Would you like to join Co-founder run as a research-based pre-startup?

We invite research-based pre-startups with connections to a Danish university to apply to participate in Co-founder run in Autumn 2026.

If your pre-startup is selected, the Co-founder run team will promote your search to its community of entrepreneurs and industry experts and support you in finding potential co-founders. Your pre-startup one-pager will be featured on our website, on affiliated university innovation hubs and on our LinkedIn company page.

Applications will open in August 2026, until then you can sign up on our waitlist by sending an email to nmch@dtu.dk.

Your pre-startup must meet the two following criteria

  1. Be affiliated with a Danish university hub, university programme, and/or Danish science park, and must have a business developer or equivalent committed to supporting the team throughout the Co-founder run.
  2. Have reached a sufficient level of maturity to benefit from co-founder matching. This means that you have a clear project scope, some initial validation, and are ready to actively involve a co-founder in core activities.

If you need more information, you are welcome to reach out to us at info@open-entrepreneurship.com – or perhaps you can find the answer in the FAQ.

Would you like to join co-founder run as an entrepreneur or expert?

Discover exciting, research-driven ventures and apply for a commercial co-founder role. Selected candidates will advance to direct interviews with the founding teams.

The next campaign opens in October 2026.

Follow Open Entrepreneurship on LinkedIn for updates and announcements.

Important note
This is not a traditional job opening. There is no predefined, salaried role. As a co-founder, you will join at an early stage, where building the venture and securing initial funding are core parts of the journey.

What we expect from you as a co-founder candidate

1. You can work from the local university office/the startup office 7 hours/week, as part of the team (some cases may specify higher expectations in their one-pagers).

2. However, we do not expect you to invest in the case.

3. You will enter a 2–3-month trial period, if you then mutually agree on a good match, you can then start formalizing with a co-founder agreement negotiation, earning ownership based on contribution (sweat equity).

More information and FAQ

If you need more information, you are welcome to reach out to us – or perhaps you can find the answer in the FAQ.

Reach out to one of us

Jens Friholm
DTU Skylab, DTU
M: +45 9392 8242
E: jefrih@dtu.dk

Otto Bjerg Hausgaard
The Kitchen, AU
M: +45 2559 0657
E: obh@au.dk

Neta Kela
KU Lighthouse
M: +45 3166 6120
E: neta@adm.ku.dk

Nynne Budtz Christiansen
Open Entrepreneurship
M: +45 6130 0678
E: nmch@dtu.dk

Previous Co-founder runs

For your inspiration, we have listed previously participating pre-startups here

 

Participating pre-startups in Co-founder run spring 2026 (please note that the search for co-founders for the below pre-startups has ended)

Fully remote

Beautifully Balanced Bites (BBB)

Developing the healthiest protein in the world!

Fully remote | DTU

One-pager

Biotech

Funen

TradeScan AI

Early stratification of NSSC cancer patients

Funen and remote | SDU

One-pager

Medtech

Saphorix Pharma

First-choice antibiotics for multi-resistant bacteria

Odense | SDU

One-pager

Therapeutics

PathoVigil

Turning catheter infections into life-saving warnings

Odense and remote | SDU

One-pager

Medtech

Jutland

CellPassport ApS

Hardware-free and accurate battery health estimations that comply with new EU policy

Aalborg | AAU

One-pager

Digital platforms

Sealand

PITU

Detect more cyberattacks by collaborating — without sharing any data

Copenhagen and remote | ITU

One-pager

Digital platforms

Immunicorn Bio

Precision therapy for inflammation

Kgs. Lyngby and remote | DTU

One-pager

Therapeutics

Chaperone

The future of medicine is personalized

Kgs. Lyngby and remote | DTU

One-pager

Digital platforms

Cariti Diagnostics

Faster, reliable diagnosis of lethal heart infection

Copenhagen and remote | AU and UCPH

One-pager

Medtech

DANTE Fusion

Fusion neutrons for medical isotopes and materials

Kgs. Lyngby and remote | DTU

One-pager

Deeptech

Nyx Therapeutics

Restoring sleep to improve cognition in brain disorders

Copenhagen | UCPH

One-pager

Therapeutics

Silent Consensus

Shaping the future of smart energy coordination

Kgs. Lyngby and Roskilde | DTU

One-pager

Deeptech

Velion

Accelerating the next generation of computing

Kgs. Lyngby | DTU

One-pager

Deeptech

Sensana

A machine learning model for early prediction of sepsis

Kgs. Lyngby | DTU

One-pager

Medtech

IOU

AI-powered receipt intelligence — snap, save, split, and track expenses seamlessly

Copenhagen and remote | CBS

One-pager

Digital platforms

Biomimica

Artificial spider silk as a replacement for elastane

Kgs. Lyngby and remote | DTU and SDU

One-pager

Biotech

Phaige

AI-powered foundry for the global phage supply chain

Copenhagen | UCPH

One-pager

Biotech

StepStudy ApS

Personalized STEM teaching with AI

Copenhagen | DTU

One-pager

Digital platforms

Solea

Laser weeding of your driveway

Kgs. Lyngby and remote | DTU

One-pager

Deeptech

Cognity

Bringing transparency to high-stakes decisions

Holte and remote | DTU

One-pager

Digital platforms

Fluxion

Measuring tumor metabolism in real time

Kgs. Lyngby | DTU

One-pager

Medtech
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