Announcing winners of the OTEC-Emerge Technology Awards

TechNode has announced the winners of the first OTEC-Emerge Technology Awards. The awards were announced at the OTEC-Emerge Tech Summit held in Beijing on Friday.

Emerge is TechNode’s annual conference about emerging trends in China tech. It presents a strategic and forward-looking view of China’s tech sector in English with voices from experts and representatives of leading companies. The third Emerge conference features the theme of “What’s next for tech in the new normal?” This year, TechNode partners with the Overseas Talent Entrepreneurship Conference (OTEC) to present the OTEC-Emerge Tech Summit.

OTEC-Emerge Technology Awards shortlisted innovative tech startups in three areas of smart mobility, fintech, and e-commerce. 

QCraft, a US and China-based self-driving startup, won the Rising Star Award. Hangzhou-based vesoft Inc., a developer of China’s leading open-source graph database Nebula Graph, walked away with the Best Tech Innovation award. The Best Investment Value award goes to Evoke Electric Motorcycles, an electric vehicle maker.

“TechNode has long been an independent and reliable English media outlet focusing on China’s technology innovation. We launched the OTEC-Emerge Technology Awards by discovering startups representing China’s innovation from a professional and neutral perspective,” said Lu Gang, founder and CEO of TechNode. 

“Through this rare tech award selected by an English outlet, We hope to help the global tech industry better understand the latest technological innovation trends in China and promote more outstanding tech companies to an international platform by discovering startups representing China’s innovation,” said Lu.

Rising Star Award

QCraft – Chinese self-driving startup founded by Waymo alumni.

Best Tech Innovation

vesoft Inc. – Hangzhou-based startup devoted to developing China’s leading open-source graph database solution, Nebula Graph.

Best Investment Value

Evoke Electric Motorcycles – developer and manufacturer of light weight electric motorcycles.

Best Smart Mobility Startups

AutoX – Alibaba-backed self-driving car company with ride-hailing pilot services in a number of cities.

DeepRoute – Alibaba-backed self-driving startup focused on fully automation technologies for passenger transport and urban logistics.

Evoke Electric Motorcycles – developer and manufacturer of lightweight electric motorcycles.

Hesai Technology – Lidar sensing technologies developer for autonomous vehicles.

Horizon Robotics – startup company developing artificial intelligence chips for smart vehicles.

QCraft – Chinese self-driving startup founded by Waymo alumni.

RoboSense – developer of smart sensor systems incorporating LiDAR sensors, and perception software.

TuSimple – startup that creates autonomous trucks and advanced driverless vehicles.

UISEE – Chinese autonomous driving company focused on providing robot delivery services.

WeRide – Xpeng-backed smart mobility company creates leading L4 autonomous driving technologies.

Best fintech startups

AKTE – food safety platform leveraging automatic data collection and blockchain-based security technologies.

Hrfax – fintech startup that offers consumer installment loan-related services for financial institutions.

Ice Kredit – fintech company providing risk management solutions to both individuals and financial institutions.

imToken – multi-chain cryptocurrency wallet that allows users to use one identity to manage multiple wallets.

Kingsware – robotic process automation system committed to building an enterprise-level safe robot management platform.

Ningze Fintech – financial technology solution provider that connects banks, loan firms, and online financial platforms.

Nuanwa Technology – health insurance technology company offering customization services and risk control solutions for health insurance companies.

SphereEx – distributed data infrastructure that helps users to manage their fragmented database.

vesoft Inc. – Hangzhou-based startup devoted to developing China’s leading open-source graph database solution, Nebula Graph. The database has been widely adopted in the fintech sector.

XTransfer – fintech company that provides cross-border financial services for China-based small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Best Ecommerce and New Retail Startups

AiMall – AI company empowering traditional retail businesses by utilizing visual intelligence, emotional intelligence, and deep-learning algorithms to link customers, brands, and stores.

Benlai – Chinese fresh produce e-commerce platform.

Duozhuayu – WeChat-based second-hand book trading platform.

Floral & Life – lifestyle app offering gardening and planting tips.

ImageDT – AI retail solution offering services such as channel management, intelligent network management, and sales forecast analysis for retail and consumer goods enterprises.

Luxnow – Y Combinator-backed peer-to-peer marketplace to access luxury items.

Mmchong – Shanghai-based community group-buy platform targeting higher income groups.

SandStar– artificial intelligence company that applies computer vision technology in the retail industry to enable grab-and-go convenience, autonomous checkout, and big data analytics.

Wellcee – home rental & social platform targeting expatriates and youth in China.

Whale – digital marketing platform.