Stanford medtech team wins University Startup World Cup in Denmark

Business and growth minister encourages participants to choose Denmark for business

On Friday, the winners of the University Startup World Cup were announced by Crown Princess Mary at a prize-giving ceremony at Industriens Hus in Copenhagen.

READ MORE: University Startup World Cup coming to Copenhagen

The victorious team was VesaliusMed from Stanford University, comprising 19-year-old Caleb Kumar, 22-year old Aslan Maleki and 22-year-old Teun de Planque.

Their winning startup idea is a new way to detect abnormal cells in bladder cancer patients by testing urine instead of blood, providing a quicker, cheaper and more accurate means of diagnosis.

More than they bargained for
Maleki, speaking on behalf of the team, said they got more out of the event than they could have imagined.

“We came to have fun and to meet new friends, but ended up meeting serious investors, getting good feedback on our idea and, not least, getting even more motivated to get our idea on the market,” he said.

Human Shojaee, the CEO of Venture Cup, the organisers of the event, was also delighted with how the event went.

“We have attracted about 70 talents to Denmark, who all have fantastic ideas and have had a fantastic week,” he said.

“We have received good feedback from all of the participants and it has been an important step towards the goal of promoting Denmark as a leading hub of entrepreneurship in the world.”

Choose Denmark
Troels Lund Poulsen, the business and growth minister, attended the event and, in an address to the participants, encouraged them to choose Denmark as a business location.

“Your skills and ideas are exactly what Denmark needs,” he said

“You can start your business anywhere in the world, but I am here to say look no further! We have the environment where it is easy to make your business come true.”




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