Here in Asia, we are the first to see the sun rise. We are the continent with the most people and some of the oldest civilizations in human history. We are also home to some of the most innovative hardware startups in the world. From “Startup Nation” Israel to high-tech Japan, Asia is a hotspot for exciting hardware, and it is about time we had our own hardware competition.
China is starting to see innovative hardware across all verticals: wearables, virtual reality, smart transportation, artificial intelligence, and more. And despite headlines of a winter in the Chinese startup ecosystem, various tech industries in China are continuing to receive generous financing.
The Asia Hardware Battle brings together business projects and startups from 10 countries and regions, including mainland China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Israel, Thailand, Singapore and other places. After registration and preliminary selection, 15 teams coming from these countries and regions will be screened out to fight for the championship in the final battle. In 2016, 8 of them were invited to join Y Combinator’s hardware incubation program.
This year follows the theme of “creative innovation and new energy” to promote the development of science and technology so the world can see Asian innovation.
Battle Timeline:
- ONLINE REGISTRATION: Aug 1st – Aug 31th
- PRELIMINARY SELECTION: Aug 1st – Aug 31th
- PREPARATION: Sep 1st – Sep 4th
- FINAL: Sep 16th
(Attention: Due to the visa application process, the timeline may be changed. For overseas participants, please start your visa application process as soon as you are selected.）
Qualifications
- Hardware startups from select regions (see below)
- Pre-Series A or total funding less than $5 million.
- Must have a prototype
Regions:
China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Israel, Hong Kong, Taiwan
What We’re Looking For
- Prototype has unique function and present technical breakthroughs
- Little to no media exposure
- Projects that display:
Creativity | Pain Point Resolution | Business Value | Sustainable Development | Technical Innovation | Product Design
Rewards and Perks:
- Competition with the best of 10 countries and regions
- Feedback from a professional jury of designers, investors, corporations, and accelerators.
- Intensive media exposure including live show and exclusive interview
- Comprehensive support, from cash reward to service, amounting to over 300 million as well as the participation from Taobao crowd funding and URwork
- Connection to leading industrial giants, such as CITIC, Vanke, Unilever, and more.
Judges
Corporations:
People in-charge from the leading industries such as Vanke Group, Unilever, Citic Group and more.
VCs:
Over 50 VCs such as:
- IDG Capital
- GOBI Partners
- Sequoia Capital
- Fashion Group
- Cherubic Ventures
- Silicon Valley Bank
- YunQi Partners
- ZhenFund
- China Renaissance
- Linear Venture
- China Growth Capital
- Fosun RZ Captical
- Ameba Captical
- And more!
Sign up procedure
- Register on official website.
- Send business Plan and basic info to shengli@technode.com
FAQ
1. How do I know whether I have been selected for the Final Battle？
Please make sure your email address and phone numbers are correct, we will contact you once we finish the preliminaries.
2.What do I need to prepare after I have been selected？
After receiving the notice, please make sure you have a finished presentation and working prototype. We will arrange rehearsal to guarantee everything works smoothly. For overseas participants, please start the visa application process as soon as you are selected.
3. How to contact us？
If you have any questions, please send email to shengli@technode.com with the title [Asia Hardware Battle]. We will contact you within 24 hours!
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