What's there to know?   

The AHK Innovation Night is a startup pitching competition where the teams have 5 minutes each to present their business to an expert Jury. The winners of the AHK Innovation Night qualify for the Asia regional competition of the Start.up! Germany Tour 2024, and the best team has the opportunity for even higher rewards, including a sponsored plane ticket to Germany as part of the Start.up! Germany Tour 2024. 

The winners have the excellent opportunity to meet more German companies and corporates from NRW, Germany, important institutions, Startup accelerators & incubators, and mingle with a range of investors, all while networking with other foreign startups and expanding their knowledge. 

More about the larger Start.up! Germany Tour can be found at https://www.startupgermany.nrw/. 

What kind of awards are waiting for the Startups? 

• Chance to win a cash price of 16,000 Euro if crowned champion of the Start.up! Germany Tour 2024 

• Sponsored Plane ticket to Germany worth 1,000 Euros to join the Start.up! Germany Tour 2024 

• AHK Innovation Night Award 2024 

• Member rates and prior access to our events 2024 

• 3 Category Winner Awards (Green Tech/ Industrial Solutions/Life Science) 

• Free Tickets for two AHK Innovation Dialogue Events 

• Free Pass to join the AHK “Innovators Club” Mentorship program launching spring 2024  

• Free Market Expansion Workshop to go to Germany. 

Which Startups will be pitching? 

• Green Tech: Hydrogen, Circular Economy, Green Energy storage technologies, smart grid energy use optimization, smart farming (Agri-tech), future mobility solutions, and other outstanding solutions in the field of Green Tech that have a positive impact on the environment.  

• Industrial Solutions: Smart Factory, Artificial Intelligence, IoT, Cyber Security, Datamining and data governance, Industrial Logistic, Digital Supply Chain Management, and other outstanding solutions in the field of industrial solutions that optimize the industrial sector.  

• Life Science: Biotech, Medtech, Chemistry, Digital Health and, other outstanding solutions in the field of Life Science that improve the health of people.  

More Background

China's Innovation Landscape  

Story 1 

Title: China is further stepping up its AI (governance) game   

Body: China continues developing a regulatory regime for AI governance, being cautious with algorithms that affect the public, such as generative AI. Also known as TC260, the new regulations introduce a detailed framework and new institutions established to support industrial applications of AI, like autonomous driving and smart logistics. The National Information Security Standardization Technical Committee has proposed rules for determining safety risks, including when to ban data sources from training models and metrics for testing accuracy.  

Source: Zeyi Yang, MIT Technology Review, October 18, 2023 

Story 2  

Title: From Science Fiction to Reality: China is making steady progress in autonomous driving (and flying)  

Body: Shenzhen aims to lead in intelligent connected vehicles (ICVs) by seeking to operate 100 driverless cabs and 100 driverless buses by the end of this year. Further, Chinese drone manufacturer Ehang achieved a significant milestone by receiving type certification for its fully autonomous EH-216-S AAV model, a two-seater autonomous drone, paving the way for air taxis. These examples showcase China's rapid progress in autonomous technology and air mobility.  

Sources: Han Ximin; Shenzhen Daily, June 26, 2023 via WeChat 
Evelyn Cheng, CBNC, October 13, 2023 

Story 3  

Title: Bertelsmann Commits $700M to Chinese Start-ups and Tech Groups  

Body: Bertelsmann Investments, a prominent German venture capital fund, plans to invest an additional $700 million in Chinese start-ups, driven by their CEO Carsten Coesfeld's confidence in China's economic growth and appreciation of Chinese entrepreneurial talent. Over the next three to five years, they aim to support Chinese tech groups and Chinese start-ups going global. Despite geopolitical tensions and market challenges, Bertelsmann Investments sees potential in the push from the Chinese government to stimulate economic activity and foreign direct investment, suggesting opportunities in the Chinese market. 

Source: Chen Zhang, The Shanghaiist, August 9, 2023. 

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