First Silicon Valley Innovative Product Expo held online to a global audience
First Silicon Valley Innovative Product Expo held online to a global audience
2020 had a difficult start, and the Covid-19 pandemic fundamentally changed how we live and work. But, the pandemic could not stop innovation. Entrepreneurs and investors found hidden opportunities in the challenges.
On October 28th, Ding Ding TV and Founders Space co-hosted the 2020 Silicon Valley Innovative Products Expo. The event aimed to establish a platform for entrepreneurs, investors, and E-commerce partners to showcase new and innovative products to a global audience. Silicon Valley Innovative Product Expo was an international event with several Silicon Valley startups taking part. Meanwhile, The Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan participated in the event and recommended nine outstanding Taiwanese startups for consideration. The companies work with various technologies including cloud computing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, and blockchain (among others). Due to current conditions, the live event and judging took place on Zoom and live-streamed on Ding Ding TV’s YouTube channel.
Steve Hoffman, the CEO and chairman of Founders Space, gave the keynote speech titled “The 10 Commandments of Venture Capital.” In his speech, he outlined the most critical things any startup needs to know to raise venture capital. In her opening remarks, Diana Ding, the founder of Ding Ding TV who hosted the event, expressed her hope the event will serve as a platform for the US and Asian startups to facilitate an exchange of ideas, innovations, and results between technological communities. The aim is to promote more effective cooperation between the United States and Asia, use innovative thinking to create solutions, and seize potential business opportunities in both markets.
The distinguished judging panel consisted of many notable industry leaders, investors, and mentors. The judges included Gideon Marks (investor and mentor at organizations like Google for Startups, Plug and Play, US MAC, and 10X Innovation Lab), Peter Hsieh (Partner of Acorn Pacific Venture), Dave Mosby (entrepreneur, investor, and leadership educator), Ray Wu (Managing Partner, Skychee Venture), Vicky Yang (Director, Humming Stone), Craig Martin (Fund Manager, President, the Family Wealth Consulting Group), and Jeff Lin (President, Linking Capital).
Several criteria were used to judge the startups: product innovation, market strategy and business model, team composition, and presentation and soft skills. David Mosby, the founder of Keiretsu Forum Academy, presided over the first part of the judging, while Peter Hsieh (Partner at Acorn Pacific Venture) lead the second part. The startup teams that took part in the event included: Memorial.ai, CodingBar, AIIXON, Yajan Tech, Zypline, Friendly Robots, NUWA ROBOTICS, BiiLabs, AI Clerk, XMIGHT, Frontier.
Friendly Robots won the Innovative Product of the Year award, while the Asian Innovative Product Award went to NUWA Robotics. Frontier Cool and Zypline jointly won the Excellence Product Award.
Friendly Robots developed easy-to-use, fully autonomous vacuum, with which they want to revolutionize the janitorial industry. Their robots help the janitorial staff clean more efficiently, saving both time and effort, as well as cutting costs.
NUWA Robotics from Taiwan provides an AI-powered social robot and development platform which allows partners to create an interactive learning and playing experience for kids. Their AI educational robot Kebbi Air launched at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. The judges recommended NUWA expands the product’s multiple functions to include real-time voice dialogue and face recognition. Furthermore, they suggested promoting Kebbi Air in multiple fields, not only home learning.
Zypline is a patented platform application, which delivers users online power with just the user’s mobile number. It establishes the owner’s phone number as a URL allowing them to upload content and data. That way, millions of small businesses can have an online presence, no website needed.
Frontier Cool from Taiwan is a cloud-based collaboration platform that utilizes AI for textile enterprise users. In less than six months, it has become the world’s most powerful textile and fabric image exchange for the fashion and apparel industries. The fabric selection process is streamlined and saves both time and money for the end-users.
At the closing of the event, the judges and the participants shared their feedback and held post-event meetings. The judges gave their observations on the pulse of various industries and spent time with the startup teams. They shared potential challenges Asian startup teams might face if they want to break into the American market. Likewise, the judges also offered suggestions on how startups can overcome these challenges.
The startup teams shared the event helped them further refine their pitch structures. Likewise, some of the participants shared a well-managed online event like Silicon Valley Innovative Product Expo proves it is possible to successfully present a pitch to an audience in an online setting.
