Filter the directory by category, geography, or sector to find the right partners.
Poland's first MarTech-focused accelerator by KnowledgeHub and GroupM, focusing on AI in marketing, adtech, and influencer platforms. Offers workshops, mentoring, pilot client access, and sales support.
Investor-focused conference connecting LPs, GPs, and family offices across the DACH private markets.
11x is the breakout star of the UK's agentic AI wave, known for building "digital workers" that replace full job functions rather than merely assisting them. Founded in 2022 by Hasan Sukkar, the company frames its product as autonomous employees rather than software tools. That positioning is controversial, but it resonates with revenue teams seeking to eliminate manual drudgery and scale outreach without linear headcount growth. The flagship product, Alice, is an AI Sales Development Representative that can source leads, research accounts, craft highly personalized outreach, and follow up continuously. In late 2024, 11x launched Jordan, a multilingual AI phone agent that conducts real-time voice conversations for qualification and support in more than 30 languages. Together, these agents can run a large portion of the outbound funnel end-to-end, from initial outreach to handoff, with human oversight focused on high-value exceptions. By early 2026, 11x had exploded in valuation after a Series B led by Andreessen Horowitz, a rare win for a UK-first startup. The company processes millions of interactions for high-growth tech companies such as Otter.ai and Airwallex and is expanding its footprint in San Francisco to preempt US-based competitors. The roadmap centers on "digital teams" that coordinate multiple agents across tasks: one agent identifies a lead, another calls, a third negotiates logistics, and a final agent drafts the contract. This orchestration layer is the company's strategic bet on becoming the default system for revenue operations. The company's roots include Y Combinator's Summer 2023 batch, which accelerated its US network and credibility, and its UK engineering base sits in the London Bridge tech hub. Investor support spans US and European capital: a16z led the Series B, Benchmark led the Series A, Lux Capital participated early, Quiet Capital backed growth, and 20VC provided influential local support. In 2026, 11x is the UK's most visible play on AI-native revenue teams, aiming to become a category-defining platform for autonomous sales operations.
1KOMMA5° (named for the 1.5°C climate target) is one of Europe’s fastest-scaling energy transition companies, reaching unicorn status in roughly 21 months. Based in Hamburg, the firm tackles the “last mile” of decarbonization by combining a roll-up acquisition strategy with a software-defined energy platform. Instead of only selling solar panels, 1KOMMA5° acquires local installer businesses across Europe and digitizes them to deliver end-to-end home electrification — solar, batteries, heat pumps, and EV chargers — with consistent quality and financing. The company’s differentiator is Heartbeat, a proprietary energy management system that turns these assets into a virtual power plant. Heartbeat orchestrates when batteries charge or discharge based on real-time spot prices and grid conditions, allowing households to capture savings from dynamic tariffs and to export power during peak demand. In 2025, the system expanded to automated trading of household energy, making “free” electricity periods during windy or sunny hours a tangible consumer benefit. This blending of hardware deployment and energy-software automation allows 1KOMMA5° to capture margin both on installation and on recurring software and energy services. Founder Philipp Schroder (former Tesla country director and Sonnen executive) used his industry network to skip early accelerators, and the company instead embedded itself in the Hamburg Startup City ecosystem. Its acquisition engine is relentless: by buying regional market leaders, it locks in the most scarce resource in the sector — skilled installers — while rapidly expanding geographic reach. By early 2026, 1KOMMA5° had expanded beyond DACH into the Nordics, Spain, and Australia, positioning itself for a cross-continental footprint ahead of a public listing. The company has signaled an IPO-readiness push, backed by record turnover reported for 2024 and an expansion into branded hardware components to increase margin and supply-chain resilience. Its investor base blends strategic and growth capital: Porsche Ventures provided early backing, G2VP brought Silicon Valley cleantech expertise, Eurazeo and eCapital added European growth capital, and Norrsken VC underscored the impact thesis. In 2026, 1KOMMA5° is a case study in how Europe can scale climate tech through operational execution rather than pure technology — a disciplined roll-up with a software heart that turns millions of households into coordinated energy assets.
Founded in 2015 by Alexandre Fourtoy. 1Kubator is a private incubator network in 10+ cities that forms startups from scratch in a 10-month program, and provides pre-seed funding typically €15K-€35K (often around €25K for about 10% equity) via the 1KVEST fund managed by Phitrust Impact Investors. Supported 500+ entrepreneurs. Scope: National.
2150 is a Copenhagen and London based climate fund focused on technology that makes cities more sustainable. Backed by real estate operator NREP, the fund invests in Construction Tech, Energy Efficiency, low carbon materials, and urban infrastructure startups. 2150 provides both capital and pilot access through its built environment network, helping startups validate solutions in real world projects. It is one of the most prominent climate tech funds headquartered in Denmark.
French-Italian VC with Paris and Milan offices managing about €700M AUM; focused on deep tech and automation and backs unicorns such as Exotec.
European VC with Paris and Milan offices managing about €700M AUM; invests in consumer and deep tech and backs unicorns such as Exotec.
Founded 2000. VC and growth equity firm investing across Central and Eastern Europe in technology and media; notable exit SALESmanago and recent investment in Evrotrust.
Founded 2017 as Capital300. Series A investor focused on European tech challengers, especially DACH and CEE origins including Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, and Czechia.
Organizer of 4YFN, the startup platform running alongside Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Recent editions draw 100,000+ attendees across MWC/4YFN and 1,000+ investors at 4YFN.
Combined startup and connectivity week at Fira Gran Via, where 4YFN runs alongside MWC's 20-year Barcelona milestone edition. Core venue for startup-investor-corporate deal flow with highly international attendance and strong telecom, AI, and deep-tech exposure.
Global startup platform co-located with MWC at Fira Gran Via, featuring broad investor and corporate access. Includes the 4YFN Awards 2026 live pitch sequence: top startups pitch on March 2, 2026 with finalists advancing to the March 4, 2026 final during MWC week.
Founded 2012 by 50 entrepreneurs. Accelerator offering hands-on mentorship and seed investment for tech, impact, and healthtech ventures; the mentor network includes founders behind BlaBlaCar, Le Bon Coin, and Showroomprivé. Support: equity investment, mentorship, Paris workspace. Scope: National.
