Call for registration: 2026 Global Internet Competition of “Straight to Wuzhen”

The Global Internet Competition of “Straight to Wuzhen” (the Competition) is one of the flagship events of the World Internet Conference (WIC) Wuzhen Summit. By spotlighting emerging technologies, innovative business models, and new digital applications, the Competition serves as a global platform connecting projects, technologies, talent, and investment opportunities across the internet sector.

Committed to fostering international collaboration and innovation, the Competition brings together entrepreneurs, innovators, and young talent from around the world, facilitating industry cooperation and accelerating the growth of the digital-intelligence economy.

Over the past seven editions, the Competition has attracted more than 6,500 projects from 47 countries and regions and seen 36 percent of the 312 award-winning projects secure new rounds of financing, with total funding exceeding 100 billion yuan. Many have since become leading players in their respective fields, and four have successfully gone public. The Competition has also received extensive media attention, generating over 1,000 media reports and more than 250 million views worldwide.

Building on previous editions, the 2026 Competition introduces an upgraded format featuring five main tracks, including digital healthcare and connected mobility, alongside scenario-based competitions, an open source challenge, and the OPC (One Person Company) Competition.

Registration is now open to research institutions, universities, technology communities, enterprises, innovation teams, entrepreneurs, developers, and other innovators worldwide. We warmly invite participants from across the globe to join us in exploring new opportunities for technological innovation, industrial development, and digital collaboration.

Details of the Competition are as follows:

Theme

Discovering Future’s Emerging Forces, Collaborating on New Digital-Intelligent Ecology

Organizational Structure

Hosts: World Internet Conference, The People’s Government of Zhejiang Province

Organizers: Economy and Information Technology Department of Zhejiang, Cyberspace Administration of Zhejiang Province, Department of Science and Technology of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Jiaxing Municipal People’s Government and Tongxiang Municipal People’s Government

Competition Tracks & Participation Requirements

01. Track Categories

The Competition features five main tracks, scenario-based competitions, and special tracks. The five main tracks are: Intelligent Digital Healthcare, Intelligent Connected Mobility, Smart Terminal, Intelligent Manufacturing, and New Consumption. The main tracks offer scenario-based competitions to drive AI and technology application. The special tracks include Open source competitive challenge for developers and OPC (One Person Company, for teams and individuals who leverage AI technology to assist innovation and entrepreneurship). OPC competition consists of three categories, aiming to incubate and cultivate more emerging forces for the future.

02. Eligibility

Five Main Tracks

Eligible participants must be legally registered entities with independent legal status, a sound reputation, and no record of major violations.

Scenario-Based Competitions

Eligible participants include central State-owned enterprises, listed companies, industry-leading enterprises, or companies with relevant application scenarios, with a sound reputation and no record of major violations.

Open Source Challenge

The Open Source Challenge is open to developers worldwide, including those from enterprises, research institutions, universities, and independent developer communities.

OPC Competition

The OPC Competition is open to professionals from technology companies, researchers from universities and research institutions, practitioners across industries who actively adopt and integrate AI technologies into their work, as well as freelancers and independent innovators.

03. Participation Requirements

1. Entries to the Competition must fall within one of the tracks mentioned above. Participants must own the intellectual property rights of their submitted projects and ensure that the projects do not infringe upon any third-party patents, copyrights, trademarks, or other intellectual property rights, and comply with all applicable laws and regulations.

2. Participants shall submit all required materials in accordance with the competition guidelines and are solely responsible for the accuracy and authenticity of the information provided. A declaration of authenticity must be signed as part of the registration process. Any false or misleading information may result in disqualification.

3. Competition results will be published on the official website of the World Internet Conference and other designated platforms.

Competition Schedule

The Five Main Tracks, Scenario-Based Competitions, and OPC Competition will be conducted in three stages: Online Preliminary Round, Semifinals, and Finals.

The Open Source Challenge will adopt a contribution-based ranking mechanism. Participants will be ranked according to their cumulative code contribution scores throughout the competition, and the Most Valuable Contributor (MVC) of each project will be invited to attend the award ceremony.

Semifinals: 

Semifinals will be held across both China and overseas divisions.

In China, track-specific semifinals will take place in cities including Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. Semifinals in North America and Europe will be conducted online, while the Asia-Pacific semifinal will be held in China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.The OPC Competition will feature online pitching sessions.

Finals and Supporting Events: 

The Finals are expected to take place one to three days before the opening of the WIC Wuzhen Summit. Domestic and international projects will compete on the same stage, with overseas participants able to join online if necessary.

A series of supporting events will also be organized during the Wuzhen Summit, including the “Digital Wings” Innovation Night and closed-door meetings with investment institutions.

Award Ceremony: 

The Award Ceremony is expected to be held in Wuzhen on the final day of the WIC Wuzhen Summit, where winners in each track will be announced and honored.

Registration

Registration is now open. Participants may register via the World Internet Conference website (https://www.wicinternet.org/) by navigating to “Events” → “Straight to Wuzhen Competition”→ “Join the Competition,” or directly through the Competition website (https://gic.wicwuzhen.cn). Registration deadline: 24:00 (Beijing time, UTC+8), July 5, 2026.

Contact

For registration inquiries

Ms. Chen

Tel：+86-571-85228836

Mobile：+86-18968180387

Ms. Gao

Tel： +86-571-85229038

Mobile: +86-13867186525

Mr. Li

Mobile: +86-15858104271

For partnership and cooperation inquiries

Mr. Ye

Mobile: +86-15258837563