Ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has joined “Medaia” as an investor. The Graz start-up has developed an app that detects skin tumors.
It has been more than ten months since Sebastian Kurz as Chancellor “had to step aside”. It is now clear that this move has also led him to a stake in a Graz company. In addition to his job for Silicon Valley billionaire (and sponsor of Donald Trump) Peter Thiel, the ex-chancellor also shows ambitions as a startup investor.
“Yes, Sebastian Kurz’s ‘SK Management GmbH’ has a nearly two percent stake in ‘Medaia'”, a Kurz spokesperson confirmed to the “Steirerkrone”. He wouldn’t say how much he had to transfer for the company’s share – “it was agreed not to disclose this”.
Handy detects skin tumors
The company from Styria has been making a name for itself for several years with a unique method for early detection of skin tumors. “Skin Screener” is the name of the Graz-developed mobile phone app, which uses artificial intelligence to detect skin changes and determine an increased risk of skin cancer.
According to the developers, the reliability of the app is 98 percent. Users may be persuaded to make an appointment with a dermatologist sooner than planned.
Investment with “social added value”
Why is Sebastian Kurz investing in this company? His spokesperson explains it this way: “Because his investments also focus on companies that add value to society as a whole. And because the technological offer of ‘Media’ offers many future possibilities for the important and fast-growing health sector”.
But for the ex-chancellor there is another connection with the Styrian company: “Medaia” was founded by the Graz dermatologist Michael Tripolt, who in addition to his work in the university clinic Graz is also politically active – for the People’s Party, ie the former political house by Sebastian Kurz.
Tripolt sits on the state board of the ÖVP union and is also chairman of the central works council of the Styrian hospital association KAGes. He currently owns almost 50 percent of “Media”.
Ex-chancellor has several holdings
Kurz plans to continue investing in such companies in the future. In addition to “SK Management” and “AS2K Beteiligung GmbH” (a joint company with “C-Quadrat” investor Alexander Schütz), Kurz now has a handful of other new business investments, but mostly outside Austria (including in the US and in the Middle East). East).
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
