Next Star competition awards global innovators, kicks off XIN Summit events

The 2025 XIN Summit opened its curtain Friday with a media day and the awards ceremony for the 2025 Entrepreneurs Next Star & Million Prize Global Challenge (Nanshan, Shenzhen), offering a million-yuan prize pool and drawing innovators from around the world.

The awards ceremony offers a million-yuan prize pool and drawing innovators from around the world. Zhang Yu

Held in Nanshan District, the events set the stage for the main summit and spotlighted international talent in smart hardware and deep technology.

The Next Star competition, a large-scale innovation and entrepreneurship event based in Nanshan, is recognized as a benchmark for China’s startup ecosystem. This year, 56 teams advanced to the global finals after a worldwide selection process that began with more than 2,600 applicants.

Projects spanned cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence, biomedicine, new materials and high-end equipment manufacturing.

“The diversity and quality of finalists reflect Nanshan’s pivotal role in attracting and integrating global sci-tech resources,” a competition representative said.

Winning teams came from Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific and across China, underscoring the event’s international reach. Prizes were awarded in both startup and enterprise categories.

Shenzhen Haytham Technology and DreamTech were among the domestic track first-prize winners, while AINOSTICS and Neural Drive took top honors in the international track. Shenzhen Tongying Internet Technology and a team led by Dr. Wang Chao won the top global awards in the enterprise and startup categories, respectively.

Entrepreneurs delivered rapid project pitches to judges at the “Fund at First Pitch” session. Photos courtesy of XIN Summit

A highlight of the ceremony was the “Fund at First Pitch” session, where entrepreneurs delivered rapid project pitches to a panel of judges, receiving immediate feedback.

The evening also featured live performances and networking, fostering conversations around technology, collaboration, and future partnerships.

Now in its 18th year, the Next Star competition has reviewed more than 20,000 projects and helped nurture listed companies and unicorns such as DJI, Moso, Sinexcel, and Appotronics. In 2024 alone, eight winning projects secured over 50 million yuan (US$7 million) in investment, with 18 companies establishing operations in Nanshan.

The XIN Summit is held in Nanshan at the weekend.

The XIN Summit, a new sub-brand of BEYOND Expo, was held in Nanshan at the weekend. Focused on AI hardware ecosystems and frontier technology, it showcased breakthroughs in intelligent systems, devices and advanced infrastructure.

Through forums, exhibitions and investor matchmaking, the summit aimed to gather global innovation resources and accelerate the commercialization of deep technology.