SINGAPORE, June 17, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — China’s largest international entrepreneurship platform is setting its sights on Singapore, positioning the city-state as its gateway to Southeast Asia. HICOOL 2026 Global Startup Competition wrapped up its Singapore leg on June 4-5 at NUS, drawing nearly 40 teams from China, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, India, France, Switzerland, Germany, and beyond. HICOOL has run its Singapore leg for two consecutive years, enabling Singapore’s innovation ecosystem and China’s industrial landscape to empower each other — creating a genuine two-way flow of technology and markets.
The Singapore leg is a critical component of HICOOL’s “dual-hub” strategy: founders validate research in Singapore, then access China’s manufacturing ecosystem and vast market through HICOOL, using both cities as springboards for global expansion. Nearly 40 teams pitched for a spot in the Beijing finals — and a top prize of RMB 2 million (USD 275,000). But founders say the real value lies not in the prize money, but in the connections and resource matchmaking. If you’re a Southeast Asian deep-tech founder looking for a channel into China — or a Chinese founder exploring regional expansion — HICOOL wants to be your matchmaker. For Singapore-based founders, HICOOL provides a trusted, low-risk entry point into the Chinese market.
This year’s cohort included professors and researchers from NUS and NTU alongside seasoned entrepreneurs. Projects spanned AI-powered pathology diagnostics, GPU optimization, intelligent mining, and cardiovascular gene therapies. AI and robotics accounted for nearly half of all entries. Biotech and healthcare delivered strong showings, while green tech and sustainability projects — aligned with Singapore’s Green Plan 2030 — emerged as another highlight. Judges noted three key trends: AI is being deeply integrated into legal, healthcare, mining applications; green tech is moving from concept to commercial deployment; and the “Singapore R&D + China supply chain + global markets” model is maturing rapidly.
On the surface, HICOOL looks like many pitch events. But after two days, a more interesting picture emerges. This is not a “capital export” operation — it’s a genuinely two-way platform, trying to connect Singapore’s deep-tech talent with China’s industrial demand, while giving both sides enough trust and transparency to commit to collaboration.
Since 2021, over 450 Singapore-based projects have applied to HICOOL. From establishing connections with Enterprise Singapore, Block 71, A*STAR, and ACE, to partnering with SLINGSHOT, to Singapore’s EDB presenting the “Singapore+1” strategy at HICOOL 2025 — HICOOL’s engagement has evolved from competition to ecosystem. As one judge put it: “HICOOL is not simply moving a Chinese competition overseas. It’s building a platform on Singapore’s soil where local innovation and the Chinese market can see and empower each other.” HICOOL is evolving from a competition into a year-round, bilateral platform — and Singapore is its anchor in Southeast Asia.
Winning teams will gather in Beijing for the finals from late July to mid-August, and appear at the HICOOL 2026 Global Entrepreneurs Summit on August 26-29, expected to draw over 50,000 participants. The startup “super highway” between Singapore and Beijing is still under construction — but the lanes are getting wider.
“Startup with HICOOL” is becoming a global consensus.
About HICOOL
HICOOL is a globally leading international talent entrepreneurship event. To date, it has held seven global competitions, attracting over 44,000 projects and more than 58,000 entrepreneurs from 168 countries and regions worldwide.
HICOOL
STELLA WANG
[email protected]
https://www.hicool.com
+86 15210069052
Beijing, China
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