The HICOOL Global Entrepreneur Summit and Entrepreneurship Competition concluded Saturday in Beijing, a sign the city is increasingly attractive to top-tier talents and innovative projects.

The four-month-long competition saw the participation of 82 countries, 2,026 projects, 11 scientific and technological cities and 72 leading investment institutions, among others.

At the summit, the 100 winners of HICOOL's worldwide entrepreneurship contest were announced. The winners and their project referrers shared 80 million yuan ($11.7 million) in prize money. Also, a total of 1 billion yuan was offered at the event as a special fund to encourage entrepreneurship and investment.

Zhang Xu's project was among the first-place honorees and focuses on developing an antibody that neutralizes the novel coronavirus.