Proptech start-up comprising young students wins Hong Kong’s flagship pitch event with 3D modelling device
- Skyland Innovation tops finalists to win 7th EPiC pitch event and claim prize of US$90,000
- The tech competition attracted a record-high number of entrants, both local and overseas, as Hong Kong tries to grow as an innovation hub
A young team of Hong Kong university students and entrepreneurs, who have developed a handheld 3D modelling tool and software, won US$90,000 at the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park’s (HKSTP) 7th annual Elevator Pitch Competition (EPiC) on Friday.
The event judges, consisting of entrepreneurs, investors, and officials from the city, determined that the start-up, Skyland Innovation, had bested more than 610 start-ups from over 55 countries that entered the competition.
Skyland – which mainly comprises around 50 students from mainland China attending Hong Kong universities – was founded in April 2021 and aims to help property owners and contractors easily model and evaluate existing building structures through robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) software.
“Epic has been a gateway for us to learn and network at a very fast speed … I hope our victory will motivate more university students like us,” said Jessy Wang, the start-up’s human resources business partner, who delivered Skyland Innovation’s pitch sporting the company’s latest handheld modelling tool.
“Next, we’re hoping to attract more VC [venture capital] attention, and we’ll be able to turn this into our full-time employment, grow the team, and go deeper into our AI algorithm development,” added Wang. According to the company’s pitch, the AI algorithm will allow the modelling device to estimate and provide additional information about building structures.
Last year’s EPiC winner was Hong Kong-based marine technology start-up Archireef, which develops 3D-printed tiles for sea beds that help re-grow and maintain coral reefs. Vriko Yu Pik-fan, co-founder and CEO of Archireef, said that winning the competition helped attract investors and collaborators to the firm. It has since expanded to the United Emirates and netted millions in sales.