Accel is a top-tier global venture capital firm with a dedicated European team based in London. Established in Silicon Valley in 1983, Accel expanded to London in the early 2000s and has since become a leading backer of European tech unicorns. The Accel London fund invests broadly in consumer and enterprise technology companies from seed through growth stage. Accel’s Europe portfolio reads like a who’s-who of success stories – it was an early investor in Spotify, Facebook, and Slack, and in Europe it has funded Klarna, Hopin, and Cazoo among others. For example, Accel’s London team led rounds in Hopin (virtual events) and Klarna (fintech), both of which achieved multibillion-dollar valuations. The firm often takes board seats and provides hands-on support to founders in scaling globally. Accel is known for its deep network in Silicon Valley and Europe, helping bridge entrepreneurs to US markets. It manages multiple funds dedicated to Europe, including Accel London and Accel Europe, and typically invests from Series A onward (with selective seed bets). Notably, Accel was the first Silicon Valley VC to establish a permanent presence in London, reflecting its conviction in Europe’s tech potential. With over three decades of VC experience, Accel has the distinction of having backed over 100 unicorns worldwide. Its London arm continues to actively invest across sectors – from fintech and SaaS to cybersecurity and web3 – making Accel a cornerstone investor in Europe’s startup ecosystem. In short, Accel (London) combines global reach with local insight, helping Europe’s breakout startups scale to international success.
Accelerace is Denmark's longest-running accelerator and pre-seed investor, founded in 2008 to help early-stage teams validate products, refine go-to-market strategy, and access investors. The program runs multiple tracks across general tech, life science, and sustainability, and pairs founders with a large mentor network. Accelerace also invests small tickets in selected teams and helps them prepare for follow-on funding. It has supported 800+ Nordic startups and remains a core launchpad in the Danish ecosystem.
Ireland's first sustainability accelerator backed by Bord na Móna, providing access to live test beds and infrastructure across Bord na Móna sites. Supports renewable energy, waste upcycling, and sustainable products with mentorship, field trials, and stipends. Scope: National.
Active since 2018. Smart-tech accelerator scaling startups across Central and Eastern Europe with programs like AccelStart, AccelBoost, and Green Impact. Support: specialized accelerators, corporate partner network, mentoring. Scope: Regional (CEE).
Founded 2003. Lower Austria's high-tech incubator providing 18-24 months of pre-seed funding, intensive coaching, and training sessions to build regional deep-tech companies. Alumni examples include Greenwood Power and Cyan Cycle. Support: grants, business coaching, advisor network. Scope: Regional (Lower Austria).
Launched 2013 by Amsterdam Center for Entrepreneurship. 12-week program for science and high-tech ventures from local universities; provides mentorship, workshops, and up to EUR 25K pre-seed. Notable spinoffs: Skytree, Knowingo. Scope: Regional (Amsterdam).
Founded 1994. Multi-stage investor in ICT and healthcare; has raised over €600M across funds and backed companies like Cubic3 and Deciphex.
Adam is a marketplace for tradespeople, effectively an on-demand platform for home renovation and construction services. Customers can book vetted painters, electricians, or renovation crews, while providers receive steady demand and streamlined scheduling. The company has expanded across Europe, including the UK, Spain, and France. By 2026, Adam is a visible Czech marketplace success in the home services sector.
Founded 2005. Deep tech investor; the AV4 fund targets €100M and focuses on cybersecurity, applied AI, and digital infrastructure across Europe.
AdMagica is a generative AI platform for e-commerce ad creative production, with corporate presence in London and core operations in Tbilisi. The product helps performance marketing teams generate, resize, and test conversion-oriented creatives faster across social channels, reducing creative fatigue and production overhead. The company emerged from the 500 Eurasia Batch 9 ecosystem and targets European commerce brands.
Europe's largest cell and gene therapy event. Price: about GBP 2000; startups often access subsidized exhibition pods. Strong for biotech founders and manufacturing partners.
Leading general aviation show with a major e-flight-expo section. Price: about EUR 45 day ticket. Key for electric flight and autonomous air mobility startups.
Organizer of Aerospace Tech Week Europe, a B2B event on aerospace connectivity, avionics, and operations technology.
B2B aerospace technology conference in Munich focused on digital aviation systems, avionics, connectivity, flight operations software, and testing workflows. High-value venue for deep-tech founders in aviation software, satellite communications, drones, and aerospace manufacturing partnerships.
Ageras provides a platform for small businesses that combines banking, accounting, payroll, invoicing, and tax tools in one place.
AgeVolt offers a digital ecosystem for EV charging that integrates with building energy management to prevent overloads and blackouts. Its platform optimizes charging schedules, manages access, and supports payments across fleets and commercial properties. The company is building a network model described as a “booking.com for private chargers,” unlocking underused charging infrastructure. By 2026, AgeVolt is a notable Slovak player in smart charging.
Agoranov is a Paris-based public incubator founded in 2000 by a consortium of universities and research institutions. It supports science- and technology-intensive startups, often spun out of academic labs, and has backed 400+ startups that raised €1.5B+ and created 10,000+ jobs. Program: office space in central Paris, a 6-month renewable incubation program with tailored mentorship, research access, grant support, and investor introductions. As a public-interest incubator, Agoranov is equity-free and funded by French public institutions and the City of Paris. Unicorn alumni: - Doctolib - Alan - Criteo
Created 2016 by Raiffeisen Ware Austria and BayWa. Agritech accelerator offering mentoring, pilot opportunities on farms, industry networking, and hackathons; pilots can lead to strategic cooperation or investment with BayWa/RWA. Scope: International (Europe).
Agrolabs is an AgTech company from Tbilisi focused on digitizing greenhouse operations through IoT sensing and analytics. The platform combines hardware sensors with cloud-based monitoring to detect crop and climate anomalies early and provide daily recommendations for yield optimization. It grew from the 500 Georgia/Eurasia ecosystem and is positioned for cross-border agriculture markets.
Conference and expo covering enterprise AI, data platforms, and applied machine learning.
Grassroots networking meetup in Paris for early-stage AI founders, angels, and local builders. Smaller format designed for candid conversations, quick pitches, and co-founder or talent discovery in the pre-seed ecosystem.
Organizer of Italy's AI*Festival at Bocconi University.
International AI festival connecting Italy's ecosystem with global markets, including pitch sessions.
