DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, today announced a return to CES for its Trend Forward Capital fund, with a series of events designed to identify promising and hyper-growth technology startups.

Leading the way is the return of the popular Forward Thinker Award, which has doubled in size and will award a total of $60,000 to six start-ups. The $10,000 cash prize will be awarded to six chosen finalists.

“Exploring emerging technology marketing and learning from others are key to predicting needs of customers,” said Eva Chen, founder and chief executive officer for Trend Micro. “What better way to celebrate our 30th anniversary than by finding and nurturing the tech innovators of tomorrow who will help us unlock value from the rapid global expansion in smart connectivity?”

Trend Forward Capital and its investor partners have carefully selected this year’s 24 finalists based on the quality of their pitch decks and video introductions. They will compete in pitch-off competitions during CES, from Tuesday to Thursday at 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. The event is open to all CES attendees and located at Trend Forward Capital’s CES booth at Sands Hall #41967.

This year’s panel of judges will include investors from prominent global funds and Trend Micro Chief Executive Officer Eva Chen, Chief Financial Officer Mahendra Negi, Chief Legal Officer Felix Sterling and Co-founder/Chairman Steve Chang.

One of last year’s winners is Humon, which builds clinically validated muscle oxygen trackers to optimize athletics performance. Trend Forward Capital was so impressed with the Humon’s performance that within a month it had invested seed money to help drive future growth.

Alongside the pitch-off competition, Trend Forward Capital is inviting budding entrepreneurs to drop by its booth at Sands Halls #41967 for a startup tune-up session where entrepreneurs can receive friendly advice to improve their pitches.

Additionally, companies that have already been invested by Trend Forward Capital, such as Veem, Muse, Lief Therapeutic, Humon will also be present at the booth throughout the week to demo their solutions.

To learn more about Trend Forward Capital’s activities at CES 2019 or to schedule a private meeting, visit here.

About Trend Forward Capital

Trend Forward Capital is a venture capital firm obsessed with scaling innovative technology with a purpose. With a flexible approach providing funding, business expertise, and access to a global network of resources Trend Forward Capital fills the gaps for start-ups, amplifying their business and making sure their success is sustainable. Visit www.TrendForward.com for more info.

About Trend Micro

Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, helps to make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Our innovative solutions for consumers, businesses, and governments provide layered security for data centers, cloud workloads, networks, and endpoints. All our products work together to seamlessly share threat intelligence and provide a connected threat defense with centralized visibility and investigation, enabling better, faster protection. With more than 6,000 employees in 50 countries and the world’s most advanced global threat research and intelligence, Trend Micro enables organizations to secure their connected world. For more information, visit www.trendmicro.com.