Startup World Cup 2025 Hong Kong Region

Startup World Cup (SWC) is an international entrepreneurship-themed event that brings together world-class startups, VCs, and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies under the umbrella of Pegasus Tech Ventures, a top 25 venture capital firm in Silicon Valley. SWC is held in more than 50 countries and regions around the world, and the best teams are selected to compete for the global championship in San Francisco, USA. 

Hong Kong Region Prize 

• Gold: Enter the global finals of the Startup World Cup (SWC) with sponsored airfare and accommodation for the team's key speaker.
• Silver: Enter the Asian regional finals of the Startup World Cup (SWC).
• Bronze: Enter the Asian regional finals of the Startup World Cup (SWC). 

The winner of the Hong Kong regional competition of the Startup World Cup (SWC) in 2025 will advance to the global finals of the Startup World Cup (SWC) held in the United States in October 2025. The global finals champion will receive a USD$1 million investment. 

*Note: Sponsorship for the "2025 Startup World Cup (SWC) Global Finals" event is non-transferable. 

Benefit and opportunity 

• Engage in exchanges with renowned investors and global corporations, fostering partnerships and enhancing their brand influence.
• Broaden their international perspectives, envision future prospects, and connect with potential resources.
• Engage in face-to-face discussions with venture capital firms and CEOs from Fortune 500 companies in the future. 

1. Eligibility:

• Companies should have a fundraising record, ranging from the Angel round to pre-IPO.

• The startup team should include at least one HKUST member (including HKUST part-time and full-time students, alumni, faculty members and staff) 

• HKUST member(s) should legally and beneficially own at least 10% of shares 

• An individual cannot be a member of more than one team at the competition. 

• Each startup team should only submit a 10-page pitch deck. 

A team can submit only one presentation for the Competition. An individual cannot be a member of more than one team at the competition. A team may not submit a presentation that violates the code of conduct (e.g., racially sensitive ideas will be automatically disqualified) and/or infringes intellectual property rights. HKUST Entrepreneurship Center (EC) & Pegasus Tech Ventures have the sole right to reject any presentation in violation as described above.

2. Focused field of projects:
 

The projects have no specific theme restrictions, allowing startups to present innovative solutions across any industry. 

3. Submission Details:

3.1 1st Round Submission (Deadline: 10th May, 2025, HKT 23:59 ):

Please SUBMIT the following to the Competition Platform.

1. A presentation of the problem/issue you want to solve to meet the objective of the Competition and your proposed solution (no more than 10 pages) in ONE PDF/PPT file.

• There’s no strict requirement for the presentation but it should be able to deliver your solution to the problem/issue you want to solve to meet the objective of the Competition;
• Please refer to Section 4 for the judging criteria of the submission.

Please create the account and team profile in the startup tree platform first.

3.2 Final Round - Pitch day: 13th June, 2025, 14:00 – 17:30 

Venue: LTL(TBC)@HKUST Clear Water Bay Campus

• The top 10 to 12 teams will be shortlisted for the final round.
• Each team that enters the final round will be required to pitch at HKUST Campus to the Finale Judging Panel within 6 minutes, followed by a 4-minute Q&A. English will be used during the presentation and Q&A.
• The finalists will be announced on 23 May, 2025. The finalists need to submit the final version by 10 June 2025, 12 noon(HKT). Late submissions and replacement of files will NOT be accepted.
• The finalists will present one-by-one in the Final presentation on 13 June 2025. Therefore, all teams shall be ready to fully attend the final presentation and give the presentation. Details of the final round arrangement will be announced in due course.
• Please refer to Section 4 for the judging criteria of the submission.

4. Submission Selection/Judging Criteria

● Submissions will be judged based on the following criteria:

====== 1st Round Submission ====== 

1. Creativity (10 points)
2. Addressing Real Problems (10 points)
3. Market Demand (10 points)
4. Market Reception (10 points)
5. Competitive Advantage (10 points)
6. Business Plan (10 points)
7. Team (10 points) 

Total: 70 points. 

