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B4B Challenge 2025-26 Award Presentation Ceremony

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Carbon Tech and Virtual Tech powered by AI: A New Force in Green Innovation
Virtual Technology Revolution: A New Era of Digital Experience

HONG KONG, April 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The renowned local innovation and technology competition, the “B4B Challenge” (B4B), has reached its 10th edition, marking a significant milestone in the development of Hong Kong’s Big Data and AI innovation ecosystem. The organiser, B4B Limited, held the Award Presentation Ceremony on 15 April at the Hong Kong International Innovation and Technology Expo (InnoEX), announcing the results of this year’s competition. Themed around “Tech for ESG,” highlighting the vital role that technology plays in promoting Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives, this edition established two innovation pillars: “Carbon Tech powered by AI” and “Virtual Tech powered by AI”, encouraging participating teams to explore the cross-industry application potential of AI in sustainable real estate development and immersive digital experiences.

This year’s Award Ceremony received strong recognition from the Government of the HKSAR and the innovation and technology sectors. Mr. Daniel Cheung, JP, Acting Commissioner for Digital Policy Office (DPO) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government, was the Guest of Honour, joining other government representatives, industry leaders, supporting organisations and participating teams to celebrate B4B’s decade of innovative achievements.

The ceremony received wide-ranging support, including:

Guest of Honour:
• Mr Daniel Cheung, JP, Acting Commissioner for Digital Policy, HKSAR Government

Sharing Guests:
• Mr Francois Lee, Founder and Director of B4B
• Prof Herbert Chia, JP, Honorary Chairman and Principal Mentor of B4B
• Dr Toa Charm, Principal Advisor of B4B

Guests (partial list, in no particular order):
• Ms Cari Wu, Acting Deputy Commissioner (Digital Infrastructure), Digital Policy Office, HKSAR Government
• Mr Tony Wong, JP, Former Commissioner for Digital Policy, HKSAR Government
• Ir Stephen Lau, JP, Personal Data Privacy Advisor of B4B
• Ms Vivian Chan, Associate Director, Exhibitions and Digital Business, Hong Kong Trade Development Council

Speaking at the Award Ceremony, Mr. Daniel Cheung, JP, Acting Commissioner for Digital Policy of the HKSAR Government, said: “The Challenge, as in previous years, provides a platform for participants to showcase their creativity and capabilities. One of the themes of this year’s Challenge is carbon reduction technologies in real estate and smart construction, which aligns with the development of smart building and the nurturing of a modernised construction industry chain as set out in the country’s Report on the Work of the Government. Another theme focuses on virtual technologies, with artificial intelligence as the driving element. This echoes the mention of ‘AI+’ for three consecutive years in the country’s Report on the Work of the Government with aims to expand the application of AI across a wide range of industries. It is hoped that the solutions put forward by participants will be implemented, thereby promoting the wider adoption of carbon reduction and virtual technologies across different sectors. “

Mr Francois Lee, Founder and Director of B4B, Dr Toa Charm, Principal Advisor of B4B and Prof Herbert Chia, JP, Honorary Chairman and Principal Mentor of B4B, delivered the following remarks in their opening speech: Stepping into its 10th anniversary, the most heartwarming part of the B4B Big Data Business Application Challenge is not just the competition itself, but seeing the massive alumni community that has been built up over these ten years. Today, everyone has gathered once again to witness how B4B has grown from a competition into a full ecosystem. It continues to uphold its original mission of driving innovation through data and AI, and is now ready to step into the next decade hand in hand.

Two Innovation Pillars: AI Innovation Across Industry Boundaries
Themed around “Tech for ESG,” highlighting the vital role that technology plays in promoting Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives, this edition established two innovation pillars, encouraging participating teams to use AI technology to transcend traditional industry boundaries. A breakthrough was achieved this year — the competition was fully opened to cross-industry participation, no longer confined to real estate applications. Teams were encouraged to take a broader perspective in exploring the cross-industry application potential of AI in immersive digital experiences, helping them widen their market vision and explore AI’s cross-sector potential. Whether it is AI transforming real estate, AI short film creation, virtual human interaction, immersive experiences, or innovative media tools — if the solution addresses pain points in the virtual technology market, it qualifies as the type of innovation the competition seeks.

Pillar 1: Carbon Tech powered by AI – Reshaping the Real Estate Value Chain
The competition continues to explore how technology can empower the real estate value chain to achieve greater sustainability, covering five key areas: B4B Challenge continues to explore how the real estate value chain—encompassing new building materials, energy management, design and planning, construction and demolition, and facility management – can become more sustainable through technology. 

