The award ceremony for the 2024 "Straight to Wuzhen" Global Internet Competition was held in Wuzhen, East China's Zhejiang province, on Nov 22.

As one of the signature events of the WIC Wuzhen Summit, the "Straight to Wuzhen" competition has entered its sixth year. Over the past five years, 49.2 percent of the 193 winning projects secured additional financing after the event, with total funding exceeding 89.8 billion yuan. Among them, eight companies evolved into quasi-unicorns, 17 transformed into full-fledged unicorns, and three successfully went public.

This year, in addition to the five main tracks of intelligent connected vehicles, digital healthcare, industrial internet, intelligent IoT and digital culture, the competition introduced the AI+ scenario innovative applications  track for the first time. The competition attracted 1,048 projects from 27 countries. After rigorous rounds of preliminary, semi-final, and final evaluations, 59 projects earned spots at the award ceremony, with six special prizes, six first prizes, 18 second prizes, and 29 third prizes awarded.

Wang Song, vice minister of Cyberspace Administration of China,noted that digital technologies are driving rapid advancements in scientific innovation and industrial transformation, he said emerging technologies in the internet domain, such as artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technology, big data, and 6G communications, are continuously reshaping production methods, lifestyles, and social governance. The rapid progress of AI, in particular, has opened up historic new opportunities, he added.

The theme of this year’s competition, "Discovering Future’s Emerging Forces, Collaborating on New Digital Ecology," reflects these developments. The AI+ scenario innovative applications track aims to promote the integration of AI across industries, accelerating the development of new quality productive forces.

Gao Xingfu, vice chairman of Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee,pointed out that Zhejiang has launched eight major initiatives, including enhancing digital infrastructure and unlocking the value of data resources, to foster the integration of digital technology with the real economy Over the past decade, the WIC Wuzhen Summit has evolved into a global platform for dialogue, collaboration, and innovation in the internet sector, he added.

Through years of growth, the competition has developed a robust ecosystem involving participating projects, expert judges, investment institutions, partners, and local governments. As it embarks on its next five-year phase, the competition aims to align with global digital trends, driving progress in Zhejiang and beyond. It seeks to create a new digital engine for economic empowerment, a collaborative and shared digital ecosystem, and a high-energy platform for attracting top talent. To this end, the "Digital Wings" Global Ecosystem Community was launched. This initiative acts as a powerful magnet, bringing together participants from around the world, including projects, experts, investors, partners, and governments.

The community aims to strengthen connections across policies, markets, technologies, financing, talent, and industry chains, creating opportunities for collaboration and maximizing value for all stakeholders. It aspires to contribute to building a shared future in cyberspace, advancing toward a new era of cooperation and development.

The event was attended by Wang Song, vice minister of the Cyberspace Administration of China; Ren Xianliang, secretary-general of the World Internet Conference (WIC); and Gao Xingfu,vice chairman of Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress Standing Committee. More than 500 attendees from government agencies, project teams, expert panels, enterprises, and media also participated in the event.