5. Winner Selection/Judging Criteria

====== Final Round ====== 

1. Creativity (10 points)
2. Addressing Real Problems (10 points)
3. Market Demand (10 points)
4. Market Reception (10 points)
5. Competitive Advantage (10 points)
6. Business Plan (10 points)
7. Team (10 points)
8. Presentation (10 points) 

Total: 80 points. 

6. Intellectual Property

● All submissions remain the intellectual property of the teams that have developed them.

● By submitting an entry or accepting any prize, you represent and warrant the following: you will not submit content that is copyrighted, protected by trade secret, or otherwise subject to third party intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights, including privacy and publicity rights, unless you are the owner of such rights or have permission from their rightful owner to post the content; and the content submitted by you does not contain any viruses, Trojan horses, worms or other disabling devices or harmful code.

● Copyright:

○ Participant represents and warrants that he or she is the sole author and copyright owner of the submission and that the Submission is an original work of the Participant, or if the Submission is a work based on an existing application, that the Participant has acquired sufficient rights to use and to authorize others; and that the Submission does not infringe upon any copyright or upon any other third party rights of which the Participant is aware, and that the Submission is free of malware.

○ By participating in the Competition, each participant agrees to be legally bound by these Rules and by the interpretation of these Rules by the Organizer (HKUST Entrepreneurship Center & Pegasus Tech Ventures), and further warrants and represents that his/her and/or his/her team’s Submission:

■ is original to at least one of the team members and at least one of the team members has obtained all necessary rights in and to the Submission (and all components thereof) to enter the Competition;

■ does not violate any law, statute, ordinance, or regulation;

■ does not contain any reference to or likeness of any identifiable third parties, unless consent has been obtained from all such individuals and their parent/legal guardian if they are under the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence (note: if consent cannot be obtained for an individual appearing in the Submission, then his/her face must be blurred out and voice (if applicable) must be altered so as to be unrecognizable);

■ will not give rise to any claims of intellectual property infringement, invasion of privacy or publicity, or infringe on any rights and/or interests of any third party, or give rise to any claims for payment whatsoever; and
■ is not defamatory, trade libelous, pornographic or obscene, and does not violate any laws relating to hate speech, and further that it will not contain, depict, include or involve, without limitation, any of the following: nudity; alcohol/drug consumption or smoking; explicit or graphic sexual activity, or sexual innuendo; crude, vulgar or offensive language and/or symbols; derogatory characterizations of any ethnic, racial, sexual or religious groups; content that endorses, condones and/or discusses any illegal, inappropriate or risky behavior or conduct; personal information of individuals, including, without limitation, names, telephone numbers, and addresses (physical or electronic); commercial messages, comparisons or solicitations for products or services; any identifiable third party products, trademarks, brands and/or logos (note: if the necessary consents cannot be obtained, then all identifiable third party products, trade-marks, brands, and/or logos must be blurred out so as to be unrecognizable); conduct or other activities in violation of these Rules; and/or any other content that is or could be considered inappropriate, unsuitable, or offensive, all as determined by HKUST Entrepreneurship Center & Pegasus Tech Ventures in its sole and absolute discretion.

 

 7. Privacy and Disclaimer:

• Any personal information you choose to provide will only be used for the purpose for which it was provided and will not be disclosed to other persons or organizations without your prior consent or if required by law.
• The Internet is an insecure medium and users should be aware that there are inherent risks transmitting information across the Internet.
• Information submitted unencrypted via electronic mail or web forms may be at risk of being intercepted, read or modified.
• The HKUST Entrepreneurship Center reserve the right to accept or decline any persons, teams or organizations participating in the Competition and any activities or events associated with it, with or without prior notice or reason.
• Photos taken (if any) at the Competition and information related to the Competition will be shared among the Organizer and be published for publicity purposes of the event.
• The decision of the Panel of Judges of the Competition and the interpretation by the HKUST Entrepreneurship Center & Pegasus Tech Ventures will be final.
• Dates of the events and other arrangements are subject to change due to feasibility and other factors. The organizer will try their best to minimize any inconvenience that may be caused to participants.
• The organizer will not be held liable for any damage or loss in any form arising from the event and for the participants.