The organiser emphasizes that real estate extends far beyond buildings and bricks – it is closely connected to our daily lives, while one might associate real estate primarily with buildings and bricks, the property sector is intricately linked to a wide range of industries and daily activities, from workplaces and retail shopping outlets to transportation stations and, of course, our homes.

Accordingly, participating teams are encouraged to broadly explore cross-industry applications, extending carbon technology solutions to wider application scenarios to create greater impact.

Pillar 2: Virtual Tech powered by AI – Breaking Through Immersive Experience Bottlenecks
Virtual technology faces several key challenges, including hardware limitations, affordability, and user comfort. The need for powerful computing systems and the risk of motion sickness continue to restrict widespread adoption. Data-related obstacles also persist, such as the requirement for high-resolution 3D models, detailed textures, and authentic datasets to create truly immersive experiences. Additional hurdles include real-time data transmission, voiceover matching, AI-driven editing, dubbing with accurate lip sync, and efficient processing. Overcoming these challenges is essential to making virtual technology more accessible, user-friendly, and cost-effective. Advancements such as improved hardware, cost reductions, enhanced comfort features, and effective solutions for motion sickness can significantly boost adoption. Similarly, better curation and processing of data, improved real-time transmission capabilities, and expanded availability of high-quality datasets will unlock greater growth and potential for virtual technology across various industries. Furthermore, smarter user interfaces and progress in the areas mentioned above could be dramatically enhanced by the latest AI technologies.

A Decade of Cultivation: Building a Sustainable Innovation Ecosystem
Since its founding in 2016, B4B Challenge has been dedicated to promoting Big Data technology and intelligent technology innovation, fostering a healthy and sustainable data ecosystem. The 10th edition — the “B4B Challenge 2025-26 Award Ceremony” — was held at the Hong Kong International Innovation and Technology Expo (InnoEX), with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) serving as the venue partner. A concurrent four-day “B4B Pavilion” exhibition (13–16 April) was held alongside the ceremony, inviting this year’s participating teams to showcase their latest technology solutions to the public.

Over the past decade, B4B Challenge has attracted numerous outstanding teams since its launch in 2016, many of whom have gone on to achieve remarkable results after the competition. The following are two representative teams of two particularly standout:

Linksoul – Since participating in the B4B Challenge, Linksoul has, under the recommendation of the competition, quickly secured multiple prestigious awards in a short period of time, including the Best Smart Mobility Award in the “Hong Kong/Shanghai Co-operation Open Data Challenge”, the Jingrui Science and Technology Award, and several honors at the China Mobile Maker Marathon. The company is currently collaborating with the Hong Kong Productivity Council, the Transport Department, and the Automotive Technology R&D Centre to apply for the Smart Traffic Fund to develop an AI-powered smart transportation platform. At the same time, Linksoul is working with Everbright Centre, Langyi Plaza, and China Overseas Group to promote the large-scale implementation of AI Butler and AI Agent solutions in major building complexes.

MOVA – The Best Solution Award winner of B4B Challenge 2023-24, has successively received the Hong Kong Fintech Impetus Awards and Gold Award – PropTech at the International Financial Technology. Founded in 2021, the company launched an AI-driven integrated real estate matching and search platform well before generative AI became mainstream in the market. It employs Federated Learning technology, enabling AI models to learn from data distributed across different stakeholders without compromising data compliance or commercial confidentiality. In 2024, MOVA successfully sold its first-generation AI matching platform to a U.S. private equity fund, completing an international exit. By the end of 2025, the company relaunched its business with a brand-new voice AI pre-screening platform. This platform uses near-human voice technology to automatically handle initial real estate inquiries and holds strong potential for cross-industry expansion into sectors such as finance, healthcare, and education.

Award Winners

Award Category

Winning Team

Best Presentation Award

LifeSparrow Solutions

Best Solution Award

Leaflot Technology

Best ESG Award 2026
(in no particular order)

Nifty Corner CompanyOh My Ink TechnologyPathexSentri TechnologyDrawMotion AI AcademyMUSES AICanpanion GroupafterNATUREYUNI TECHESGalatorYunix – MungerMind AITobot SolutionCliimacircuitVizzleA+B Productions

 

For more details about the B4B Challenge, please visit the official website: www.b4bchallenge.com 

About B4B Challenge
B4B Challenge is an annual contest organised by B4B Limited, a Hong Kong social enterprise that aims to promote the development of a healthy and sustainable ecosystem for Big Data and intelligent technology innovation and to match young talents and enterprises with an intensive accelerator programme.

