Guangzhou innovation competition draws 441 projects from around the globe

The 2026 Guangzhou Sci-Tech Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, held jointly with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) One Million Dollar Entrepreneurship Competition, concluded on Wednesday in Guangzhou's Nansha district, drawing over 400 projects from more than 30 countries and regions.

This year marked the first time the event was upgraded from a Hong Kong-Macao-Taiwan regional competition into a global one. Of the 441 participating projects, 180 came from outside the region, including countries such as the United States, Singapore, Australia, and Britain.

The event offers a total cash prize pool of 2 million yuan (about $300,000), awarded across the winning teams. Beyond cash, winners receive bundled support including cloud computing resources, business and tax services, intellectual property assistance, and policy application support.

Speaking at the award ceremony, Xie Ming, director of the Guangzhou Science and Technology Bureau, said the city's innovation assets, business climate, application scenarios, and policies would help turn the competition into a hub linking global hard-tech resources.

"Guangzhou will serve as a promising base for global entrepreneurs, offering reliable support for them to pursue and achieve their goals," Xie said. He added that a complete service chain covering selection, resource docking, incubation, and industrialization would support foreign tech startup projects throughout their development.

The event was co-hosted by the Guangzhou Science and Technology Bureau and HKUST. The Guangzhou HKUST Fok Ying Tung Research Institute and Guangzhou Science and Technology Progress Foundation were joint organizers.