Operating since 1999. Venture capital arm of Allied Irish Banks (AIB) providing early-stage equity, growth capital, and bridge financing to Irish startups and SMEs. Support: equity funding, banking services, financial advisory. Scope: National.
A network of private investors associated with NOT (Federation of Engineering Associations), supporting early-stage high-growth companies. AINOT runs a structured support program from idea scouting and pre-incubation to equity investment (up to €200k) and follow-ons. How to apply: submit your idea via the online application form on the AINOT website (open intake). Notable focus: deep innovation and engineering-heavy startups, leveraging NOT’s technical expertise to vet and mentor projects.
Managed open source data infrastructure powering PostgreSQL, Kafka, and Elastic in the cloud.
Overview: Ajax Systems is a leading security technology startup and is now the largest manufacturer of professional security systems in Europe. The company develops and produces a range of smart security devices for homes and businesses - including wireless motion detectors, door/window opening sensors, glass break sensors, fire alarms, flood detectors, and control panels - all connected via Ajax's proprietary radio communication technology. An Ajax security system typically centers around a smart hub and can integrate over 50 different sensors and sirens to provide comprehensive intrusion detection, fire safety, and even smart home automation. The devices are known for their sleek design (winning multiple Red Dot design awards) and reliable performance (long battery life, extended wireless range, resistant to jamming). Users manage the system through Ajax's mobile app, receiving instant alerts and being able to arm/disarm or monitor their property from anywhere. Unlike traditional wired security systems, Ajax's wireless approach allows easy installation and scalability. With its combination of hardware and software, Ajax Systems has effectively become a security platform protecting over 1 million premises in more than 120 countries. Founding Story (2011): Ajax Systems was founded in 2011 in Kyiv, Ukraine by Oleksandr (Alexander) Konotopskyi. Konotopskyi started Ajax in his mid-20s, with a vision to build a security system that was both high-quality and affordable, targeting a gap in the market between cheap unreliable alarms and overly expensive Western systems. In the early days, Ajax was literally a garage startup - the team of engineers hand-soldered the first devices themselves. They focused initially on creating a car alarm and simple motion detectors, but soon pivoted fully to smart home security. The name "Ajax" was chosen to signify agility and strength (after the Greek hero). The company struggled to find capital at first, as Ukraine in 2011 had limited VC presence. In 2015, Ajax got its first external investment of $1M from SMRK, a local fund run by MacPaw's CEO, which allowed scaling production. A major milestone was around 2016 when Ajax launched its second-generation system with the Jeweller radio technology and a polished mobile app - this got attention in European markets. By 2017, Ajax started exporting its devices beyond Ukraine, and a turning point came when it won a prestigious security industry award in the UK, helping build global credibility. The founding story is one of persistence: Konotopskyi has often recounted how many advised him that manufacturing electronics in Ukraine was impractical, but he proved it possible with a highly motivated local team. Product and Innovation: Ajax's product line today includes about 180 products covering intrusion detection (motion, opening, glass break sensors), fire safety (smoke and CO detectors, fire alarm), flood prevention (leak detectors), plus sirens, keypads, panic buttons, and relay modules to control third-party devices. The system connects via radio frequencies (868 MHz band in Europe, etc.) with range up to 2000 meters and has advanced encryption. One of Ajax's innovation points is its proprietary OS Malevich that runs the hubs, enabling over-the-air updates and new features. The Ajax mobile app provides a modern UX that was missing in older alarm systems. Another innovative aspect is battery life - sensors can work 5-7 years on one battery, addressing a pain point of wireless security. Ajax also built a technology called Wings for photo verification - some motion detectors have cameras that can send photos when triggered, so users and alarm companies see if an intruder is present. The target market for Ajax includes both residential customers and small businesses/shops, as well as larger commercial clients (they have a heavier-duty hub for enterprise). The systems are typically sold and installed via a network of 1,100+ authorized security providers/installers globally, rather than direct to consumer only. This channel strategy helped Ajax penetrate traditional security markets in Europe, Asia, and beyond. Traction and Scale: The growth of Ajax Systems has been remarkable, especially post-2015. As of late 2023, Ajax serves over 4 million end users worldwide who rely on its security systems. It has become the top alarm system brand in Europe by units sold - a feat for a Ukrainian company competing with legacy giants. The company's revenue reflects this: in 2023, Ajax's revenue was around UAH 7.5-8.5 billion (Ukrainian hryvnia), roughly $200+ million USD, showing rapid growth from just a few million USD a decade prior. It's been profitable and reinvesting in expansion, now running multiple manufacturing plants. Ajax exports to over 120 countries, with key markets including Italy, Spain, France, the UK, and also growth in the Middle East and Latin America. In Ukraine, Ajax became a market leader, protecting many homes even amid the war. The company's workforce grew to around 2,500 employees (by 2025) spread across R&D centers in Kyiv, hardware development in Kharkiv, and manufacturing facilities in Ukraine and a new plant in Turkey (opened 2022) and recently in Vietnam (opened 2025 to diversify production). These expansions are partly in response to risk management due to regional instability, but also to meet surging global demand. Ajax's products have received numerous awards in the security industry and technology circles for innovation. Funding and Investors: Ajax's funding journey started with local investors. The initial $1M from SMRK in 2015 and early revenues got the company off the ground. A significant boost came in 2019 when Horizon Capital, a U.S.-Ukrainian private equity firm, invested $10 million for a minority stake. This effectively was Ajax's Series A, and it valued the company north of $70M reportedly. Horizon's investment provided growth capital to scale production and international sales. Interestingly, Ajax never took traditional Silicon Valley VC funding; by the time it was on VC radar, it was already profitable and scaling via PE style funding. EBRD also extended some debt financing to Ajax as it expanded manufacturing. Total external funding is relatively modest (about $11M equity and some debt), as the company's strong revenue allowed it to fuel growth internally. PitchBook data shows Ajax's valuation surpassed $100M by 2020, and given the revenue growth, some speculated it could approach unicorn status if valued on a typical tech multiple (though security hardware might have lower multiples). Achievements and Impact: Ajax Systems stands out as one of the most successful hardware startups from Eastern Europe. Achievements include becoming the number 1 security system brand in Europe within 10 years, something even the founder calls "building the Apple of security in Ukraine." The products have achieved a level of reliability that professional security companies trust - over 1,200 security companies (alarm response centers) around the world integrate with Ajax's system to provide monitoring services. Ajax's impact in Ukraine is also profound: it built local manufacturing when many said it was impossible, created thousands of jobs, and became one of Ukraine's top tech exporters. Even during the 2022 Russian invasion, Ajax kept its factories in Ukraine running (with precautions and relocating some lines to safer regions) and supported the war effort by developing an "Air Alarm" app for Ukrainians (in partnership with the government) to warn of missile attacks. This app uses Ajax's expertise in instant mass notification and became a widely used tool, saving lives. Ajax's success has been a beacon for Ukraine's tech industry, proving that a hardware company can scale globally from Ukraine. In recognition, founder Konotopskyi received national awards and is often cited among top Ukrainian entrepreneurs. The company's plans include possibly an IPO in the future once global expansion stabilizes. It continues to innovate - recent new products include automation devices (to control lights, thermostats, etc., moving Ajax towards smart home, not just security). By coupling security with convenience, Ajax is carving out a role in the broader IoT and smart home market. In summary, Ajax Systems transformed from a Kyiv startup into a global security powerhouse, all while keeping its R&D and much of its production in Ukraine, which is a testament to the talent and resilience of Ukrainian engineers and business leaders. Sources: inventure.com.ua, euristiq.com, techukraine.org, ajax.systems.
