Innovative startup hosts world's first sperm race to raise awareness of male fertility decline

TO RAISE awareness about declining male fertility an innovative Los Angeles, American startup will host the world's first sperm race on April 25 at the Hollywood Palladium, aiming to raise awareness through a microscopic competition billed as both sport and spectacle.

- PHILIPPA LARKIN

Sperm Racing, the organisers behind the event, have raised $1.5 million (R28.28m) from venture firms including Karatage and Figment Capital to stage the race, which pits sperm samples from rival universities UCLA and USC against each other on a 200mm racetrack mimicking the human reproductive system.

The event, expected to draw over 1 000 spectators, will feature live-streamed visuals via high-resolution cameras, play-by-play commentary, leaderboards, instant replays, and betting.

Eric Zhu, the co-founder of Sperm Racing, in a statement. "Male fertility is declining... and nobody's really talking about it. We're turning health into a sport."