societies, as well as bringing their ideas to life to serve the needs of a changing world,” said Terence Chiu, Head of Commercial Banking, Hong Kong, HSBC.
JUMPSTARTER 2020 judges said they were impressed by the overall standards this year. The top five startups displayed innovative ideas unseen in the market before and clearly showcased sustainable business models. They were also able to solve key pain points with their technologies. The judges said they were glad to see the winning teams were spread over the competition’s main areas of focus, including deep tech, fintech, retail and smart cities. The judges also encouraged the startups to embrace their entrepreneurial ambitions and continue to use technology to solve problems to make the world better.
Due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, the health of JUMPSTARTER participants was of paramount importance this year. Adhering to a spirit of entrepreneurship and resilience, the Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund successfully moved the JUMPSTARTER 2020 Global Pitch Competition Grand Finale from its offline venue to an online setting. In the process, it became the world’s largest online startup competition (see appendix below for details) in just 10 days.
This spirit of supporting startups was well-received. In addition to the Directors of Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund and professional investment fund Gobi Partners, the event’s title sponsor HSBC, co-organizers Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited and Hong Kong Science and Technology Park Corporation, as well as other collaboration partners including CLP Holdings Limited, 3 Hong Kong, Deloitte, Alibaba Cloud and successful startups from overseas and Hong Kong all took part in the event. By serving on the panel of judges, recording videos in which they shared their evaluation of competitors, and participating in live chats online, they were able to show unwavering support for the startups.
For more information about JUMPSTARTER 2020, please visit: https://jumpstarter.hk
Appendix I: JUMPSTARTER 2020 Winning Teams
JUMPSTARTER 2020 Top Five Winners (in no particular order)
Group-Industry |
Team |
Introduction |
Country/Region |
Deep Tech – Biotech |
Asia Regenerative Medicine |
Asia Regenerative Medicine focuses on the research and development of organ repairing and regeneration. |
Shenzhen |
Smart City – Cleantech |
Ecoinno |
With the power of science and technology, Ecoinno provides 100% earth-friendly materials and industrial ecosystem solutions to reduce the heavy use of plastics. |
Hong Kong |
Deep Tech – AI |
Fano Labs |
Fano Labs is an AI startup specializing in the development and application of advanced AI technologies such as Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) and Natural Language Processing (NLP). Fano Labs provides customers from finance, telecommunication and retail sectors with enterprise customer service solutions. |
Hong Kong |
Retail – Entertainment |
Snipfeed |
Snipfeed is an AI-powered news recommendation engine, providing users (especially Generation Z) with a highly personalized search experience by dividing original content into short chat messages (in the form of GIFs, still pictures, video clips and more) |
United States |
Fintech – Fintech |
The Block Ledger |
The Block Ledger is a fintech company that provides e-invoices, loan documentation, credit scoring and other solutions to financial institutions. |
Australia
|
Most Innovative Award (Presented by Alibaba Cloud) and Audience’s Favorite Award (As voted for by the audience)
Group-Industry |
Team |
Introduction |
Country/Region |
Fintech - Fintech |
Privé Technology |
Privé Technologies is a leading innovator in the financial and wealth management industries, and is committed to the research and development of wealth and asset management platform systems. It provides financial services, such as an investment product search engine, customer asset reports, wealth planning, and a portfolio management system supported by AI. |
Hong Kong |
The Environmental Champion Award (Presented by CLP Holdings Limited)
Group-Industry |
Team |
Introduction |
Country/Region |
Smart City – Cleantech |
Agora Energy Technologies |
By adopting flow battery technology using carbon dioxide (CO2) to temporarily store energy from renewable sources such as solar, water and wind energy, Agora Energy Technologies aims to reduce energy output fluctuations due to the periodicity of energy availability. This innovative system will provide a solution to the climate mitigation challenges of renewable energy storage and CO2 utilization. |
Canada |
IdeaPOP! Winning Team
Group-Industry |
Team |
Introduction |
Institution |
Deep Tech – AI |
Clearbot |
Clearbot develops decentralized ocean robot swarms that autonomously clean the oceans (powered by AI vision). |
The University of Hong Kong |
Appendix II: Largest online startup competition
The JUMPSTARTER 2020 Global Pitch Competition Grand Finale event achieved records in four areas, ensuring the event became the world’s largest online startup contest:
- The most-extensive coverage in terms of online participants: 20,000 fans and supporters from 100 countries and regions participated the online competition with a roadshow that ran for nearly 400 minutes.
- The most extensive coverage in terms of startup participants: More than 2,000 startups from 65 countries and regions around the world signed up for the competition; semifinal pitches were held in eight cities, including Shenzhen, Kuala Lumpur, London, the San Francisco Bay Area, Toronto, Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai since last August, whereby the 40 finalists were selected for the online finale.
- The best prizes: The top five teams will be awarded up to US$5 million in investment commitments and a total cash prize of US$100,000, as well as more exposure to international markets and opportunities to meet top-notch investors and access Alibaba’s ecosystem.
- The largest number of supporting organizations: 115 local co-organizers, along with international supporting organizations and partners coming from Asia and the rest of the world, took part in the event.
About Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund
The Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund (“AEF”) is a non-profit initiative launched by Alibaba Group in 2015. To vitalize the development of innovation and technology, AEF’s mission is to help Hong Kong entrepreneurs and young people realize their dreams and visions for a Hong Kong that is vibrant and engaged regionally and globally. As part of its investment program, AEF provides Hong Kong-based entrepreneurs with investment capital and strategic guidance to help them grow their businesses and penetrate global markets, by utilizing Alibaba's vast ecosystem. For more information, please go to the website: https://ent-fund.org.
About JUMPSTARTER
JUMPSTARTER is a not-for-profit initiative created by Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund that provides a platform for all entrepreneurs and young people to jump start their dreams in Hong Kong. It is a first-of-its-kind startup event focused exclusively on showcasing quality start-ups and providing high-impact networking opportunities. Its goal is to build, empower and boost Hong Kong’s startup ecosystem and entrepreneurship by bringing entrepreneurs, corporates, investors and the public together, helping to transform Hong Kong into a leading hub for global innovation and technology. For more information, please go to the website: https://jumpstarter.hk.