CHINA – 6 Nov 2019 – Cyberport concluded its annual premier event, Cyberport Venture Capital Forum (CVCF) today. The two-day event attracted over 900 participants and featured industry leaders, investors, venture capitalists and star start-ups from the Cyberport community to explore the latest trends in the venture capital ecosystem.
Meanwhile, the Intellectual Property Innovation & Entrepreneurship Contest Global (IPIEC Global) Hong Kong Chapter Finals took place in the afternoon, ending the eventful two days at Cyberport on a high note. The winner and runner-up of the contest will represent Hong Kong to take part in the roadshows in the Mainland and compete in the Global Grand Final for an opportunity to meet potential investors.
The forum hosted start-up workshops this morning led by professional investors to impart knowledge on raising venture capital and examine topics such as how emotion and intuition of angel investors or venture capitalists impact the fundraising process, technological trends and opportunities for international businesses and the ways start-ups can prepare for investor pitching. Over 200 one-on-one meetings betweenstart-ups and investors were arranged to facilitate venture investments.
Hong Kong representatives from IPIEC Global compete to win US$100,000 cash prize
Carrying on the energetic overtone of venture capital investments, the IPIEC Global Hong Kong Chapter Finals came to a successful conclusion this afternoon. The event was jointly organised by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, China Centre for Promotion of SME Development and the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government with Cyberport, WTOIP.com and the Angel Investment Foundation as co-organisers. Of the top 10 finalists, Light Inno Tech Limited (Lightsheet Microscopy System ) came in first place and Artro Digital Limited (Infanity 3D — 3D holographic imaging system) and Cellomics International (Liquid Biopsy for Cancer Monitoring and Early Screening) were placed first and second runner-ups respectively.
The winner and first runner-up will represent Hong Kong in the semi-final to be held in Guangzhou next month and compete for the US$100,000 cash prize in the Global Final. They will also have a chance to connect with venture capital in Mainland China, opening a wealth of opportunities for enterprises and potential investors.
Successful start-up and investor matching
Consistent with the global trend of corporate venturing, the competition has generated valuable opportunities for local innovative technology start-ups to match the needs of Hong Kong and Mainland Chinese enterprises. Six entries were identified by local enterprises, attracting a total of HK$60 million in intentional investments and plans to kickstart their partnerships.
Peter Yan, CEO of Cyberport, stated , “Digital transformation is the global trend. The demand from corporations to fuel business development with innovative technologies is on the rise. As a key driver of Hong Kong’s new economy, Cyberport actively connects venture capitalists, enterprises and start-ups to generate deal flows and business opportunities. We are glad to see many Cyberport companies successfully matched with the innovation needs of corporations. We are confident this competition will be a springboard for these start-ups to link up with venture capitalists and help them capture opportunities in the Greater Bay Area and beyond.”
The winner and first runner-up of the Hong Kong Chapter will be attending the global semi-final and will join 28 other winners from other regions in the training camp next month. Attendees will receive professional guidance including market analysis and project fine-tuning from renowned investors and industry experts.
The two Hong Kong teams will participate in road shows at several Chinese cities with high-tech industries, attend investor matching events organised by local governments and technology parks as well as visit local technology clusters and leading enterprises.
Three of Cyberport’s Incubatees enter the 10 top finalists
The competition covers 11 topics, including FinTech, biomedicine, advanced manufacturing, A.I. & big data and attracted 94 start-ups to participate. Cyberport’s incubatees VAR LIVE, Artro Digital Limited and WildFaces Technology Limited and their outstanding technological innovations were selected as top 10 finalists.
IPIEC Global bridges together innovative technologies and enterprises, marketing operation with government policies, facilitating collaborative innovation in the industry, and enhancing competitive advantages. Held for the third consecutive year, the contest spans nine competing regions including UK, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, Israel, Australia, South Korea, ASEAN and Hong Kong. The global championship last year was awarded to Novus Life Sciences from Hong Kong.
