20 startups compete for $1m innovation prize from China

Competition is expected to be fierce for the Shengjing Global Innovation Award prize money of $1 million.

The one million dollar Shengjing Global Innovation Award will be presented to one winner out of 20 startups from across the world, who will not only be competing for the prize money, but also the potential for venture capitalists and incubators to invest in their companies.

In recent years, the Chinese market has grown significantly and opened up to the world in ways that have not been seen before. Companies from the US have previously tried to tap this potential before, however, have failed to make any headway. Now startups will have a chance to make some real progress in China, if they win the competition that has been set up by from Shengjing and Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP).

“This is a unique opportunity for companies to achieve a significant breakthrough in both global growth markets, including China, and to liaise with industry leaders,” Yoav Tzruya, JVP Partner.

Finals will be held in Beijing

Three startups will be chosen from Israel and other tech firms will be selected from the US, Latin America, Europe and China in a rigorous judging process that only twenty companies will emerge from to travel to the finals in Beijing.

Applications will be accepted up to April 30th from startups in the following sectors: cyber security, big data and data science, internet and mobile, enterprise software, storage, FinTech, the Internet of Things, wearable computing and digital health. However, companies wishing to apply must have less than one million dollars of existing investment.

Other requirements include having a product that is scalable and addresses a clear market opportunity and gives the company a sustainable competitive advantage, a professional and experienced team, and the capability to develop a beta version of the product within a period of 12 months.

“The goal of the competition is to identify the most promising, innovative startups globally, to open doors and support them, and to help them become groundbreaking, market-leading companies,” said Xueling Cao, director of Shengjing Technology at Shengjing360.