Through education, competition, and exchange, the programme seeks to raise public awareness in Hong Kong of the value and impact of Big Data and AI, and to improve the adoption and acceptance of Big Data and AI innovations. Beyond Hong Kong, the competition’s reach extends across Hong Kong and other regions. B4B stands for “Big Data For Business” — as the name suggests, the programme aims to collect outstanding local proposals based on the practical needs of local enterprises, attracting more Hong Kong businesses to adopt Big Data and AI solutions and maintaining their competitiveness in the international market.

The B4B Challenge 2025-26 is the 10th annual edition since its inception in 2016. The programme continues to expand, with its core team comprising Founder and Director Mr Francois Lee, Honorary Chairman and Principal Mentor Prof Herbert Chia, JP, and Principal Advisor Dr Toa Charm.

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SOURCE B4B Limited

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Faith: The Spark Born by the Yudu Riverside

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BEIJING, Oct. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — An interview from China.org.cn with Wang Xiaohui and David Ferguson on the Long March:

David Ferguson:

This is the Yudu River. One dusk in October, 1934, more than 86,000 soldiers of the Red Army crossed this river and embarked on the Long March, a two-year saga that has left its mark in history.

Yet, lingering here by the river, I am struck by a simple question: If you have faith in a bright future, and reality seems to thwart you at every turn, where do you find the moral strength to keep believing?

Wang Xiaohui:

At dusk on Oct. 17, 1934, an army of more than 86,000 troops gathered along the banks of the Yudu River. Over 800 boats of all sizes floated on the water, bound together with planks collected from villagers’ home gates, timber beams, and even coffin boards reserved for elderly locals. The people of Yudu built this pontoon bridge, determined to help the army led by the Communist Party of China (CPC) cross the river.

At that time, no one knew that the great expedition embarked upon by the banks of the Yudu River would go on to transform China and exert far-reaching influence across the world.

China in the 1920s and 1930s was plagued by chaos and despair.

The Kuomintang (KMT), the ruling party back then, was not capable of unifying the nation, leaving warlords locked in endless fighting. In 1931, Japanese invaders launched an assault on northeastern China, beginning their invasion. Crushed under domestic turbulence and foreign aggression, countless civilians were displaced, with many even starving to death on the streets; in certain regions, severe drought resulted in zero harvests, yet the farmers were forced to pay land taxes assessed for more than a decade into the future.

Amid this turmoil, the only glimmer of hope for the Chinese nation was kindled by the revolution ignited by the Communist Party of China.

The CPC, dedicated to winning liberation for the people and national independence, built contingents of workers’ and peasants’ Red Army troops and revolutionary base areas across the countryside. Impoverished farmers were granted land ownership, as well as unprecedented political dignity. On Nov. 7, 1931, the Chinese Soviet Republic was officially proclaimed in Ruijin, then a small village in southeastern China’s Jiangxi Province, establishing a Soviet system under which workers, peasants and soldiers elected representatives to run regional affairs and make policies.

The communist ideal of a fair society free from exploitation and equality for all blazed like a spark in the darkness; it kindled hopes among impoverished Chinese and became the wellspring of faith that enabled the Red Army — a force made up of poor workers and peasants — to overcome all hardships in the days to come.

Yet, bright as the spark was, it burned thin and fragile at times. Could this flame still endure when the ideals it carried were repeatedly battered by harsh reality?

In September 1933, flocks of warplanes clouded the skies over the Red Army’s revolutionary base areas. By then, Japanese invaders were steadily advancing towards North China, but Chiang Kai-shek’s KMT turned a blind eye to the looming national crisis. They mobilized over a million troops and more than 200 aircraft to launch a massive offensive at the Red Army’s base areas. Over the previous three years, Chiang Kai-shek had mounted four major military “encirclement” campaigns aimed at exterminating the Red Army, but all ended in failure. He was desperate for a pivotal victory to restore his prestige and to wipe out the CPC and the Red Army.

At the time, the commander of the Red Army abandoned mobile warfare tactics pioneered by Mao Zedong and other commanders, opting instead for rigid positional warfare involving conventional head-on clashes. But the reality was, some Red Army units didn’t even possess a single light machine gun; how could they confront the heavily-armed KMT army head-on?

Zhong Ming, a Red Army medic, could never erase the memories of gravely wounded soldiers being carried to his aid station. He remembered how a soldier whose chest was blown open begged his comrades to end his life. At the frontline, a whole battalion of Red Army soldiers religiously followed orders to defend crude earth-and-wood bunkers, but under the constant barrage of KMT artillery and airstrikes, every soldier in the battalion laid down their lives; not a single man survived.

What’s more heart-wrenching is that no matter how fearlessly the Red Army fought, the steep imbalance in military strength, paired with erroneous military command led to irreversible losses. By October 1934, the KMT’s iron-clad encirclement closed menacingly around Ruijin.

