HONG KONG, Oct. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Huawei Cloud, a global leader in cloud technology and innovation, celebrated the fourth annual Huawei Cloud Startup Ignite Competition yesterday, formerly known as Huawei Spark Ignite. This distinguished competition has grown into one of Asia Pacific's largest and most influential startup events. It has been created to discover and welcome high-potential startups into Huawei Cloud's vibrant ecosystem, where they can flourish and thrive. This year, the competition has drawn applications from diverse fields, including Generative AI, Enterprise Software, FinTech, Web 3, and Metaverse.

After an intensive evaluation process and coaching sessions for participants, Huawei Cloud is introducing the Top 15 standout teams who have progressed to the final stage of the competition. During the event, the teams had the unique opportunity to present their ground breaking ideas and pioneering business ventures to an esteemed audience, including venture capital partners, industry leaders, technology experts, and more.

The Grand Winner Bering Lab will be enrolled to Huawei Cloud Startup Program - "Accelerate" Tier, collaboration with a global technology leader for business growth, and a chance to compete on a global stage at SLINGSHOT 2023.Mr. Leo, Nuo Jiang, Chief Digital Officer of Huawei Cloud APAC, shared his enthusiasm for the competition and the wider ecosystem: "The Huawei Cloud Startup Ignite Competition has become a testament to our dedication to fostering innovation and supporting startups worldwide. We are thrilled to witness the exceptional talents emerging from this competition and look forward to the impactful contributions they will make to the tech industry. As Huawei Cloud expands our successful Startup Program into new regions, we are committed to nurturing and empowering startups on their journey to success."

Growth of Huawei Cloud Startup Program
Previously known as the Huawei Spark Program and launched in the Asia-Pacific region in 2020, the Huawei Cloud Startup Program has grown significantly over the past three years. As an award-winning acceleration program, it has expanded its footprint to three continents, received over 5,000 applications, welcomed more than 180 portfolio companies, and accelerated over 30 startups to reach the series A stage. In the past 18 months, these startups secured over $100 million in fundraising.

Commitment to the Startup Ecosystem
One of the persistent challenges startups face is access to the resources and infrastructure required to scale and innovate rapidly. Limited budgets and resources often hinder their ability to leverage cutting-edge technologies effectively. Many promising startups find it challenging to secure the necessary resources, mentorship, and infrastructure to compete on a global scale.

Huawei Cloud is dedicated to addressing this critical challenge by nurturing a robust startup ecosystem. Leveraging the capabilities of Huawei's global cloud infrastructure and comprehensive Technology-as-a-Service offerings, Huawei Cloud has launched a new startup support scheme and platform. This initiative is designed to empower high-potential startups, catalyze their innovation, and foster accelerated growth in cloud technology. By providing startups unparalleled access to cloud resources and comprehensive support, Huawei Cloud enables them to overcome resource constraints and realize their full potential.

Expanding to New Horizons 
Huawei Cloud APAC also announces the extension of its acclaimed Startup Program to Hong Kong and Thailand. Partnerships with local government agencies will support these strategic expansions to nurture and foster startup ecosystems in these markets. Mr. Jason Zhang, Managing Director of Huawei Cloud Hong Kong, stating "to further serve the development of establishing Hong Kong as the international innovation and technology hub, Huawei relies on Huawei Cloud as the foundation to empower industry digital transformation, collaborate with universities and local government agencies on digital technology and innovation, and jointly cultivate the digital talent needed for technology innovation, collectively creating an innovative ecosystem for Hong Kong's digital economy."

In line with these initiatives, Huawei Cloud will introduce the joint incubator and accelerator programs to empower AI and cloud fields in collaboration with government agencies. These initiatives will share best practices, nurture talent, create business opportunities, and co-create innovative solutions.

Huawei Cloud remains at the forefront of empowering innovative startups, and the Huawei Cloud Startup Ignite Competition continues to be a shining beacon for tech innovators across the globe.

The Top 15 Startups include:
Another-1
EDNS Domains
Hela Labs
OlaWealth
MetaPals
Metaverse Network
Midas Analytics
Bering Lab
Blitz Electric Mobility
Peris.ai
TradeMonday
Ultipa
Spiking
iApp Technology (ChochaeGPT)
nika.eco

About Huawei Cloud:

Huawei Cloud translates Huawei's ICT prowess over three decades into reliable, secure, and sustainable cloud services for customers, partners, and developers.

Since 2016, Huawei Cloud has worked with partners to provide cloud services for more than 3,000 European customers across industries in the journey of digital transformation and global expansion.