Intelligent Thinking
The HKUST One Million Dollar Entrepreneurship Competition in Beijing rewards AI entrepreneurs
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Entrepreneurial teams specializing in artificial intelligence (AI) took the spotlight at the 2019 HKUST-AXON “AI” One Million Dollar International Entrepreneurship Competition in Beijing. Ten finalists from across the nation vied for a one million yuan cash award from the judges in the finals, which took place on August 31. Voibook Technology, a startup with an AI-enabled aid to cope with hearing and speaking impairments, took the top spot.
As a flagship entrepreneurship event of HKUST, the annual competition has become a major platform for promoting and supporting entrepreneurship since 2011. The event has extended from Hong Kong to six other cities in China, including Beijing, Foshan, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhongshang, and Macau.
With a focus on AI, the competition in Beijing was organized by the HKUST Business School Mainland China Office, in partnership with AXON Technology (an enterprise founded by an HKUST EMBA alumnus) as the title sponsor. Thanks to the strong support from the close-knit EMBA network, the Head of China Office Yuan Ye and many faculty at HKUST, the event was able to feature a series of contests, interactive forums, roadshows and a post-event startup camp.
The competition started in April, and shortlisted 212 teams into a first-round selection process. Teams submitted their entries from seven regions of the country, including Beijing, Nanjing, Suzhou, and others.
Twenty-one teams advanced to the semi-final, each receiving a cash award of 10,000 yuan. Ten finalists were chosen by a judging panel comprised of 50 experts in the field of AI and a team of HKUST professors. The selection was based on the technology demonstrated by each project, the maturity of their products, and the contributions the products could make to society.
This year’s projects covered a wide range of innovative applications, including the design and development of intelligent chips, a navigational robot for surgical operations, solutions for improving the quality of sleep, and intelligent edge computing technology.
Fostering innovation
The champion, Voibook Technology, not only took a cash award of 270,000 yuan, but also the “Popular Award” in the “90 Second Elevator Pitch”.
SHI Chengchuan, Founder of Voibook Technology, commended the judging panel, and said that the competition has provided some valuable learning experience and networking opportunities for him. He also said the technology they used, their creativity and positive impact on society were the winning factors for their team.
Shi is a hearing-impaired person, and after graduating from Jinan University in Guangzhou in 2015 (with majors in Mathematics and Applied Mathematics), he founded Voibook Technology with two close friends. The social enterprise aims to improve the communication of hearing impaired persons by utilizing the internet and AI technologies.
Shi explained that the Voibook app, which has more than 400,000 users, can convert speech into text in real time. The app also helps users to speak by using text-to-speech functions, along with voice evaluation and speech therapy technologies. The team is planning to develop a service platform for the hearing-impaired community.
Rewarding and nurturing talent
This year, the one million yuan cash award was sponsored by ten HKUST EMBA alumni enterprises, including AXON Technology, Inovance Technology, Yingding Education, Fast Star Advanced Power System, Yuanju Capital, Beijing Kuai You, Beijing Xbentury, Dapu Telecom, Shanghai Best Mind Data Technology, and Hebei Prosperity Investment. The selection was made by a ten-member judging committee, formed by presidents and CEOs of the alumni enterprises. A “90-Second Elevator Pitch” session and an “AI Speech” session in a TED Talk format were introduced to let the audience better understand the AI technology.
Professor TAM Kar Yan, Dean of HKUST Business School, said that talent is the most important factor in technology innovation and entrepreneurship. He thanked all participants and alumni for their strong support.
RAO Xiang, Founder, Chairman and CEO of AXON Technology, said all finalists this year demonstrated their strong potential for innovation. He hopes that they can bring vitality to innovation and help to empower the field of AI.
Around 12 projects will have the opportunity to participate in a week-long AI technology startup camp at HKUST. The camp is designed to strengthen participants’ business management skills and technical knowledge through a series of focus group sessions conducted by HKUST professors.
