JERUSALEM, June 19 (Xinhua) -- A second competition for Israeli start-ups to win Chinese investment for conducting innovative projects will be held on August 27 in Israel, local media reported.
A delegation of representatives from major Chinese corporations will visit Israel to participate in the Israeli chapter of the Intellectual Property Innovation & Entrepreneurship Contest (IPIEC) in 2018, which aims to locate start-ups at the initial product stage, the Hebrew-language People & Computers website reported.
The Chinese companies will invest 25 million U.S. dollars in the Israeli start-ups winning the contest, in innovative projects in the fields of autonomous vehicles, renewable energy, artificial intelligence and robotics, big data, bio-medicine, IT and communications, innovative materials and more.
The international contest is organized by WTOIP, a leading entrepreneurial resource-sharing platform based in China's Guangzhou, capital city of Guangdong province, which focuses on intellectual property and utilizing the new business model of "IP+Internet+Sharing Economy."
"The Israeli entrepreneurs are very much in demand in China, which opens up a lot of possibilities for them in the areas of development, research, marketing and more," Tian Zongfu, CEO of Guangdong Yueke Investment Fund in China and a senior judge in the competition, was quoted as saying.
"The challenges facing our investors and entrepreneurs include the language barriers, cultural differences and regulations that cause difficulties, and our goal is to bridge these gaps and establish fruitful relationships between Israeli investors and Israeli technology companies," said Tian.
Israeli start-ups are invited to enter the competition, and the three top winners will be awarded free trips to China to participate in the semi-finals and final there.
In addition, they will receive first-hand acquaintance with the Chinese market, assistance in building a business network in the country, meetings with top Chinese experts and investors in various sectors, online and off-line promotion and increased public exposure.
This is the second year for the competition to be held in Israel. It is co-organized by the Israel Commerce Union, which acts as a bridge between China and Israel for business cooperation.
Last year, 20 of Israeli start-ups participated in the IPIEC Israeli competition, six of them won trips to take part in the semi-finals in China.
Two Israeli start-ups - Betalin and Carticure - reached the final, while Betalin was awarded the first prize of 100,000 U.S. dollars. Both Israeli start-ups received agreements from Chinese companies.
The semi-finals of the international contest will be held in October in Mianyang city, southwest China's Sichuan province, while the final is to be held in December in Guangzhou.