Established 2009 by the Polish Federation of Engineering Associations (NOT). Two-stage program for engineering and hardware startups: incubation with mentoring and business modeling, then seed funding up to EUR 200K. Support: expert consulting, seed capital, office space. Scope: National.
Modern health insurance platform streamlining getting care for European employees.
ANJE initiative in southern Portugal providing a 4-month acceleration program with mentoring and business modeling for biotech, agrotech, and ICT startups. Scope: Regional (Alentejo).
Founded 2017. Seed-stage investor focused on marketplaces, e-commerce, and travel tech.
Overview: Allset is a food-tech startup that provides a platform for online restaurant ordering and pickup. Originally launched as a dine-in pre-ordering app, Allset allows customers to pre-order meals at restaurants so that the food is ready at a scheduled time and they can "skip the line". Over time, Allset expanded to enable standard takeout orders, curbside pickups, and even contactless dine-in where you arrive and your meal is served immediately. The convenience factor is central: Allset's app lets users browse menus of partner restaurants, pay in advance (including tip), and streamline the eating experience without waiting. For restaurants, Allset offers a marketplace to attract busy professionals and on-the-go diners, while avoiding the high fees of delivery services. By focusing on pickup and in-restaurant efficiency, Allset positioned itself as a lower-cost alternative to delivery apps for eateries, promising no couriers or delivery logistics - just seamless pickup transactions. As of 2021, Allset had thousands of restaurant partners, particularly in major U.S. cities, and had broadened its use-case to also support contactless dining during the COVID-19 pandemic. Founding Story (2015): Allset was founded in 2015 by two Ukrainians, Stas Matviyenko (Stan) and Anna Polishchuk, who moved to California to grow the business. The founders previously built a mobile payments startup in Ukraine (Settle), which gave them insight into restaurant payment pain points. They noticed that busy professionals often have limited lunch break time and that waiting for service at restaurants ate up much of it. Thus, Allset was conceived to let users pre-order and pre-pay for meals so they could "set" everything in advance and have all set when they arrive (hence the name). The concept started with a few restaurants in San Francisco and New York participating. Early growth was modest as it required signing up restaurants one-by-one and changing consumer habits. However, by offering a win-win - restaurants get more turnover at lunch with guaranteed orders, customers get time savings - Allset steadily gained traction. Matviyenko and Polishchuk leveraged their Ukrainian tech team to build the app cost-effectively. In 2016, they got into the 500 Startups accelerator, which provided seed funding and mentorship in Silicon Valley. By 2017-2018, Allset expanded to multiple U.S. cities and refined its model to also include standard takeout ordering. Product and Market: Allset's target users were urban professionals and corporate employees looking for efficient lunch options. It integrated with over 7,000 restaurants in the U.S. and also some in Ukraine by 2023. Cuisine-wise it was diverse - from fast-casual chains to local eateries. The platform's business model charges restaurants a commission per order, but it touted itself as having significantly lower fees than delivery apps like UberEats or DoorDash. This is because pickup orders do not involve logistics costs. Allset also at times charged consumers small convenience fees or offered a subscription for zero fees. Its competition includes not just the big delivery apps, but also restaurant reservation systems and point-of-sale providers who have added mobile ordering. However, Allset carved a niche in "order ahead for dine-in/pickup." During COVID-19, Allset quickly shifted focus to contactless pickup and curbside service, which aligned with public health needs. The app usage grew as more consumers opted for takeout and avoiding crowds. Post-pandemic, Allset continued to be relevant as many users, accustomed to mobile ordering, kept using it for efficiency. Traction: By the early 2020s, Allset had facilitated tens of millions of orders. It was particularly popular in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston. The app had over 2 million users and a strong repeat usage among its core demographic (e.g., office workers who would use it daily for lunch). Allset's restaurant network grew to include national chains as well as local favorites. A reported figure from around 2021 indicated nearly 7,000 restaurant partners across the US and Ukraine, illustrating its significant network. Partnerships with large chains (for example, they onboarded Panera Bread in some regions) helped validate the concept. In terms of scale, Allset's gross merchandise volume (the total value of orders through the platform) reached eight figures in USD annually. Press coverage often highlighted Allset as a rising star in the on-demand dining space, and it received awards like being listed in Forbes' 30 Under 30 (Matviyenko was honored in 2018). Funding and Investors: Allset attracted a mix of Silicon Valley and Ukrainian investors through its journey. Early on, it raised a $3.35M combined seed (including a $1M pre-seed from SMRK, a Ukrainian VC). In 2018, Allset secured an $8.25M Series A, with investors like Greycroft, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), VK (Digital Garage), and SMRK participating. This round helped fuel its expansion to new cities. By 2020, Allset had raised a total of about $16.6M in funding. A notable investor, Andreessen Horowitz, gave credibility given their prominence. Additionally, the EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) co-invested in Allset, a nod to its Ukrainian roots and growth potential. The company was relatively capital-efficient, using a distributed team in Kyiv for development while its sales team signed restaurants in the U.S. According to PitchBook, Allset's valuation was healthy, though it never reached unicorn status. Acquisition by SoundHound (2024): A major milestone came in June 2024, when SoundHound AI, a Nasdaq-listed voice AI company, announced it had acquired Allset. The deal amount was undisclosed, but it marked a successful exit for the founders and investors. SoundHound's interest was in combining Allset's marketplace and restaurant partnerships with SoundHound's voice assistant tech for ordering (they have a voice ordering system used by restaurants). Through this