INCUBA Awards: Finalists for Startup of the Year and Investor of the Year 2025
Finalists for Startup of the Year
Cernel
Cernel is the story of a group of friends who have built a business with global potential in record time. With their uncompromising drive, strong network of investors and already first customers abroad, they have become an inspiring example for other young entrepreneurs.
Cystotech
Cystotech has made impressive progress in just a few years. With CE marking secured in record time and a strong journey with funding and partnerships, they are leading the way for other life science startups. The team actively shares their experiences in the ecosystem, making them a great source of inspiration.
Formalize
From an early idea to today being one of Aarhus' fastest-growing companies with over 100 employees and offices in several European cities. Formalize has managed to transform and scale its business in just a few years and is a role model for how ambition, talent and local roots can create international growth.
Finalists for Investor of the Year
Anders Thorhauge Sandholm
With an international background from Google and deep knowledge of AI, Anders has made a name for himself as an active business angel in Aarhus. He has invested in several local start-ups and is known for always being present, sharing his experience and spotting potential early on.
Mikkel Skorkjær Kongsfelt
As a former entrepreneur, Mikkel brings a unique understanding to his investments. He often gets involved in new cases early on and is visible in the community with a commitment that extends to both individual start-ups and the entire ecosystem.
Stefan Rosenlund
After major entrepreneurial successes, Stefan is now behind Dreamers Collective, a fund that brings together forces around new growth companies in East Jutland. With investments in Cernel and Understory, among others, he has quickly made a name for himself as a key investor in Aarhus, known for combining experience, energy and the courage to take risks.
From nomination to nominee to finalist to winner
The process to find this year's winners starts with nominations from companies, universities, industry organizations and other players in the ecosystem, who can nominate candidates until the beginning of September. Self-nominations are also possible - and encouraged. All nominations are then assessed against the criteria of the awards and those that meet these requirements move forward as nominees. Finally, the official jury reviews the nominees and selects finalists in each category. After a thorough assessment of the finalists, the winners in each category are announced at the Aarhus Investor Summit.
Brain, heart and high level in this year's field
This year's finalists clearly demonstrate the breadth and strength of the Aarhus ecosystem.
As Jan Snogdal, Partner at DLA Piper Denmark, puts it: ‘The quality of the field shows that the start-up environment nourishes both the city's brain and heart – while opening up exciting opportunities for ambitious and talented investors.’
Søren Boel Pedersen, Manager at Business Aarhus, shares the same enthusiasm: ‘I am constantly impressed by the enormous number and tremendous strength of the startups in Aarhus.’
The jury consists of a number of players from the Aarhus startup ecosystem who bring both experience and expertise to the judging of the nominees:
- Jan Snogdal, DLA Piper
- Søren Grønbæk, EIFO (Danmarks Eksport- og Investeringsfond)
- Mathias Tannebæk, Danske Bank
- Søren Boel Pedersen, City of Aarhus
- Jacob Mogensen, INCUBA
We look forward to celebrating both the finalists and winners at Aarhus Investor Summit.