At the Pi Stage within the InnoVEX expo, 15 startups were invited to speak for 5 minutes, with 3 minutes allowed for follow-up questions from the judges, which included industry leaders and investors internationally and across the industry landscape. The panel, well-versed in technology, leadership, investment, and global industry perspectives, included:

• Jerry Lang - HCVC
• Jason Lu - Darwin Ventures
• Hirofumi Kaida - Resortech EXPO in Okinawa Executive Committee
• Sheng-ta Lee - NVIDIA
• Men Feng Wu - Taiwan Telematics Industry Association
• Ronald Wu - Hwacom Systems
• Edward Lee - JAFCO Asia, Chief Judge
• Bill Yu - Management Consulting Company
• Steve Pan - UMC Capital
• Wilson Khoo - Continental AG Co-pace GmbH

We have summarised the pitches of the startups from the contest in the order they participated below, including their awards:

MobiWebX Co.
An AI platform for the easy creation and deployment of apps and websites. MobiWebX is a set of cloud-based, cross-platform development tools adopting the technologies of "no code", "WYSIWYG" GUI editor, and "single codebase". With 8 PhD team members, MobiWebX is developing products and services to assist small and medium-sized enterprises in overcoming challenges related to talent shortage, funding constraints, and technological barriers. Taiwan. AI.

Fortune AI - Safe Swim, winner of the Okinawa Innovation Award and the NVIDIA Award
Using AI, Safe Swim identifies accidents occurring in swimming pools through a camera and alarm system. Its algorithms can distinguish between normal and abnormal swimming behaviours, promptly identifying distress signals and potential dangers. Taiwan. AI.

Taiwan Polymer Material Company, winner of the BSSC Award, PwC Award, KPMG Award and the Grand Prize
Taiwan Polymer Material Company (t.p.m.c) converts end-of-life tyres into highly reactive and valuable recycled rubber materials and metals. With a patented technological process, T.P.M.C. can provide recycled rubber powder fully compliant with the GB/T15904-2020 standard for the use of tyre additives (polyisoprene). Taiwan. Green Tech.

Watasumi, winner of the Future Star Award
Okinawa-based startup Watasumi converts wastewater into energy using bioelectrochemical systems (BES), targeting small- and medium-sized food and drink industries in Japan. Its self-sustained module reactors reduce energy costs and environmental impact. Japan. Green Tech.

Pade Technology
Pade Technology is developing an intelligent sorting system that utilises near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy for fast non-contact identification of textile materials and AI machine learning for high accuracy. Assisting textile recyclers in precise material sorting to provide downstream fibre factories with consistently high-quality recycled textile waste, helping the industry build the final mile of the textile circular economy. Taiwan. Green Tech.

Hearing Action
"Smart Hearing Butler" is a digital/AI hearing care solution which works as a mobile hearing therapist, offering continuous evaluations and adjustments to meet users' changing needs. Integrating product selection with customised hearing care, this tool offers more customisation for individuals with hearing impairments, as well as for hearing care professionals and retailers lacking in-house hearing expertise. Taiwan. Healthcare & BioTech.

Sunfox Technology
Featured on Shark Tank India, their product Spandan is an accurate, portable ECG device that offers clinical-grade cardiac monitoring directly on your smartphone. The cardiac diagnostics ecosystem is aiming to make diagnostic equipment more affordable and accessible. India. Healthcare & Biotech.

Phygit
A digital platform for physical products with AI-powered personalisation. Through QR codes, they connect physical items with personal web-apps loaded with engagement user experiences and digital marketing tools via NFC tags or QR codes. Ukraine. Healthcare & Biotech.

Tranz Advanced Technology
Developing IoT devices for industrial applications, Tranz Advanced Technology has produced an intelligent level detector, the Tranzz-iLD, a 3-axis high precision vibration sensor module which is able to wirelessly transmit data and is accurate to 0.001. Taiwan. Precision Manufacturing.

Netigate
AI to enhance operational efficiency in metal fabrication. Netigate proposes a mix of hardware and software strategies which increase industrial efficiency over 3 years. Taiwan. Precision Manufacturing

Pharrowtech BV
Focusing on chip design and antenna development to eliminate resistance in electronics through fixed wireless access and next-generation WiFi solutions, in their development Pharrowtech has worked with Infineon and Panasonic on previous projects and now looks to focus on fixed wireless access. Belgium. Semiconductor Applications.

Nanowired GmbH, winner of the Startup Terrace Award
NanoWiring Cube is an automatic production machine, based on electroplating, with which you can process any type of NanoWiring structure between 30 nm and 100 μm on materials like wafers, leadframes, PCB and FPC, or ceramics and glass in a structure of 3 μm and 300 mm pad size. The process follows a flexible recipe script. Germany. Semiconductor Applications.

Ranictek
Ranictek provides energy-saving and cost-effective baseband solutions, including base station chip solutions aiming to reduce costs and improve 5G network performance. Taiwan. Semiconductor Applications.

NTUST - The Applied Cryptography Laboratory, winner of the Taiwania Capital Innovation Award
Developing a robust authentication and authorisation mechanism for use in vehicular networks, improving the traffic environment and reducing computation costs. Taiwan. Smart Mobility.

ReisenderTech
Creating advanced heavy-duty robotics solutions, including a robot swerve drive module designed for AGV cars. Taiwan. Smart Mobility.

An additional winner of the NXP award included Seedia from Poland.

The startup pitches at InnoVEX showcased a variety of innovative solutions across multiple sectors. Notable pitches included MobiWebX Co.'s AI platform for app and website development, Fortune AI's Safe Swim system for detecting pool accidents, and Taiwan Polymer Material Company's tyre recycling technology, which won multiple awards. Watasumi's bioelectrochemical systems for wastewater energy conversion also earned recognition. Other key innovations included Pade Technology's intelligent textile sorting system, Hearing Action's smart hearing solution, Sunfox Technology's portable ECG device, and Phygit's digital platform for product personalisation. Overall, the event highlighted significant advancements in AI, green tech, healthcare, biotech, precision manufacturing, semiconductor applications, and smart mobility.

We look forward to Computex and InnoVEX 2025, being held on 20-23 May 2025.