Optics Valley entrepreneurship competition comes to India, to be held on Nov 26

Three years after its launch, China-based Optics Valley Entrepreneurship Competition is now coming to India. The competition, which is meant to attract innovative projects and top talent, will be held in Bengaluru on November 26.

Often touted as China’s Silicon Valley and a cradle of startups, Optics Valley is located in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province. It was established in 1988 and houses research institutions, universities, many Unicorn startups, academicians and experts who come together to offer the latest in innovation and technology.

The theme of the competition is 'gathering global talents and building a world optical valley'. Entrepreneurs or enterprises established after January 16, 2016, and earn less than 30 million RMB (around $4.2 million) can take part in the competition.

Since the competition was launched in 2016, it has been successfully held three times in Beijing, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, London and Tokyo, among other cities. The competition is an extended part of the contest, which was kicked off officially in September in Beijing.

Projects from industries including optoelectronic information, health, energy conservation & environmental protection, high-end equipment manufacturing, high-tech services, integrated circuits & new display and the digital economy are eligible.

Top investors and entrepreneurs will judge the competition. The participants will be given 5 minutes to demonstrate the project before judges, who will also be asking questions related to their projects.

The registered startups or projects will be competing for the coveted cash prize of 3 million RMB (around $428K) at the end of the year to be awarded at a ceremony in Wuhan Optical Valley.

Out of 30 selected projects in the country, three winning projects will qualify for the semi-final stage. All the projects through to the semi-finals will have access to Fidelity Investments, Oaktree Capital, Intel Capital, and Sequoia Capital.

The winner will get 1 million RMB (Rs 1 crore), two runner-ups will get 5 lakh RMB (Rs 50 lakh) each, and as the third prize, five selected projects will get 2 lakh RMB (Rs 20 lakh) each. The entrepreneurship program is expected to bring together over 200 attendees.

The competition aims to collect 3000 high-quality entrepreneurial projects and high-quality talent teams this year. The event will be co-organised by Draphant in India.

The registration for participation in the event is open. Click here for more details.

(Update: The date of the event has been rescheduled to Nov 26 from Nov 25. The same has been updated in headline)