The European station of the 2024 Global Internet Competition of "Straight to Wuzhen" was held in the conference hall of the International University City in Paris, France, on Sept 25. The event was attended by representatives from the Zhejiang Cyberspace Administration, the Economy and Information Technology Department of Zhejiang, overseas partner institutions and participating projects, as well as members of the judging panel.

The competition drew the participation of nearly a hundred projects, and saw 11 outstanding projects qualify for the semi-final. The qualifying projects mainly focus on digital medicine, artificial intelligence, smart Internet of Things and other cutting-edge technological fields, demonstrating Europe’s strengths in the global internet innovation arena.

In the semi-final competition, a judging panel composed of industry experts from the Hyperpanel Group, VS Accelerator, Paris Sorbonne University and other institutions  offered comprehensive comments on the participating projects. In the end, five projects, including those with a focus on edge computing and AIoT solutions, and AI music accompaniment, – entered the final competition. They will now go on to compete for the highest honors at the World Internet Conference (WIC) Wuzhen Summit.

[Photo/wicinternet.org]

[Photo/wicinternet.org]

[Photo/wicinternet.org]

The North American and Asia-Pacific station semi-finals were also staged recently, with more than 100 projects crossing geographical boundaries to compete on the same “cloud” stage online. Six projects from countries including the US, Canada, Japan, and South Korea stood out and won the tickets to compete in the final to be held during the WIC Wuzhen Summit later this year. This also marked the conclusion of semi-finals of this year's Global Internet Competition.

This year's competition has attracted a total of 1,048 high-quality projects from 27 countries around the world. The number of project entries from China reached 834, ranging from AI+ innovative applications, and intelligent connected vehicles, to digital medicine, industrial internet, smart IoT, and digital culture. The overseas competitions saw a total of 214 entries, reflecting the strong vitality of global internet innovation. All the finalists from home and abroad will soon gather in Wuzhen for the summit showdown.

As an important communication platform in the international internet field, the Global Internet Competition of "Straight to Wuzhen" provides an important display window for innovative projects and serves as a powerful impetus for cross-border and cross-field technical exchanges and cooperation. In the past five years, the event has continuously enhanced international cooperation in the digital economy, expanded exchanges and collaboration of outstanding global internet projects, cutting-edge technologies, outstanding talents and high-quality capital, and promoted the deep integration of internet technology and application scenarios in various industries. As a bridge connecting innovators from different countries and regions, it facilitates insightful exchanges and nurtures cooperation. The competition event is committed to helping build a better innovation ecosystem, providing a full range of support and services for participating projects, and helping excellent projects in their commercialization and growth from start-ups to industry leaders.

The Global Internet Competition of "Straight to Wuzhen" is one of the important events of the WIC Wuzhen Summit. By exploring new technologies, new models and new forms in internet development, the competition has built itself into an important platform for cooperation among players in the internet field. It is committed to promoting global internet cooperation and innovation, encouraging internet company startups, and attracting more talented people. By engaging in industry matchmaking on a global basis, the competition strives to make its contribution to the common prosperity and co-governance of the internet and the rapid development of the digital economy.

Now in its fifth year, it has not only closely connected the pioneers of global innovation, entrepreneurship and industry, but also provided a significant platform to promote international exchanges and cooperation.

Over the past five years, the event has brought together more than 4,500 projects from 35 countries, realized a cumulative financing of more than 50 billion yuan ($7.13 billion), organized 80 events, and given rise to four quasi-unicorn companies, 12 unicorn companies and three listed companies.