awards
HKUST-SINO One Million Dollar Entrepreneurship Competition 2026
Winners of the HKUST-Sino One-Million-Dollar Entrepreneurship Competition 2026 will be awarded with cash prizes and in-kind services.
Cash and in-kind awards are to be used by the winning teams solely for the purpose of proving funding for the business plan in respect of which the award was granted. Service providers shall be entitled to decline to provide their services for the purpose of business plans other than in respect of which the award was granted. By accepting the awards, participants will be deemed to have accepted these terms and agreed to apply the cash and in-contribution awards for the purposes intended.
Cash Awards
| Platinum Award (HKUST Track) 1 | HKD400K |
| Gold Award (HKUST Track) 1 | HKD200K |
| Silver Award (HKUST Track) 1 | HKD100K |
International Student Track - Platinum Award - Gold Award - Silver Award |
HKD100K HKD50K HKD25K |
| Innovation Award (HKUST Track) 1 | HKD100K |
| Sustainability Impact Award (HKUST Track) 2 | HKD40K |
| Transformative AI Award (HKUST Track) 2 | HKD40K |
| NextGen Biotech Award (HKUST Track) 2 | HKD40K |
| Diversity and Equal Opportunities Award (HKUST Track) 2 | HKD40K |
| Elevator Pitch Award (3 places) (2 x HKUST Track and 1 x International Student Track) | HKD10K each |
| HKUST Student Team Award (HKUST Track) (3 places) 2 | HKD10K each |
| Exhibition Award (HKUST Track) (2 x HKUST Track and 1 x International Student Track)3 | HKD10K each |
Remarks:
1 Winning teams will first receive 70% of the cash prize. The teams will have to submit a brief progress report highlighting key progress and/or achievement over 6-month period (starting from the receipt of the first payment) to receive the rest of the cash prize. The progress report should covers content such as expenditure, revenue, number of full-time staff equivalent, funding and investment received, etc.
2 The Theme Awards will be evaluated through one additional score in Round 2. This score captures award‑specific strengths only and is assessed on top of the general Round‑2 scores. For details of the Theme Awards assessment criteria, please click HERE.
3 HKUST Student Team Award will be awarded to the teams which are composed of HKUST full-time students (HKUST Track) only. The top student team from Round 2 will get the award.
4 Finalists and past participants are invited to exhibit booths and engage visitors through interactive voting during the Final Round Showcase Exhibition. Award prizes to the top‑voted booth and offer lucky draw rewards to participating voters
Payment Distribution
The equity of the winning companies should not be changed.
HKUST Track Winning teams must be a registered company to get the cash award and are expected to form their companies in Hong Kong. The company name should be the same as the team name.
International Student Track Winning teams must be a registered company in either Hong Kong or their home country to get the cash award. The company name should be the same as the team name.
The recipients of prize money will be responsible for the tax implications of their winnings.
HKUST reserves the right to withhold or to defer in whole or in part of any of the cash and/or and in-kind contribution awards if the winning teams violate the above conditions.
Cash prize arrangement will be announced after the competition. Winners must present the company registration documents, company bank account number and other information requested within 1 year of the announcement, otherwise the cash prize will be considered forfeited.
The top 3 award (Platinum, Gold and Silver) winning teams will first receive 70% of the cash prize. The teams will have to submit a brief progress report highlighting key progress and/or achievement over 6-month period (starting from the receipt of the first payment) to receive the rest of the cash prize. The progress report should covers content such as expenditure, revenue, number of full-time staff equivalent, funding and investment received, etc.