acquisition, Allset's team (Matviyenko and Polishchuk) and technology joined SoundHound, aiming to power voice-enabled food ordering across SoundHound's large client network. The acquisition can be seen as a strategic fit: Allset brings the restaurant relationships and order workflow, while SoundHound brings cutting-edge voice AI. Allset's co-founders took on roles within SoundHound's leadership to continue growing this combined vision. For the Ukrainian startup scene, Allset's acquisition was a proud moment - a startup founded by Ukrainians achieved a notable exit on the global stage. Achievements and Impact: Allset's journey demonstrated the strength of Ukrainian entrepreneurs in the global arena of food tech. The company managed to enter the ultra-competitive U.S. food app market and carve a space for itself. It was recognized as one of Ukraine's top startups in multiple rankings. The company's growth also had a direct impact: it provided business to restaurants (especially small ones) by bringing them customers who might not have come in otherwise. Its focus on reducing wait times resonated with modern consumers' demand for convenience. Notably, Allset survived and adapted through the pandemic - offering features like dine-in ordering via QR code to minimize contact. This nimbleness likely made it an attractive acquisition target. Allset also set an example of transatlantic collaboration: R&D in Ukraine, business development in the U.S., which is a model other Ukrainian startups have since followed. Post-acquisition, the Allset app and brand continue to operate, now with the backing of SoundHound. With voice technology integration, a future use case might be ordering meals by simply speaking to your car or smart device, which could be the next level of convenience Allset helps enable. For Anna Polishchuk and Stas Matviyenko, their success with Allset has cemented them as influential figures in Ukraine's startup community, often mentoring younger founders and investing in new startups. Sources: vestbee.com, kyivpost.com, vcnewsdaily.com.
Government-backed investor and Sweden's most active seed fund with regional coverage.
Leading fair for nursing and care services. Price: about EUR 30. Strong for care-tech, robotics, and patient monitoring startups.
AltFins is a cloud-based platform for crypto traders to screen, analyze, and trade across multiple exchanges. It provides advanced charting, signals, and portfolio tools used by professional and institutional users. By 2026, AltFins has carved out a niche as a serious trading platform in the crypto analytics market.
A network grown by the Polish Entrepreneurship Foundation in Szczecin, uniting ~50 investors from across Poland. Amber invests in projects that at least have a prototype or beta, focusing on those with high potential and market access. Notable focus: early post-prototype startups requiring angel funding to commercialize (diverse sectors, strong emphasis on the West Pomerania region).
Medtech spin-out developing implantable neuromodulation devices to treat pelvic and nervous system disorders.
Focuses on robotics and IoT hardware startups, providing prototyping support, manufacturing connections, and seed capital. Notable involvement includes a robotics startup acquired by a major US firm. Scope: National. Website: not public.
A conference in Amsterdam focused on Artificial Intelligence, organized by Startup Network Europe.
Recurring startup pitch and talent-networking series in Amsterdam (often hosted at venues such as The Social Hub), designed for pre-seed founders, angel introductions, and technical co-founder hiring. Late spring to early summer editions run as frequent community meetups rather than a single expo format.
Launched 2014 by Telefonica and the Andalusian government. Regional accelerator network with hubs like El Cubo (Seville) and La Farola (Malaga) supporting ICT, smart city, and social innovation startups. Support: free acceleration, workspace, investor forums. Scope: Regional (Andalusia).
Andreessen Horowitz is a global venture firm that led ElevenLabs' early growth rounds and participated again in the company's 2026 Series D. The firm is active across AI infrastructure, developer tools, enterprise software, and consumer internet.
A serial entrepreneur and community builder, Andrzej founded the PROIDEA foundation which runs major tech conferences. He has been investing as an angel in Polish startups for years and was an early backer of Estimote (IoT beacons), Intelclinic (wearables), and JIVR (e-bikes). Andrzej’s broad network and experience organizing startup events make him a valued mentor-investor. Associated startups: Estimote, Intelclinic, JIVR, Znika (eco-packaging), among others.
Co-founder of coworking space TechHub Warsaw and active community figure, Anna has invested in and mentored startups especially led by women. She is known for early involvement in the Warsaw startup ecosystem and provides seed funding to startups emerging from co-working communities. Associated startups: Examples include involvement with Campus Warsaw alumni startups and various civic-tech projects.
Online fashion retailer serving multiple CEE markets with a broad catalog of apparel, footwear, and accessories.
Munich program operator for Antler's pre-seed founder residencies and investment cohorts.
Pre-seed accelerator and VC program for founders in AI, data, and deep tech. The spring 2026 application cut-off passed on February 27, 2026 for a March 9 cohort start; applications continue on a rolling basis for subsequent 2026 cohorts. Typical Antler offer includes early investment and startup-building support from day zero.
Anyline builds vision-AI software that turns cameras into data-capture and mobile inspection tools for enterprises.
A deep-tech and hardware focused co-investment network founded in 2014 under the APER Ventures fund. APER Angels connects private angel investors with VC funds to pool capital for high-tech startups. They typically invest PLN 250k–5M in early-stage companies, and have backed over 24 startups with ~PLN 50M total. Notable focus: hardware, IoT, and deep-tech startups (often syndicating with APER Ventures).
Launched 2017. Seed fund focused on deep tech and medical excellence, backing science-driven teams.
Apify turns the web into an API by providing a platform where developers build and monetize “actors” that extract data from websites. It has become a critical part of the AI data supply chain, powering scraping, monitoring, and automation at scale. The company bootstrapped to profitability before raising capital and maintains a strong open developer ecosystem. By 2026, Apify is a global leader in web automation infrastructure.
