20,000 fans and supporters from 100
countries and regions participated online
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.
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Katie Lee Tel: +852 9728 0979 Email: k.lee@alibaba-inc.com
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