Hong Kong’s EPIC Week 2025 brought together the world’s most innovative minds in one place. Over 100 international startups competed, evaluated by a panel of more than 55 industry experts. The Hong Kong Kai Tak Runway event offered a historic yet lively setting to showcase innovative ideas, advanced technology, and entrepreneurial talent.
As Asia’s Top startup contest, EPIC Week 2025 backed Hong Kong’s important role in guiding the future of technology and business. Ranked 3rd globally as a financial hub behind New York and London, the city continues to attract innovators and investors from across the globe. With support from corporate sponsors (like Cathay Pacific, HSBC, Takeda and more), the event connected startups with investors, mentors, and resources to help them grow and succeed.
This article will recap the competition’s takeaways and introduce the EPIC Week 2025 Hong Kong winners, who will lead the next generation of innovation in Asia.
The Scale and the Stage: A Global Convergence
More than 100 startups from around the world converged in Hong Kong for EPIC Week 2025, an event that truly embraced the “global” in the global startup competition. According to the organizers, 85% of the top 100 semi‑finalists hailed from outside Hong Kong — highlighting the international pull of the event.
The breakdown of the competition reveals a regional spread: approximately 30% from Europe, 24% from the Americas, 26% from the broader APAC region, 15% from Hong Kong, and 5% from mainland China.
The venue itself added to the spectacle. The grand finale took place at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, a site with a rich history, formerly the runway of the old Kai Tak Airport, now reimagined as a stage for entrepreneurs rather than airplanes. Against this iconic backdrop, founders pitched their boldest visions, and the location served both as a metaphor and a literal runway for innovation to take off.
From HealthTech to GreenTech: The core of the competition
The competition concentrated on three major tech verticals: Digital Health Tech, FinTech, and GreenTech. Within these tracks, startups offered solutions such as aviation software, open-banking API, electrochemical recycling technologies, and more, positioning themselves at the core of Asia’s startup race. In doing so, EPIC Week 2025 didn’t just host “innovation events Hong Kong”; it established itself as a base for “global startups Hong Kong,” ready to scale across boundaries.
The Jury of Titans: 55+ Influential Judges
The competition assembled more than 55 top-tier judges, including CEOs, venture capitalists, founders, and industry leaders, who brought serious firepower to evaluating the entrants.
Their seniority gives startups access to capital, corporate partners, and key market channels through the judges’ guidance and decisions. By placing these decision-makers at the event, EPIC Week 2025 leverages their influence to bring in broader investment trends in the Asia-Pacific startup space.
A few notable judges are:
- Lap Man, Co‑Founder & Managing Partner of Beyond Ventures.
- Dr Alfred Shang, CEO & Founding Partner of BitRock Capital.
- Kenneth Lee, Investment Director at Gaw Capital.
- Andrea Culligan, Global Lead GreenSpace Tech at Deloitte
- Jonathan Yip, Managing Director, Head of Innovation Banking, Hong Kong at HSBC.
With this lineup, the competition signals to the market which sectors and business models carry momentum. In other words, the judges act as barometers and catalysts: they identify what’s hot today and help push EPIC Week 2025 winners into tomorrow’s routes of growth.
Because the judges are so influential and visible, startups know that impressing this panel means much more than just a trophy. It could lead to meaningful partnerships, funding rounds, and real expansion into the Asia startup competition.
The Triumphs: Announcing the EPIC Week 2025 Winners
After an exciting week of pitches and innovation, EPIC Week 2025 Hong Kong has announced its winners. Startups from all over the world showed smart solutions, new technologies, and ideas that can grow big. The EPIC Week 2025 Hong Kong winners lead the way in Digital Health, FinTech/Web3, and GreenTech, and they will help shape the future of Asia’s startup scene.
Overall Grand Prize Winner
NEU Battery Materials (Singapore): NEU Battery Materials captured the top honour, taking home the overall championship at EPIC Week 2025 Hong Kong by showcasing the world’s first patented electro‑chemical recycling process for lithium‑ion batteries. Their advanced GreenTech solution impressed the panel with its global scalability and sustainability credentials.
Sector Winner: Health & Wellness (Digital Health Tech)
KA Imaging Inc. (Canada): KA Imaging won the Digital Health Tech category by delivering a breakthrough spectral X‑ray system that differentiates soft‑tissues and bones in real time — a major step forward in diagnostics and medical imaging innovation.
Sector Winner: FinTech / Web3
Belli (Singapore): Belli won in the FinTech track with its aviation software that tackles the inefficiency of airline cargo space, specifically addressing how around 85% of flights waste cargo capacity. The solution impressed judges with its application of a global business model and market readiness.
Sector Winner: GreenTech
NEU Battery Materials (Singapore): The overall prize winner, NEU Battery Materials, also secured the GreenTech category with its innovative battery-recycling process, positioning itself as a leader in climate technology.
Hong Kong’s Unwavering Commitment to Innovation
Hong Kong’s EPIC Week 2025 brought together the city’s active startup ecosystem with global innovators, investors, and thought leaders; all on a single platform. With over 100 international finalists and more than 55 expert judges, the event showed the talent, diversity, and ambition backing the Asia startup competition. The winners, covering Digital Health, FinTech/Web3, and GreenTech, proved that Hong Kong continues to nurture solutions that can scale across borders and address real-world challenges.
The event also reinforced Hong Kong’s position as the perfect location for innovation and entrepreneurship in 2025. With optimized business registration, supportive corporate networks, and a dynamic startup scene, the city makes it easy to set up a business and capitalize on the rise of innovation. Beyond the competition, Hong Kong’s EPIC Week 2025 also offered workshops, mentorship sessions, and networking opportunities, giving startups access to expertise, industry insights, and potential collaborators.
Given this city’s importance, whether you’re a finalist or an inspired entrepreneur, Startupr Hong Kong services help founders navigate incorporation, compliance, and administration, allowing you to concentrate on developing your next big idea.
Get started with your Hong Kong venture today and become part of the thriving community that EPIC Week 2025 so vividly exemplifies. We have helped more than 22,000 companies with their business in Hong Kong; we will help you, too. Do not hesitate to contact us!