A Greek serial entrepreneur and investor, Apostolos frequently co-invests in Poland, especially in marketplaces. He has at least two Polish marketplace startups in his portfolio, one being Packhelp (custom packaging). He brings experience from the Southeastern European startup scene into Poland. Associated startups: Packhelp, e-food (expanded to Poland), and other e-commerce platforms.
Warsaw-based medtech startup developing AptaSense, a bedside analyzer for near real-time therapeutic drug monitoring. The platform uses disposable strips to measure antibiotic and protein levels in around one minute to support precise dosing in sepsis and critical care.
Angel investor based in Warsaw, Poland.
Spun out in 2016. Deep tech and healthcare investor with a history from seed to growth stages.
One of Poland’s first startup bloggers and influencers, Artur has also become an angel investor. He leverages his audience and industry knowledge to promote and invest in Polish startups, often focusing on edtech and gaming. Associated startups: Trafi (mobility) and ThinkCube (edutainment) are a couple of ventures he’s been publicly associated with as an investor.
Re-commerce platform for professionally refurbished consumer electronics with quality grading, warranty, and circular lifecycle services.
Founded 2004. Growth investor focused on deep tech, semiconductors, and enterprise hardware with a global footprint.
Atomico is a leading European venture capital firm founded in 2006 by Niklas Zennström, the co-founder of Skype. Headquartered in London with roots in Stockholm, Atomico focuses on backing ambitious tech founders across Europe at Series A and beyond. The firm manages several billion dollars across multiple funds and has built a portfolio of household names. Atomico’s approach leverages Zennström’s global experience – the firm often helps startups expand internationally and recruits senior talent via its notable “Executive-in-Residence” program. Atomico has invested in companies spanning fintech, deep tech, software, and consumer internet. Notable successes include Klarna (the Swedish fintech giant), Supercell (Finnish gaming, acquired by Tencent), Graphcore (UK AI chips), and MessageBird (Netherlands communications platform). Atomico was also an early backer of Stripe in the US and Viagogo. The firm is known for publishing the annual “State of European Tech” report, reflecting its thought leadership in the ecosystem. In terms of investment size, Atomico typically leads or co-leads Series A–C rounds with cheques of $5–$50 million, and it has the capacity to follow-on through later stages. It closed its fifth fund of $820 million in 2020 and a $1.2 billion fund in 2022, underscoring investor confidence in European tech. Atomico’s team includes partners with experience at Google, Uber, Spotify, and more – providing operational support to portfolio founders. The firm also stands out for its commitment to sustainability and diversity, integrating impact considerations and backing companies tackling climate change. Atomico’s influence is evidenced by the fact that as of 2025 it has produced five IPOs and multiple $10B+ exits in Europe. In summary, Atomico has established itself as a premier VC “built by founders for founders,” fueling Europe’s ascent with capital, expertise, and global networks.
Composable e-commerce software platform for mid-market and enterprise brands managing storefront, catalog, and omnichannel commerce workflows.
Startup community organization hosting afterwork and regional meetup events in Austria to connect entrepreneurs, investors, and ecosystem players. Aims to strengthen the Austrian startup landscape.
Austria Wirtschaftsservice (AWS) 12-month incubator program providing monthly personnel cost subsidies, project grants, and workshops to help early-stage founders refine business models. Scope: National.
Launched 2013. Federal venture fund co-investing in Austrian high-growth startups with long-term local support.
Founded by the creator of syslog-ng, Axoflow provides an observability and security-data routing layer for modern SOC teams. The platform helps enterprises filter, transform, and route telemetry intelligently to reduce SIEM cost pressure and improve incident investigation performance.
Azafaros is a clinical-stage biotech company developing oral therapies for rare genetic metabolic disorders, including lysosomal diseases. Its lead development strategy focuses on compounds designed to cross the blood-brain barrier and address severe neurological progression in underserved pediatric conditions.
Founded 2016. Seed fund focused on overlooked founders and underserved markets.
Renowned Silicon Valley investor and ex-Coinbase CTO, Balaji made a notable investment in Polish crypto startup Aleph Zero. His involvement gave international credibility to Poland’s blockchain scene. Balaji often highlights Poland as a source of strong cryptography talent. Associated startups: Aleph Zero, and advocacy for Polish crypto developers globally.
Balderton Capital is one of Europe’s most established venture capital firms focused on early-stage technology companies. Based in London, Balderton was founded in 2000 as the European arm of Benchmark Capital and became independent in 2007. It has since raised ten funds dedicated to European startups, with over $4 billion in assets under management. Balderton primarily invests at Series A, typically leading rounds of $5–15 million and taking significant minority stakes. The firm’s portfolio spans a wide range of sectors – from fintech and marketplaces to SaaS and gaming – reflecting Europe’s diversity. Notable investments include Revolut (fintech, which Balderton backed at Series A), The Hut Group (UK e-commerce, now public), Darktrace (cybersecurity, IPO 2021), MySQL (acquired by Sun Microsystems), Citymapper (urban transport app), GoCardless (payments) and Vestiaire Collective (fashion resale). Balderton has consistently been among the most active Series A investors in Europe; in 2022 it deployed capital into 20+ new companies and many follow-ons. The firm is known for its strong founder support and an ethos of “teamwork” – all partners share carry evenly, which encourages collective input on portfolio companies. General Partners like Bernard Liautaud (founder of Business Objects) and Suranga Chandratillake (founder of Blinkx) bring operator experience. In recent years Balderton also launched a liquidity fund to buy secondary shares from European tech founders and early employees, reflecting a maturing ecosystem. The firm has also been vocal on issues like startup diversity and European tech sovereignty. With successes such as Revolut’s rise to $33B valuation and Darktrace’s IPO (Balderton held ~18% at listing), Balderton has proven that European VCs can deliver world-class returns. It continues to invest actively across Europe – from Stockholm to Tel Aviv – aiming to partner with founders “with global ambition.” In the constellation of European VC, Balderton Capital is often mentioned alongside Accel and Index as the top choice for Series A funding, thanks to its track record and deep network built over two decades.
Bandora is an AI-powered virtual facility manager that integrates with existing building management systems to optimize energy efficiency, reduce costs, and maintain comfort in commercial buildings. The startup has reported about USD 1M-1.5M in pre-seed/seed backing and won the CTA CEO Summit startup pitch in Lisbon, earning a complimentary exhibit space at CES 2026 in Las Vegas.
