Four startups from Vietnam, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Singapore are winners at Microsoft’s inaugural Emerge X Regional Pitching Competition in Asia Pacific:
- Abivin from Vietnam: An AI-powered platform that optimizes supply chains across multiple sectors by solving the vehicle routing problem
- Lifetrack Medical Systems from the Philippines and Singapore: A cloud-based platform that provides affordable access to medical imaging in emerging markets
- Agrithmics from Sri Lanka: A cloud-based solution that enriches the agri-industry by digitizing the farm to factory supply chain and connecting farmers and buyers
- Milky Way AI, from Singapore: An AI-powered smart retail solution leveraging image recognition technology to help retailers manage shelf inventory and maximize sales
Microsoft Philippines hosted the Emerge X Regional Pitching Competition during the 2020 Philippine Startup Week (PHSW20) from November 23 – 27, 2020, the biggest startup conference in the country which hosted more than 10,500 registrants from across the Asia-Pacific region.
In the Philippines, a total of thirteen startups emerged as finalists, with Lifetrack Medical Systems, which also represents Singapore, being chosen as one of the winners for its cloud-based platform that provides affordable access to medical imaging in emerging markets. Lifetrack Medical Systems started in 2011 to rethink how radiology software could be distributed and made available, especially in the challenging conditions of emerging markets. Via its LifeSys™ platform, over 1.7 million patients in 12 different countries have been diagnosed.
Growing the Startup Ecosystem in Emerging Markets across APAC
The Emerge X Program is part of Microsoft’s Highway to a 100 Unicorns initiative, which was launched in the Asia Pacific in October 2020 after the overwhelming success in India. Microsoft engaged with more than 70 prominent startup ecosystem players and governments across 16 countries, who then nominated more than 300 of their most promising for the program.
The 16 countries engaged in the program are Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
79 startups were selected to join the Microsoft Emerge X program, including [ Aiah, ChatGenie, Edukasyon Expedock, Frontlearners Inc., Investagrams, Lifetrack Medical Systems, Omnirio, Packetworx, Rumarocket, Tangere, and Qwikwire from the Philippines].As an Emerge X startup, they will participate in a year-long mentorship program with Microsoft for Startups which is designed to help them scale and accelerate their growth. They will also receive GitHub and Azure credits, have the opportunity to attend a Founder Bootcamp for 3 days, gain access to enterprise clients globally through Microsoft’s unique co-sell program, and interact with Microsoft experts and industry stalwarts.
Of these, 21 of the Emerge X startups pitched their ideas at the Emerge X Regional Pitching Competition, held at the Philippine Startup Week 2020, with Abivin, Lifetrack Medical Systems, Agrithmics and Milky Way AI identified as the top startups in the whole region. They were selected by a jury of leading investors and startup ecosystem leaders, including investors from BOV Capital, Cradle, Monk’s Hill Ventures, Movac, M12, SBK Tech Ventures, Sequoia, Vista Consulting Group, and 54i Ventures, and ecosystem leaders from GitHub and Target Accelerator.
Highway to a 100 Unicorns at the Singapore Week of Innovation & Technology 2020
Microsoft’s Highway to a 100 Unicorns Regional APAC Event was held at Singapore Week of Innovation & Technology (SWITCH) 2020 on 9 December, from 2pm-4pm. In that session, industry leaders from Microsoft and their partners discussed opportunities ahead and how to manage the challenges startups could face in APAC. The top four Emerge X startups shared their founding stories and how they have leveraged technology to solve some of the key challenges faced by business owners across different industry sectors.
