diff --git a/docker/kubeflow/start-server.sh b/docker/kubeflow/start-server.sh
index 03d75009..a21a5427 100644
--- a/docker/kubeflow/start-server.sh
+++ b/docker/kubeflow/start-server.sh
@@ -47,12 +47,12 @@ API_PID=$!
 # Wait for API to be ready
 echo "Waiting for API server to start..."
 for i in {1..30}; do
-    if curl -s http://127.0.0.1:4096/health > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+    if curl -sf --max-time 2 http://127.0.0.1:4096/session/status > /dev/null 2>&1; then
         echo "API server is ready!"
         break
     fi
     if [ $i -eq 30 ]; then
-        echo "ERROR: API server failed to start within 30 seconds"
+        echo "ERROR: API server failed to start after 30 attempts with a 2s request timeout"
         exit 1
     fi
     sleep 1