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25 HONG KONG, Oct. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hong Kong Wireless Technology Industry Association (WTIA) held the Asia Smart Innovation Awards 2025 Presentation Ceremony at Cordis Hong Kong on 16 October 2025. Organized by WTIA and sponsored by the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA), the Awards are co-organized with partners from 17 other Asian countries and regions. The Awards aim to recognize outstanding achievements in smart technology and innovative applications across Asia, provide a platform for local and overseas developers to network, promote industry development, assist enterprises in business expansion, and encourage the wider adoption of smart technology and creative solutions throughout Hong Kong and Asia.
Asia Smart Innovation Awards 2025 Winners Announced
Grand Award Winner: RIFFAI from Thailand
RIFFAI from Thailand won the Asia Smart Innovation Grand Award 2025 with its project "Shorten Site Search & Selection in Energy Industry with Satellite & AI," which also claimed the Gold Award in the Business and Commercial category. RIFFAI's platform integrates high-resolution satellite imagery with proprietary neural networks to revolutionize site selection processes in the energy sector. By analyzing multispectral data to detect land use patterns, climate risks, and energy asset distribution with precision, the technology dramatically reduces the time and cost required for energy infrastructure planning while enabling real-time monitoring and predictive analytics.
Hong Kong Participants Secure Two Positions in Lifestyle and Culture Category
Hong Kong participants occupied two finalist positions in the Lifestyle and Culture category. The Silver Award went to 417 Technology Limited, a previous Asia Smart App Awards winner, for its project Wonderland. Wonderland transforms STEM education by turning students into active creators through game design and AI-assisted learning. The platform enables students to design their own digital experiences while developing coding, design thinking, collaboration, and creativity skills. Wonderland features AI Buddies that provide personalized guidance adapted to individual learning styles, making STEM education accessible and engaging for students from all backgrounds.
The Bronze Award winner, SMART IGNITE TECHNOLOGY LIMITED, also received the Special Mention Award for Best Startup. Its CenWatch project represents a breakthrough in the transition from mobile to wearable Internet with its innovative "light AR + heavy watch" architecture. The system combines lightweight AR glasses for immersive display with a sophisticated watch that integrates computing and connectivity functions. The core wrist-mounted LiDAR technology captures sub-millimeter finger movements in mid-air, combined with IMU and multi-modal fusion algorithms for precise gesture recognition. Users can swipe, type, and write in space without physical touch. The Gold Award in this category went to Kaz Software Ltd from Bangladesh.
Public Sector and Social Innovation Category
The Gold Award in the Public Sector and Social Innovation category was presented to bitsensing Inc from Korea for TraXight™, a next-generation Intelligent Transportation System that integrates radar, camera, and AI technologies for real-time traffic flow analysis, incident detection, and signal optimization. Evolved through the 2025 Verona K-City Network pilot program, TraXight™ can detect violations, simulate traffic policies, and optimize congestion in complex urban environments. The system transforms raw traffic data into actionable insights, enabling governments to manage mobility proactively with accurate diagnostics, real-time control, and scalable infrastructure. Other finalists competing across the three categories included smart solutions from Israel, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
Since its debut in 2013, the Asia Smart App Awards (predecessor to the current Awards) have received over 1,400 entries from across Asia and have become a highly recognized authority and annual highlight for the regional smart technology sector. This year, the Awards were officially upgraded and renamed as the "Asia Smart Innovation Awards," expanding its scope beyond mobile applications to include IoT, Artificial Intelligence (AI), blockchain, big data, cloud computing, AR/VR, and other emerging smart technologies. This expansion reflects the diverse development of smart solutions in the region, keeps pace with global trends, and cements Hong Kong's leadership position within Asia's technology ecosystem. This year's Awards continue the collaboration with organizations from Hong Kong and 17 other Asian countries and regions, including the Chinese Mainland, Taiwan, Israel, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Pakistan, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, India, Cambodia, and Bangladesh. Representatives from these regions served as judges and participated in the Asia Smart Innovation Awards Summit.
The Award Presentation Ceremony was officiated by Dr Lawrence Cheung, Chief Technology Officer of the Hong Kong Productivity Council, and Mr. Keith Li, Chairman of the Hong Kong Wireless Technology Industry Association.
Mr. Keith Li, Chairman of WTIA, stated at the award ceremony: "In alignment with the HKSAR Government's policy to advance innovation and technology development, we have been committed to helping our local tech industry 'go global' and actively fostering cross-regional collaboration and exchange. This year's Asia Smart Innovation Awards brings together partners from 17 Asian countries and regions, exemplifying our association's vital role as a regional technology bridge. Through this platform, Hong Kong developers compete alongside the world's top teams, not only showcasing exceptional creativity and capabilities but also further cementing Hong Kong's leadership as an international innovation and technology hub. With the rise of artificial intelligence, IoT, and other emerging technologies, we will continue to create more cross-regional collaboration opportunities for the industry and drive Hong Kong's development as Asia's smart innovation nexus."
The Asia Smart Innovation Awards 2025 featured three award categories: Public Sector and Social Innovation, Business and Commercial, and Lifestyle and Culture. Among the nine finalists, three were from Hong Kong, with the remainder from Israel, Malaysia, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, and Bangladesh, competing for Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards in each category. The Grand Award winner was selected from among the Gold Award recipients across all three categories.