Public incubator network founded in 1986 by the City Council, running multiple accelerators and training programs such as mStartup Barcelona. Scope: Regional (Barcelona). Support: incubation space, free training, mentorship, and access to city contracts and EU awards.
Founded 1986 by the City Council. Public incubator network with multiple accelerators (e.g., mStartup Barcelona), training, coaching, and one of Europe's largest entrepreneurship centers. Supported thousands of entrepreneurs; 14,000 coached in 2016 alone. Scope: Regional (Barcelona).
Founder and team development accelerator led by Esade and IQS with a long-form program timeline. Application deadline: March 27, 2026. Notification target: April 14, 2026. Program timeline: April 2026 to July 2028, focused on entrepreneurial capability building and strategic networks.
Angel investor based in Warsaw, Poland.
Former Chief Marketing Officer of telecom Play, Bartosz took his strategic acumen to the startup scene. He has invested in cybersecurity startup Secfense (passwordless authentication) and other tech companies. Bartosz often advises on go-to-market strategy while investing, bridging corporate and startup worlds. Associated startups: Secfense, Booste (revenue-based financing), and a handful of ICT startups.
Be My Eyes is a Danish accessibility platform that connects blind and low vision users with sighted volunteers and company support teams through live video calls. Founded in 2015 by Hans Jorgen Wiberg, the app created a global community of millions of volunteers who provide real time visual assistance. The company later added enterprise support partnerships and AI powered visual descriptions. Be My Eyes is a leading example of Danish tech for social impact.
A longtime PwC executive and innovation consultant, Beata received the 2022 Ecosystem Award for her role in mentoring startups. She is not a traditional high-volume investor, but her contributions in connecting and guiding founders have led her to take angel stakes in a few innovation-driven companies. Associated startups: Select advisory-driven investments (innovation ecosystem support, e.g. via PwC Collider).
Regional beauty trade fair for the Adriatic market. Price: about EUR 10-20. Strong entry point for beauty-tech and cosmetic startups targeting Slovenia and the Balkans.
Founded 2009. Runs Lisbon Challenge, a 3-month, no-equity accelerator that has supported 300+ startups from 70 countries. Offers mentorship, investor meetings, perks, and demo day; alumni include Codacy and Jumia. Scope: International.
Organizer of Bett UK, the education technology trade show and conference.
Leading education technology event bringing together educators, EdTech innovators, and speakers.
Better Stack is a Prague-founded observability platform built by engineers for engineers, led by Juraj Masar (CEO) and Veronika Kolejak (COO). The company is known for combining speed, lower cost, and strong product design in a unified stack that covers uptime monitoring, log management, incident response, and status pages. Its technical positioning emphasizes standard SQL over proprietary query languages and high-performance analytics on ClickHouse-based infrastructure. Better Stack's January 2024 Series A and extension brought total funding to about $28.6M, with Creandum, KAYA Ventures, and Susa Ventures among key investors plus notable angels from Box, Flexport, Neo4j, Yelp, Codecademy, and UiPath. Publicly shared company metrics reported more than 200,000 developers and 4,000+ customers, and by 2026 Better Stack is widely viewed as one of the strongest Czech global DevTools contenders.
Overview: BetterMe is a health and wellness tech company that offers a suite of mobile apps focused on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being. It provides users with personalized workout plans, meal plans, and lifestyle advice to help them lose weight, get fit, or improve their overall health. BetterMe's flagship app, often just called "BetterMe: Health Coaching," includes features such as short video workouts, diet tracking, and educational content. The company also launched a BetterMe: Mental Health app for meditation and stress reduction, reflecting a holistic approach to wellness. Uniquely, BetterMe tailors its programs to individuals using quizzes and data, making the experience feel custom - for example, a user can indicate their goals and preferences and receive a workout routine and diet plan suited to them. The apps are gamified and use a lot of motivational psychology (for instance, sending encouraging notifications, or featuring success stories) to keep users engaged. BetterMe operates on a freemium model: users can access some content for free but need a subscription to unlock full personalized plans and coaching. With an affordable subscription, it undercuts many traditional weight loss programs, contributing to its massive global user adoption. Founding Story (2016/2017): BetterMe was founded in 2017 in Kyiv, Ukraine by Viktoria Repa, a young woman from a family that struggled with obesity. Viktoria's personal journey - she managed to lose weight despite being told it was hopeless - inspired her to help others do the same using smartphone technology. She joined Genesis, a Ukrainian tech incubator, where she developed the idea for BetterMe. With an initial $5 million support from Genesis Investments to kickstart the project, BetterMe launched its first product focusing on exercise plans. Early traction came via viral content on social media; Viktoria's team leveraged platforms like Facebook and Instagram to attract users with catchy fitness challenges and transformation stories. By late 2017, BetterMe's app reached the top charts in the Health and Fitness category on the App Store in multiple countries. The company smartly expanded into adjacent categories: adding a meal planning app, then merging them into one comprehensive platform. Repa, as a first-time founder, was notable for bootstrapping growth (outside of the initial Genesis funding) - she reinvested revenue from the app back into marketing rather than seeking huge VC rounds. This lean approach allowed BetterMe to scale rapidly without dilution or external pressure, and by focusing on revenue early, it achieved profitability within a couple of years. Product and Target Market: BetterMe's target market is primarily women aged 25-45 worldwide looking to improve fitness or lose weight, though it has users of all genders and ages. The app's content covers home workouts (no equipment needed routines, HIIT, yoga, etc.), diet (with thousands of recipes and even grocery lists), and mental health (meditation, self-love coaching). By bundling these, BetterMe positions itself as an all-in-one "personal coach in your pocket." The product stands out for localization - it offers content in multiple languages and adapts to cultural preferences (for example, meal plans will consider local cuisines). The company also sells BetterMe-branded sportswear and merchandise, tapping into the aspirational lifestyle brand angle. One of BetterMe's innovations was leveraging viral marketing: its social media team produced simple before-and-after animations and relatable memes that drew tens of millions of views. This organic reach translated into app installs at low cost. The app itself capitalized on trends like short 7-minute workouts and challenges (e.g., 28-day weight loss challenge), which kept users engaged daily. With the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, BetterMe saw a surge as people turned to home fitness solutions, and the company responded by launching live workout sessions and more mental health resources. Traction and Users: BetterMe's growth has been explosive. As of 