WiT announced today that Amazon Web Services (AWS), the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform, is collaborating with WiT Startup Pitch for the third year running. AWS will provide over US$250,000 worth of technology credits and support towards WiT Startup Pitch 2020 through the AWS Activate program, which provides startups with tools and resources to help grow and scale their businesses.
AWS supported the annual travel startup competition run in conjunction with the WiT Singapore conference in 2018 as well as 2019.
“We are delighted that AWS is continuing their collaboration with us at this most challenging year for travel,” said Yeoh Siew Hoon, founder, WiT. “We received the most diverse entries this year for the virtual competition, and we have selected 10 semi-finalists who will pitch during our WiT Experience Week, Sept 28-Oct 1.
The semi-finals will be held on September 29, and three startups will go on to pitch at the Grand Finals on Oct 1. The winner will have the opportunity to present at the Innovation Summit at The Phocuswright Conference in Phoenix, November 16-19, 2020.
Said David Peller, global head, AWS Travel and Hospitality, who will be one of the judges of this year’s competition, “The WiT Startup Pitch has the tradition of showcasing diverse, innovative solutions designed to enhance guest experiences, and remove friction from the world of travel. AWS is pleased to provide service credits and support to the startups, accelerating their growth and ability to scale through access to the broadest and deepest cloud platform with the largest global community of customers.”
The 10 semi-finalists, selected after the first round of judging by a selected panel, are:
- Acomodeo UG
- Check in Here Now
- DailyPass
- DiscoverSailing Asia
- Dream Drive
- Hepstar
- Kotozna
- Kyte
- Micepad
- SmartSpruce
The WiT Startup Pitch, now in its 11th year, is open to all travel-related startups, up to five years old. WiT seeks to highlight ground-breaking new ideas and clever, entrepreneurial minds that push the boundaries in travel technology.
Past winners include IDEM, Split, Klook, MyRealTrip, and Relux among others. Last year’s winner IDEM Hospitality recently announced it had been acquired by US-based Groups360. Last August, Groups360 made news when Accor, Hilton, IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) and Marriott International invested a combined US$50 million in the organisation.
