Tencent WeStart is an entrepreneurship competition in Boston and three winners will get slots into the company’s accelerator programme

Record revenue, e-sports industrial parks, leading billion dollar investments and owning Asia’s most important app; 2017 has been a fantastic year for the Chinese internet giant Tencent.

For startups who want to ride this wave, one place to start is a a June entrepreneurship competition called Tencent WeStart in Boston, Massachusetts.

WeStart is focussed on Artificial Intelligence and 10 teams will be selected to participate in the event.

The incentive for competing is pretty juicy — startups who place in the top-3 will receive a guaranteed (and free) placement in the Tencent AI Accelerator program and access to the Tencent WeStart Innovation Space.

Also Read: Tencent doubles down on e-sports with e-sports industrial park

While those are nice, the real benefit is a “foot in the door” with Tencent decision makers. Below are more detailed criteria for applications:

• Startups that are either in the AI space, or expect serious breakthroughs in integrating products through AI technology.
• Startups that use AI to increase industrial efficiency, cost reduction, and technology development.
• Entrepreneurs with a unique technology.
• Applicable industries include: Medtech, e-commerce, media, retail, finance, travel, social networking, edtech, entertainment, IoT, industry application and enterprise technology.

The competition is supported by BRC’s future lab (AIRx Labs) and MIT CHIEF.

Tencent AI Accelerator

The carrot at the end of the competition is free entry into the Tencent Accelerator Programme.

As part of the accelerator, Tencent is going to establish a venture capital pool (funded by the company); fantastic access for any startup.

If a startup ‘wows’ Tencent, they will have an opportunity to be part of the first group of partners in the Tencent AI Open Platform. The platform allows companies to release their product across Tencent’s various channels with the end-goal of attracting a large amount of users fairly quickly.

Also Read: Tencent injects U$90M into Pocket Gems, inching closer towards mobile gaming dominance

For startups interested in applying, they can click here (or here for the Chinese version). The last day to apply is the end of May and the competition takes place on June 8.

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Source: e27