Additionally, this year's awards introduced two special mention categories—the Special Mention Award for Best Startup and the Special Mention Award for Best User Experience—open to teams from Hong Kong and other participating Asian countries or regions. The "Best Startup" award was won by SMART IGNITE TECHNOLOGY LIMITED for its CenWatch, while the "Best User Experience" award went to Mocart, developed by an Israeli enterprise.
Asia Smart Innovation Awards 2025 Winners:
Grand Award
Winner: RIFFAI (Thailand)
Public Sector and Social Innovation
Gold Award: bitsensing Inc. (Korea)
Silver Award: Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Limited (Hong Kong, China)
Bronze Award: ILOTUSLAND VIET NAM JOINT STOCK COMPANY (Vietnam)
Business and Commercial
Gold Award: RIFFAI (Thailand)
Silver Award: Meraque Services Sdn Bhd (Malaysia)
Bronze Award: Mocart (Israel)
Lifestyle and Culture
Gold Award: Kaz Software Ltd (Bangladesh)
Silver Award: 417 Technology Limited (Hong Kong, China)
Bronze Award: SMART IGNITE TECHNOLOGY LIMITED (Hong Kong, China)
Special Mention Award – Best Startup
Winner: SMART IGNITE TECHNOLOGY LIMITED (Hong Kong, China)
Special Mention Award – Best User Experience
Winner: Mocart (Israel)
*Certificates of Merit were also awarded in each category. For the complete winner list, please visit https://contest2025.bestasiainnovation.hk/
The Asia Smart Innovation Awards have long been a milestone for Hong Kong's innovation and technology sector. To date, Hong Kong participants have won over 130 awards, including Grand, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Merit Awards, demonstrating the city's innovative prowess. The widespread adoption of app stores and technology platforms has significantly encouraged young creative talents to join the industry, providing opportunities for the new generation of developers to innovate and compete on a global stage. The Awards aim to drive creativity in application design and development, foster cross-sector and cross-regional collaboration, and accelerate the adoption of innovative solutions. Notable success stories include Photomyne from Israel, which developed AI-powered offline photo scanning technology, and "Present AR," an AR interactive storytelling app by Hong Kong's 417 Technology Limited—both serving as benchmarks for innovation in Asia.
WTIA remains committed to enhancing the reach of these awards across Asia, bolstering the development of the local smart innovation industry, and facilitating local smart technology talent in business expansion. The awards have drawn participants from an increasing number of Asian countries and regions, including Hong Kong, China, Chinese mainland, Taiwan, China, Israel, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, India, Cambodia, and Bangladesh, providing an excellent platform for exchange within Asia's innovation and technology sector.
In addition to the Asia Smart Innovation Awards 2025 Presentation Ceremony held in the afternoon, the Asia Smart Innovation Summit 2025 was held on the same day (16 October), convening 18 representatives from Hong Kong and other Asian countries/regions to share their insights.
The organizers express their gratitude for the funding from the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA), and for the strong support from various partners, supporting organizations, and speakers. The highlights of all events will be uploaded to https://contest2025.bestasiainnovation.hk/ for review by all sectors.
About the Hong Kong Wireless Technology Industry Association
The Wireless Technology Industry Association (WTIA), established in 2001, is a not-for profit, politically-neutral trade association dedicated to the wireless and mobile industry. The WTIA acts as a platform, an aggregator, and a community for industry professionals to learn and drive emerging wireless and mobile technologies, governance, and standards. It facilitates networking between like-minded professionals, boost interoperability between networks and devices, and strives to help all organisations apply these technologies to existing or new businesses. The WTIA also represents and is supported by digital industries pertaining to mobile such as digital entertainment, digital marketing & media, and start-up sectors. To know more about the WTIA, please visit http://www.hkwtia.org.
About Asia Smart Innovation Awards (ASIA)
The Hong Kong Wireless Technology Industry Association (WTIA), proudly presents The Asia Smart Innovation Awards 2025 (formerly known as the Asia Smart App Awards). This year marks a significant transformation, expanding its scope to celebrate not only smart apps but also innovative smart solutions across industries such as media, digital art, and entertainment. The awards unite 17 regional co-organisers from across Asia, including Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Korea, the Mainland, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan (NEW), the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, China, Thailand, and Vietnam. This collaborative effort highlights Hong Kong's pivotal role as a key connector in the region's tech ecosystem, fostering technological advancement and showcasing transformative innovations. For more details about the ASIA, please visit: https://contest2025.bestasiainnovation.hk/
About the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency
The Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA) established in June 2024, formerly known as Create Hong Kong (CreateHK), is a dedicated office set up by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau to provide one-stop services and support to the cultural and creative industries with a mission to foster a conducive environment in Hong Kong to facilitate the development of arts, culture and creative sectors as industries. Its strategic foci are nurturing talent and facilitating start-ups, exploring markets, promoting cross-sectoral and cross-genre collaboration, promoting the development of arts, culture and creative sectors as industries under the industry-oriented principle, and promoting Hong Kong as Asia's creative capital and fostering a creative atmosphere in the community to implement Hong Kong's positioning as the East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange under the National 14th Five-Year Plan. CCIDA's website: www.ccidahk.gov.hk.
This press release is presented by Market Hubs Holdings Limited on behalf of the Hong Kong Wireless Technology Industry Association.
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