On 16 November, the Hungarian qualifying round of the Startup World Cup was held, where the top ten startup projects, including HoloSapiens Technology Kft., were selected from 75 teams. Among its members are Dr. Jason Sparks, teacher of anatomy at the Medical School in Pécs and professional consultant, as well as Dr. Kristóf Móga, general surgeon (SE-OE), PhD student, project initiator, Balázs Bolemányi, mechatronics engineer, project manager, Szabina Jäkl, master student of business development, and Dr. Sabrina Varga, dentist, lead designer. The first-place team, “DokiApp,” will represent Hungary at the world championships in San Francisco, while the second-place team, HoloSapiens Technology Kft., will present their project outside the competition.
The San Francisco-based Pegasus Tech Ventures founded the Startup World Cup and has become the largest competition for startups in 80 countries. The competition attracts startups every year, and the grand prize - a $1-million investment - is a real incentive for Hungarian talents. In the qualifying round, local startups compete for the chance to qualify for the San Francisco competition.
As Dr. Jason Sparks explained, they had to present their ideas in a three-minute pitch followed by a five-minute question-and-answer session. The Jury awarded HoloSapiens second place, qualifying them for the 2023 World Cup, where the best startups will participate. There, they will be able to present their project outside the competition.
"As our project is in a very early stage, we did not expect this success. We participated in the event to learn, practice the pitch, and improve our project from the questions we received. The Jury decided that second place would be the best for us because we can learn more at the San Francisco competition and even find new contacts to implement our project," said the anatomy teacher at the Medical School in Pécs.
HoloSapiens has three pillars, aiming to apply augmented reality technology in anatomy education, skill training, and, in the future, surgical procedures. The project initiator assembled the team, who gathered around him the people he needed to implement his idea.