Google to Host First Demo Day for Asian Startups in Shanghai

Google on Monday said it will host its first-ever Demo Day for Asian startups in China's Shanghai city on September 20.

Since 2014, Google for Entrepreneurs has organised Demo Days in the US and Europe for startups to connect with investors and scale globally.

"As our CEO Sundar Pichai announced earlier this year, this is the first time we're doing this in Asia Pacific, and we're excited to see some of the best ideas from the region," said Michael Kim, Partnerships Manager, Google for Entrepreneurs.

The Demo Day will bring together "investible" startup founders in Asia to pitch their business ideas on a global stage and connect with top regional and global investors, Google said.

The tech giant said that Demo Day Asia will give regional startups the opportunity to showcase and highlight their innovative technologies and drive investment.

The selected startups will receive mentorship and coaching from Google to deliver their pitch to a panel of distinguished investors in Shanghai.

If the startups are able to impress a panel of globally accredited and active investors, they will stand a chance to get funded and take up to $100,000 (roughly  Rs. 67 lakhs) in Google Cloud Platform credits.

The platform will also give an experience of an immersion into the Chinese startup ecosystem by connecting with successful founders and community players, Google said.

To become eligible to participate in the Demo Day in Asia, the startups must be at least legally incorporated and headquartered in Asia, must have raised at least $50,000 (roughly Rs. 33.67 lakhs), and must be seeking to actively raise $1 million to $5 million within six months of the event.

The deadline to apply to participate is July 1, Google said.