IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ARTHOUSE/ABBEY ROAD INSTITUTE, SINCE THE PROGRAM'S START IN 2022, ACHIEVES THESE CONSECUTIVE WINS
THIS UNIQUE ALLIANCE IS REDEFINING ARTIST DEVELOPMENT BY COMBINING EDUCATION, MENTORSHIP, AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TO ACHIEVE MUSICAL EXCELLENCE
IN 2023 SINGER-SONGWRITER JOAQUINA STARTED THIS QUEST AND IN 2024 ELA TAUBERT CONTINUES THE JOURNEY ACHIEVING THIS UNPARALLELED CONSECUTIVE WIN
"To witness the growth of these new female artists, to experience how they have worked these years on their artistic development being exceptional students and to see that the music that they share is recognized by the Latin Recording Academy is of great fulfillment for our teams at Universal Music and Art House." –
Jesus Lopez, Charmain & CEO Universal Music Latinoamérica and Iberia Península
"Artists have a mission to capture their version of beauty in its purest state, free of all industry expectations and trends. We are protecting and accompanying artists in the process, because it is the only way to create long-lived artists and art that will positively transform the societies of the future. An artist today is more than a brand or a collection of songs. An artist today is a spiritual guide, a refuge, a temple where the answers that sometimes reason cannot find live." – Julio Reyes, Founder of Arthouse Abbey Road Academy Miami
MIAMI, Nov. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In an unprecedented and extraordinary showcase combining education, artist development and musical excellence, Universal Music Latino and Arthouse achieves back-to-back wins in the prestigious Best New Artist category at the Latin GRAMMY Award for two consecutive years. Following the victory of Venezuelan singer-songwriter Joaquina, who made headlines as the youngest-ever recipient of this award in 2023, and now Colombian pop sensation Ela Taubert, marking a significant milestone for both Universal Music Latino and Arthouse.
The partnership between Universal Music Latino and Arthouse is a beacon of innovation and collaboration, merging education, musical excellence, development, and talent to create a global platform for emerging artist. This collaboration is rooted in a shared vision of empowering artists through comprehensive support systems, including mentorship programs, professional development, and resources tailored to enhance their artistic growth. By emphasizing the importance of education in the creative process, the partnership is paving the way for a new generation of Latin music stars globally.
Besides, Joaquina and Ela Taubert other notable artist include: Paola Guanche, Latin GRAMMY Nominee 2023, Maura Nava, Latin GRAMMY Nominee 2024, Riza, Jules, Fabian, and Ana Sofia.
As the Latin music landscape continues to change, Universal Music Latino and Arthouse remain at the forefront, championing new talent and redefining the industry standards. The back-to-back successes in the Best New Artist category underscore the dedication to innovation, education, and the relentless pursuit of excellence.
About Universal Music Group
At Universal Music Group, we exist to shape culture through the power of artistry. UMG is the world leader in music-based entertainment, with a broad array of businesses engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising and audio-visual content. Featuring the most comprehensive catalogue of recordings and songs across every musical genre, UMG identifies and develops artists and produces and distributes the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music in the world. Committed to artistry, innovation and entrepreneurship, UMG fosters the development of services, platforms and business models in order to broaden artistic and commercial opportunities for our artists and create new experiences for fans. For more information on Universal Music Group visit www.universalmusic.com
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
UNIVERSAL MUSIC LATINO ACHIEVES HISTORIC BACK-TO-BACK LATIN GRAMMY BEST NEW ARTIST WINS CONFIRMING TO BE THE HOME OF ARTIST DEVELOPMENT
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:
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 Company
- Oh My Ink Technology
- Pathex
- Sentri Technology
- DrawMotion AI Academy
- MUSES AI
- Canpanion Group
- afterNATURE
- YUNI TECH
- ESGalator
- Yunix - MungerMind AI
- Tobot Solution
- Cliimacircuit
- Vizzle
- A+B Productions
|
Award Category
Winning Team
Best Presentation Award
LifeSparrow Solutions
Best Solution Award
Leaflot Technology
Best ESG Award 2026
(in no particular order)
- Nifty Corner Company
- Oh My Ink Technology
- Pathex
- Sentri Technology
- DrawMotion AI Academy
- MUSES AI
- Canpanion Group
- afterNATURE
- YUNI TECH
- ESGalator
- Yunix - MungerMind AI
- Tobot Solution
- Cliimacircuit
- Vizzle
- A+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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B4B Challenge 2025-26 Award Presentation Ceremony
