HyperHack, which describes itself ‘the world’s first global sustainability hackcelerator’, will kick off on 8 November with a 3-day hackathon in Singapore.

HackHack marks the start of the HyperX hackathon-to-accelerator programme, which brings together innovators and entrepreneurs from across the globe to drive sustainable solutions from ideation to realisation.

The programme has attracted over 150 innovators and aspiring startups, who will create products and services that address the UN Sustainable Development Goals. These can range from meeting the growing global demand for food and water without harming the environment, to addressing the specific needs of an ageing population.

The participants come from a diverse range of disciplines, ranging from data science, programming, design, marketing and business development. In line with the global nature of the event, submissions spanned across Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Vietnam, France, Maldives and the US.

Aside from the masterclasses and mentoring opportunities at HyperHack, participants will also stand a chance of winning cash and sponsored prizes worth up to S$155,000 (US$114,000) and an exclusive invite for a fast-track entry into the HyperSpark pre-accelerator programme.

Guiding the participants at HyperHack will be industry trailblazers, sustainability thought leaders, venture capitalists and tech luminaries from across Asia. These mentors bring with them a myriad of experiences and insights from diverse sectors and companies including Alpha JWC, Carousell, Cocoon Capital, Golden Gate Ventures, Google, Sunseap, UNDP, Unilever Foundry and Vertex Ventures, to name a few.

Judges include Desmond Koh, Managing Director, BNP Paribas; Esther An, Chief Sustainability Officer, City Developments Limited; Feng-Yuan Liu, Co-Founder, BasisAI; Jacqueline Poh, Deputy Secretary, Prime Minister’s Office; Jon Allaway, Chief Technology Officer, Temasek; Lim Qing Ru, Partner, True Global Ventures; Paul Meyers, Investment Advisor, Asian Development Bank; Peter Ho, CEO, HopeTechnik; and Royce Teo, MD & Group Head – Data Management, DBS Bank.

The HyperHack will also feature a Datathon segment, where participants will access synthetic data and analytics toolkits to build innovative data-driven solutions focused on bettering health outcomes and financial well-being. Besides tapping on IMDA’s regulatory sandbox to explore trusted data sharing, the Datathon is also supported by corporates such as NTUC Social Enterprises, DBS, DataSpark and Singapore Airlines as well as industry partners including Data Republic.

Said Jon Allaway, CTO, Temasek and HyperHack Judge: “Technology can play a transformative role in addressing the biggest challenges the world faces today. HyperHack has attracted global talent with an entrepreneurial spirit to tackle sustainability challenges that can help our future generations. As part of the judging panel, I look forward to hearing and evaluating innovative solutions that are scalable, and will be able to put our planet on a more sustainable footing.”

The HyperX hackathon-to-accelerator programme, which is centred on innovating for a better and more sustainable future, has been co-developed with Singapore-headquartered investment company Temasek, in partnership with StartupX. The first stage in the HyperX programme is HyperHack, a global sustainability hackathon. This will be followed by HyperSpark, a pre-accelerator programme to develop teams with the strongest ideas into fully fledged startups. The final leg of the HyperX programme, HyperScale, is a high-growth accelerator which will help early-stage startups with a minimum viable product scale their sustainable innovations globally.