OPPO announced the five winning proposals of 2023 OPPO Inspiration Challenge following the completion of the Global Final Demo Event in Singapore. Initiated by the OPPO Research Institute and supported by Qualcomm, GSMA 5G IN, Amazon Web Services and LinkedIn, this year’s Inspiration Challenge saw entrants submit proposals in the two categories of “Inspiration for People” and “Inspiration for the Planet”, each aimed at identifying powerful solutions that support OPPO’s belief in “Virtuous Innovation”. Following three regional challenges and an acceleration camp, five winning proposals were selected from among 687 proposals submitted by teams based in 66 countries and regions worldwide. These teams will go on to engage in further collaboration with OPPO and its partners to bring their ideas to life.
“We are extremely grateful for the collaborative support of our partners and to all the technology professionals and entrepreneurs who have taken part in this year’s OPPO Inspiration Challenge, especially the top five teams who truly demonstrated the incredible potential of innovative technology,” said Jason Liao, President of the OPPO Research Institute. “Following five months of extensive evaluation, we have seen many innovative and cutting-edge solutions to a number of critical but overlooked social issues raised by start-ups from around the world. Together, through the Inspiration Challenge, we look forward to working with these teams to bring the power of virtuous innovation to all corners of the world.”
During the Global Final Demo Event, OPPO collaborated with 6 startup teams from both this and last year to showcase their cutting-edge products and prototypes. Among them, Bluepha Co., Ltd. has teamed up with OPPO to create environmentally friendly packaging for mobile phones, as well as art installations made from biodegradable materials that showcase both the lightness and flexibility of OPPO’s foldable smartphones and OPPO’s commitment to the environment. Woola, another sustainability-focused startup, demonstrated its packaging for the OPPO Watch made from recycled wool. One of the winners of last year’s Inspiration Challenge, TangTang Quan, returned to the stage this year to demonstrate the results of its collaboration with OPPO promoting a blood glucose monitoring function for the OPPO Watch 4 Pro that enables diabetes patients to monitor their blood glucose levels in real time using a customized smart watch interface.
This year, OPPO also teamed up with Deloitte China for the first time to launch an Acceleration Camp prior to the Global Final Demo Event. During the camp, experts from the OPPO Research Institute joined members of OPPO’s software, hardware, investment, universities and research, IoT departments, and industry experts from Deloitte to engage in discussions with the top 15 teams and provide advice on technology, industry trends, and the business prospects of their proposals.
At the end of the event, five winning proposals were ultimately selected from among fifteen finalists by a panel of judges comprising members of the OPPO Research Institute, OPPO’s investment department and experts from Temasek International, GSMA, Fidelity International and XNode. The judges assessed the proposals against the four criteria of Feasibility, Innovation and Originality, Long-term Potential, and Social Values, with winning teams each receiving a grant of USD $50,000 plus opportunities to further develop their ideas in collaboration with OPPO and its partners. Further to this, “3D interactive platform” and “Flint Paper Battery” were awarded the People’s Choice awards in the “Inspiration for People” and “Inspiration for the Planet” categories, and “Impulse (Non Surgical Hearing Aid)” and “Flint Paper Battery” received the Media Choice awards.
OPPO will continue to bring together technology professionals, entrepreneurs, and startup teams through the Inspiration Challenge to develop and implement innovative solutions that enable more people to benefit from the power of technology.