Faced with this dead-end, what decision would you make?

This stood as the most agonizing decision for the Red Army. The biggest challenge lay not in sacrificing one’s life for an ideal, but in finding a way to keep the revolutionary cause alive.

To stay meant defeat — the Red Army had no room to maneuver within the Central Revolutionary Base Area. To break through the encirclement, however slim the odds, offered a fighting chance. Preserving the Red Army as a living force mattered much more than clinging to isolated strongholds. Where the spark survives, the path ahead remains lit.

The air already turned chilly in October. Units of the Central Red Army assembled in Yudu to prepare for a strategic shift. The plan was kept strictly classified; none of the soldiers knew they were evacuating the base areas, only sensing an unusual vibe.

At dusk on Oct. 17, crowds lined up at the Yudu riverbank. Tens of thousands of villagers flocked from every corner to see the Red Army off. They walked alongside the marching columns, slipping food like eggs and glutinous rice balls into the soldiers’ pockets, praying for their swift homecoming.

The main force of the Central Red Army set off. Within days, they left behind revolutionary base areas where they had survived, grown and taken root. No one anticipated that the journey they embarked on would become the Long March, a trek spanning over 10 provinces. Still less could anyone imagine that this journey would ultimately pave the way for a brand-new China.

Looking back on this chapter of history, many claim that the Red Army only set out on this expedition because the enemies left them no other choice. To a degree, yes, the Long March was indeed a forced strategic shift, yet this fact does nothing to diminish its greatness and glory.

The ordinary Red Army soldiers had no idea how far they would march, or where they were heading. But they clung firmly to their founding mission: to deliver liberation for the people and independence to the nation. This unswerving conviction kept them from disintegrating through countless perils, sustaining them as they marched into the unknown with resolve.

David Ferguson:

I now realize that faith and ideals untested by harsh reality may have no true substance.

Since its founding, the Communist Party of China has always upheld the realization of communism as its fundamental goal. Despite devastating losses and extreme adversity, the Red Army continued to press forward resolutely and never faltered. Its inner strength came from an unshakable belief in the cause, an unwavering commitment to the founding aspiration, and a profound sense of mission. The Red Army was never fleeing pursuers in search of safety; it was marching forward to a future in which it had a steadfast belief.

Wang Xiaohui:

The Long March went on for two years. The Red Army trekked 25,000 li across some of China’s harshest terrain, but they kept their heads high, seeking hope amid despair and marching towards light through unending darkness. The lofty ideals and sense of mission they upheld have also become the torch that guides generations of CPC members in the following centennial, tempering them into steel as they press forward unswervingly toward national rejuvenation.

That spark lit along the Yudu River has never dimmed since.

China Mosaic
http://www.china.org.cn/video/node_7230027.htm

Faith: The Spark Born by the Yudu Riverside
http://www.china.org.cn/2026-10/16/content_118736835.shtml

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SOURCE China.org.cn

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Linktel Technologies Highlights Breakthrough 1.6T LPO Performance & Strong Market Pull at OCP 2026

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SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — At the recent 2026 OCP Global Summit, Linktel Technologies showcased its cutting-edge optical interconnect portfolios engineered specifically for next-generation AI computing networks. Among the heavy lineup, Linktel’s 1.6T Linear Pluggable Optics (LPO) solutions commanded immense industry attention, drawing heavy customer interest for their unprecedented energy efficiency, ultra-low latency, and supply-chain resilience.

Spotlight: 1.6T LPO Performance & High Customer Traction

AI data centers face immense scaling pressures, demanding higher bandwidth densities with tighter thermal and power budgets. Linktel’s 1.6T LPO solutions—highlighted by the 1.6T LPO 2DR4—delivered standout performance metrics that captured the spotlight at the summit:

Ultra-Low Power Consumption: Operates with power consumption as low as an impressive 10W, drastically mitigating data center cooling and power loads.Minimal Latency: Features a linear optics architecture that cuts down signal processing delays, making it a critical asset for high-performance AI scale-out fabrics.Enhanced Supply-Chain Resilience: Eliminating the optical DSP mitigates component choke points, ensuring robust scalability for mass deployments.Proven Interoperability: Following its breakthrough performance and multi-switch platform interoperability at the early September 2026 1.6T LPO-MSA Plugfest, Linktel has laid a solid foundation for the 200G-per-wavelength ecosystem.

Surging Market Interest

Throughout OCP 2026, Linktel’s live demonstrations of its 1.6T LPO, LRO, and FRO modules drew crowds of data center architects and industry partners. With volume production already in place, Linktel is fully equipped to meet the exploding market demand for energy-efficient, high-density 1.6T connectivity.

