Draper University, in partnership with LUMO Labs, Enschede SLUSH’D, and local ecosystem partners, has announced the winners of the Draper Silicon Spring Pitch Prize 2025.
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The competition, held at the University of Twente’s U ParkHotel, brought together five finalists pitching before a jury of seasoned investors and ecosystem leaders.
Draper’s Silicon Spring Pitch Competition is an in-person competition that will bring together a diverse group of talented founders ready to pitch their startups to a panel of esteemed judges.
Winners to fly to Silicon Valley
Founders who win the Golden Ticket get the chance to join Draper University’s Hero Training Program in Silicon Valley.
The prize package includes flight costs, on-campus accommodation, and co-working space in downtown San Mateo, California, USA.
This five-week entrepreneurship programme, running from October 20 to November 21, 2025, includes eight modules, numerous speaker sessions, workshops, and team activities.
The package, valued at $14,000, includes tuition, flights, on-campus accommodation, and co-working space in downtown San Mateo.
Jury Panels
This year’s jury panel featured:
- Warner Philips, Rubio Impact Ventures
- Subah Zaeem, Draper University
- Erica van Eeghen, VP Capital
- Patrick Claessen, Cottonwood Technology Fund
- Meron Mekonnen, LUMO Labs
Alongside the pitch finals, attendees joined a panel discussion on “Scaling Tech in a Shifting Global Landscape”, moderated by Job Nijs (BRAVENTURE) with insights from Stijn Buiter (AWS), Erik de Heer (EY), and Andy Lurling (LUMO Labs).
The finalists
This year’s Draper Silicon Spring Pitch Prize brought five finalists to the stage. They are:
- Twente Medical Optics
- Proconceptious
- wearm.ai
- SaniUp
- UrbanVind
After a competitive pitch at the University of Twente’s U ParkHotel, the jury panel has selected three winners.
They are:
First place: Twente Medical Optics
Based out of Enschede, Twente Medical Optics designs and develops HAPI, a handheld laser perfusion imager.
Its handheld design is supported by patented movement compensation technology, making it easier for physicians to conduct burn diagnoses, breast flap reconstructions, and dermatological assessments.
Talking about experience of winning the title to Silicon Canals, Kiki Liu, CEO and co-founder of Twente Medical Optics, says, “I feel incredibly honoured and grateful to win the Draper Silicon Summer Pitch Prize 2025. This recognition is not just about the pitch itself—it’s a reflection of the daily hard work, creativity, and persistence of the entire Twente Medical Optics team. It gives us confidence, motivation, and momentum as we continue building toward our mission.”
Next stop: Silicon Valley
At Draper University’s Hero Training Program, Kiki aims to:
- Seize the opportunity to enter the U.S. market
- Obtaining FDA regulatory clearance
- Building investor connections
- Deepening U.S. market expertise
- Elevating storytelling and pitching impact
- Embracing Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurial spirit
Vision for next 2–3 years
“Our vision is to establish Twente Medical Optics as the frontrunner in handheld microcirculation imaging,” says Kiki. “Our immediate focus is on addressing the most critical unmet need with a first-generation product, delivering only the essential functionalities required to pass FDA clearance in the U.S. market.”
Advice to other medtech founders:
- Validate global relevance
- Align regulatory and market entry strategy
- Frame fundraising around value creation
Second place: Proconceptious
Proconceptious is developing an AI-powered, multilingual platform that combines screening, education, clinical support, and research to improve both contraception and preconception care.
Talking about the experience of pitching at Draper’s Silicon Summer Pitch Prize to Silicon Canals, Elise Prinsen, founder of Proconceptious, says, “Pitching at Draper’s Silicon Summer Pitch Prize was both exhilarating and humbling. Standing in front of a jury of seasoned investors in Silicon Valley, the epicentre of entrepreneurship, felt like stepping onto a global stage with our mission. The energy in the room, the direct feedback, and the exposure to a high-performance pitch culture sharpened my storytelling and reinforced the importance of clarity and conviction when communicating a vision.”
Learning to bring back from Silicon Valley
From the Draper University’s Hero Training Program, Elise plans to bring back Silicon Valley’s bold mindset to Europe:
- Combining evidence-based healthcare with tech-driven scale
- Applying practical insights in fundraising, networking and rapid iteration
- Reframing obstacles as stepping stones for growth
Roadmap
Moving forward, the company plans to explore the GP market, establishing itself within the femtech space, and contributing to closing the persistent gap in women’s health research.
Advice for founders:
- Start with a mission that matters
- Let your personal story drive it
- Solve problems you can’t ignore
- Anchor in purpose for resilience
- Don’t walk the journey alone
Third prize: wearm.ai
wearm.AI’s vision-based wearables track full-body movements and monitor muscle status accurately. They provide personalised advice to enhance performance and reduce injury risk. Last year, the startup also won the “2025 CES Innovation Award.”
Talking about the pitching experience at Draper’s Silicon Summer Pitch Prize, Huawei says, “The experience was amazing. I especially like the setup and procedure, not like a regular pitch competition, but more like a group of friends to share the most exciting things that you are doing. It was also a great experience to learn from the peer startup founders and get valuable questions/comments from the committee members.”
Roadmap
Over the next year, wearm.ai will validate its solution and business case with partners, including:
- TeamNL, the Dutch Olympic running team
- Loop Expertisecentrum Apeldoorn, the Netherlands’ largest running school
- Huawei Sports and Health Centres in Finland and China
Advice for founders: “AI is all about data. Don’t believe in magic, believe in database.”
