VR startup wins Create@Alibaba Cloud startup contest

Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group, today announced the winner of its first Create@Alibaba Cloud startup contest in ANZ, in partnership with Haymarket HQ, Australia's first start-up hub supporting entrepreneurs to grow into Asia.

Held at Haymarket HQ on September 22, the inaugural event saw eight finalists from Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and New Zealand pitch ideas ranging from a consumer cancer portal, marketing automation solutions, and a workplace safety solution using AR.

Inspace XR was victorious and crowned the ANZ Division Champion.

Impressing the judges with their vision and VR technology solution, as well as market competitiveness, Inspace XR demonstrated value in enhancing and powering the real estate, design and engineering industries.

Justin Liang, Inspace XR CEO and co-founder says, "At Inspace XR, our vision is to enable the building industry to create superior real estate for people through VR/AR technologies. We're thankful to Alibaba Cloud and Haymarket HQ for backing that vision and are very proud to be representing Australia/New Zealand in the Shanghai Finals."

Second and Third places were awarded to Questagame and Pascal51 who each received US$10,000 Alibaba Cloud International Credits and coworking space at Haymarket HQ.

"Create@Alibaba Cloud aims to champion startups in the region by leveraging Alibaba Cloud technologies and cloud resources, as well as the growing cross border start-up ecosystem," says Raymond Ma, Alibaba Cloud ASEAN and ANZ head.

"It also offers candidates exposure to top investors and valuable insights in pursuing opportunities in China," he adds.

"The calibre of talent in Australia and New Zealand is both inspiring and impressive. It's been a pleasure to expand the Create@Alibaba Cloud programme to the ANZ region this year for the first time and we look forward to continuing our support of startups in this market," adds Ma.

Duco van Breemen, Haymarket HQ general manager, says, "We are excited to have had some of ANZ's best startups pitch and play a role in their expansion into Asia through the Create@Alibaba Cloud Startup Contest.

"Haymarket HQ's mission is to support startups connecting to Asia, and initiatives like CACSC act as springboards into the region. We can't wait to see what the future beholds for the winners."

Inspace XR and Questagame will be invited to the Global Final to be held in Shanghai on October 13, where they will join other participants from around the world to pitch in front of prominent global investors, and expand their networks beyond ANZ.

The world champion will then be invited to the 2018 Computing Conference Hangzhou Summit, where tens of thousands of entrepreneurs and developers from around the world will showcase their innovations.

As ANZ Division Champion, Inspace XR will receive:

• US$ 50,000 credit for cloud product resources from Alibaba Cloud;
• Round-trip ticket to the 2017 CACSC Final in Shanghai, China;
• Access to Alibaba Group investment programmes and recommendations;
• Opportunities to receive training on scaling a business successfully before the World Championship Finals;
• Direct access to well-known investors in China; and
• Complimentary access to coworking space at Haymarket HQ