Overview of Other Innovations at OCP 2026

In addition to the heavily requested 1.6T LPO lineup, Linktel showcased two other major high-speed architectural pillars:

12.8T Liquid-Cooled XPO:Featured a live thermal demonstration integrating advanced liquid cooling to guarantee stable operations in high-density AI nodes.As a founding member of the XPO MSA, Linktel is actively scaling XPO series with FRO, LRO, and LPO variants for comprehensive scale-up, scale-out, and scale-across frameworks.6.4T/7.2T NPO Modules:Displayed with covers removed to reveal internal architectural designs supporting both ELS and ILS configurations.Combines compact high density with low power and low latency, backed by an established 6.4T/7.2T NPO roadmap.DMD Technology & Executive Presentation:Linktel Engineer Director Dr. Grace Zhang hosted a heavily attended Executive Session titled “Dispersion Managed Transceiver for Next-Gen AI Fabrics,” detailing cost-effective 800G (20km) and 1.6T (10km) solutions for OCS SuperPOD architectures, as well as the feasibility of 400G per lambda (3km).With its DMD product line already in volume production, Linktel actively calls upon ecosystem partners to join forces in collaborative development. To drive ecosystem maturity, Linktel is open to sharing its U.S.-filed patents, paving the way for industry-wide adoption and advancements in next-gen AI fabrics.

About Linktel Technologies

Linktel Technologies is a global leader in optical transceiver development and manufacturing, supplying high-speed optical I/O connectivity—including pluggable transceivers, optical engines, and ODM/JDM services.

For more information, visit www.linktel.com or follow Linktel Technologies on LinkedIn.

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SOURCE Linktel Technologies

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Advanced Manufacturing in Focus: Smart Life and Robotics Take the Spotlight at 140th Canton Fair

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GUANGZHOU, China, Oct. 18, 2026 /CNW/ — Phase 1 of the 140th Canton Fair, themed “Advanced Manufacturing,” opened on October 15 and will run through October 19. As one of the event’s most closely watched sections, the Consumer Electronics and Information Products zone once again serves as a showcase for the latest achievements in China’s manufacturing and technology industries.

Smart Life Solutions Address an Aging and Globalized Market

A highlight of this section is the focus on smart living, which brings together smart solutions designed to support healthier, safer, and more independent lifestyles.

For example, wearable devices and continuous glucose monitoring systems enable convenient tracking of key health indicators such as heart rate and blood glucose levels. Meanwhile, wearable exoskeletons and other AI-powered devices support mobility training and functional recovery. For home and elderly care, companion robots, electric nursing beds and home-use hyperbaric oxygen chambers, offer a combination of daily care, wellness support and lifestyle assistance. All these solutions highlight a growing shift toward technology-enabled living, where health management, personal care, and independent living are becoming more accessible and connected.

Service Robots Demonstrate Expanding Real-World Applications

The Service Robot Zone remains one of the fair’s most popular attractions in this edition.

Among the crowd favorites is a humanoid robot standing roughly 70–80 centimeters tall. With its expressive movements and playful appearance, the robot draws constant attention as it dances, approaches visitors and occasionally performs flips to the delight of onlookers. Behind the product is a company that has overcome key challenges in compact joint modules and modular humanoid robot development. Its independently developed high-power-density joints deliver remarkable agility and explosive movement, while modular architecture provides flexibility for a wide range of future applications.

More broadly, the Service Robot Zone features exhibits spanning a wide range of application areas, including embodied intelligence, specialized operations, urban services, and smart living. Full-size humanoid robots, dexterous hands with multimodal sensing capabilities and wheeled robots highlight the latest advances in artificial intelligence, perception technologies and motion control. For demanding industrial and emergency environments, exhibitors are presenting robotic inspection systems, live-line maintenance robots and underwater propulsion robots designed to improve safety and operational efficiency.

The commercial services sector is also well represented through reception robots, façade-cleaning robots and fully automated coffee kiosks, while everyday life applications include wearable exoskeletons, robotic lawn mowers and educational robots for home use. Together, these exhibits demonstrate how China’s robotics industry is accelerating its transition from technological innovation to large-scale commercialization.

As the 140th Canton Fair gets underway, the showcased innovations highlight China’s growing strength in advanced manufacturing, turning cutting-edge technologies into practical, market-ready solutions for global customers.

For more convenient attendance, please click here for pre-registration:
https://buyer.cantonfair.org.cn/register/buyer/email?source_type=16

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SOURCE Canton Fair

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