Linköping, Sweden; 25 October 2016 – This month, DI Digital, Nordic Tech List and numerous executive and financial partners, began traveling the country in search of Sweden’s next big tech success story. Global players such as Skype, Klarna, Spotify and Mojang have already put Sweden on the digital map of the world.
Over 200 attendees gathered together on Tuesday afternoon, as the DI Digital Startup Tour began in Linköping. Seven of the hottest start-up companies were previously selected to pitch their stories on stage for a jury, including venture capital representatives Northzone, Moor, Industrifonden, Bonnier Growth Media and EQT Ventures, as well as partners Fakturino, Nordea and Accenture.
Three finalists were selected by the jury after the pitches were completed: XM Reality, Cbot, and AMRA. It was then up to the audience, who voted on one winner – and the prize went to AMRA.
Marta Sjögren, representing venture capital firm Northzone in the jury, was impressed by the Linköping startups. “The quality of the companies is extremely high. Above all, the disruptive potential was huge for several of them – and they had a clear-born global mentality, which we like,” she said.
AMRA will now join four finalists from Sweden’s other regions for one last round of competition, to be hosted in Stockholm on December 8th. In addition to winning a spot at the Stockholm finale, AMRA received a year’s worth of free financial consultation from experts at Nordea. The winner of the December Stockholm finale will also receive 1 Million SEK in advertisement from Bonnier News and an inspirational trip to Silicon Valley arranged by DI Digital.
AMRA is the first to transform MR images into precise fat and muscle measurements using a cloud-based, computer-aided service and a Rapid MRI scan. AMRA’s imaging biomarkers are designed to play a long-term role in clinical trial development, research studies, and preventive care in a clinical setting. Focused upon metabolic research and its therapeutic application, AMRA’s collaborators and customers include hospitals, research centers, and companies around the world, including with global pharma player Pfizer.
“Our goal is, based on your body composition profile, to evaluate your risk of developing metabolic disease, such as heart attacks, diabetes, and liver disease. We want to assist healthcare practitioners in predicting and preventing disease, and prioritising whom to treat. It feels incredibly good to win and it proves that our hard work is paying off. It is tremendously fun for the employees and I think this will help us attract the best talent in the future,” says Tommy Johansson, CEO of AMRA.
Tommy Johansson previously founded C3 Technologies, which was sold to Apple 2011, landing him recognition as one of Sweden’s most successful entrepreneurs. He became the first employee and CEO of AMRA in 2012.
Read more (Swedish only):
digital.di.se/artikel/amra-prisades-pa-startup-tour-i-linkoping
Photo credit: DI Digital Sweden (@didigital_se)