2022, BetterMe had over 110 million users worldwide - an astonishing figure that outpaced many competitors like Strava or Headspace in raw user count. The app consistently ranks among the top health and fitness apps in the U.S., Europe, and developing markets. The company achieved $80 million in annual revenue by 2022, all while remaining profitable. This revenue is largely subscription-driven, demonstrating a strong conversion of free users to paid plans. BetterMe's user base is global: major markets include the U.S. (which often accounts for 30-40% of revenue), Europe, Latin America, and also parts of Asia where affordable fitness coaching is in demand. The app has high ratings on app stores and has been downloaded well over 150 million times cumulatively. BetterMe's team grew to around 200 people by 2022, scaling to support content creation (new exercises, recipes, etc.), customer support, and continuous app development. An important aspect of BetterMe's traction is retention - many users report that the combination of physical and mental health guidance in one place keeps them using it long-term, as opposed to fad diet apps that get uninstalled. Funding and Business Model: Interestingly, BetterMe has been largely bootstrapped after the initial funding. Founder Viktoria Repa raised about $5M from Genesis (which is more of an internal investment from the incubator) and did not seek major external VC rounds afterwards. She cited the relatively underdeveloped VC landscape in Ukraine as one reason, but also the fact that BetterMe was generating enough cash to fuel its growth organically. By avoiding dilution, Repa retained control and the company focused on sustainable growth. The business model is straightforward: subscription revenue from the apps (monthly or annual plans) and some e-commerce sales of merchandise. With tens of millions of users, even a small percentage subscribing translated to substantial income. By 2023, the company was reportedly exploring opportunities for external funding or strategic partnerships to develop new products (like potentially telehealth or personalized coaching services). If it were to raise funds, given its scale and profitability, BetterMe could likely command a very high valuation (some industry observers speculated it could be Ukraine's next unicorn). Achievements and Recognition: BetterMe's success has brought significant recognition. Viktoria Repa, as a young female CEO, was featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe in 2019. Sifted.eu (FT's tech publication) ran a story on how she built a global health app from Ukraine with $80M revenue in 5 years. BetterMe's apps frequently top the "most downloaded" charts, and in 2021 Apple highlighted BetterMe in its App Store success stories. Another achievement: during the war in Ukraine, BetterMe made its apps free for all Ukrainian users to help people cope with stress and stay healthy at home. The company donated a portion of its profits to the Ukrainian army and charities, and even released Ukraine flag-themed workout gear to raise funds. This stance boosted its image as a socially responsible brand. BetterMe also claims that it has helped millions of people collectively lose over 1,000,000 kilograms of weight (per internal metrics), showcasing real-world impact. User testimonials often mention life-changing health improvements, which BetterMe uses (with permission) in its marketing. The company's next milestones include expanding into more holistic healthcare - possibly adding features like consultations with trainers or nutritionists, and integrating wearable data for more personalization. Overall, BetterMe illustrates how a Ukrainian startup identified a massive global need - accessible health improvement - and executed with digital savvy to become one of the world's most popular wellness platforms. It stands as a symbol of Ukraine's emerging strength in consumer tech and the power of combining tech with personal passion to solve widespread problems. Sources: sifted.eu.
Major construction-tech and PropTech event focused on digitalization of the built environment. Price: free expo with registration; conference about EUR 450.
Life sciences partnering conference built around 1:1 meetings. Price: about EUR 2800+. Best for biotech startups seeking licensing or funding deals.
Specialized bioeconomy and bioenergy event covering biomass, waste-to-energy, and carbon capture. Price: free for verified professionals or about EUR 50-100. Includes startup pitches and B2B matchmaking for industrial pilots.
World-leading organic food trade fair with the Novelty Stand for trendsetting products. Price: about EUR 32-74 depending on booking phase. Essential for organic and plant-based brands seeking retail listings.
BioInnovation Institute is a life science incubator backed by the Novo Nordisk Foundation that helps researchers and founders turn biotech and health innovations into venture ready companies. Based in Copenhagen, BII provides lab space, grant funding, expert business support, and access to investors for projects in therapeutics, diagnostics, and industrial biotech. It runs programs for both idea stage research and early startups, de risking science heavy ventures before they seek larger capital. BII is a central node in the Danish life science startup pipeline.
Bioptimus is the self-proclaimed "Mistral of Biology," spun out in early 2024 by a team of alumni from Google DeepMind and Owkin, including CEO Jean-Philippe Vert. The company is building what it calls the first universal foundation model for biology. Where large language models were trained on text to learn human language, Bioptimus trains on biological data—DNA sequences, protein structures, cellular imagery, and clinical phenotypes—to infer the underlying rules of life. The ambition is not just better predictions but a unified biological reasoning layer that can simulate outcomes before expensive lab work happens. By 2026, Bioptimus has moved from a research thesis to early commercial traction. After a $41M Series A in 2025, the company released its first commercial model that can predict how a specific molecule will interact with a human cell with unusually high accuracy. This enables in-silico screening that reduces wet-lab costs and improves hit rates for drug discovery. French pharma leaders such as Sanofi have begun using these models to prioritize compounds and compress early-stage discovery timelines. The product value is immediate: fewer failed experiments, faster candidate selection, and deeper mechanistic insight. Bioptimus' roadmap focuses on "multi-scale biology," connecting the micro level (genomics and proteomics) to the macro level (patient outcomes and clinical data). Rather than being limited to protein folding, the models aim to bridge across data modalities so a genetic mutation can be linked to disease pathways, tissue behavior, and potential therapeutic interventions. This requires data breadth and regulatory trust, and Bioptimus is building a defensive moat through European data sovereignty. It leverages partnerships with European research hospitals and biobanks to access high-quality patient data that is difficult for US competitors to acquire under GDPR constraints. That compliance burden becomes a competitive advantage: safer access, better provenance, and stronger alignment with European health data governance. The company remains deeply embedded in the Paris ecosystem. It was incubated inside Owkin before spinning out, maintains a presence around Station F, and benefits from the cross-pollination between French AI and biotech communities. Its investor base reflects that positioning: Sofinnova Partners, Bpifrance, Cathay Innovation, Xavier Niel, and Frst provide a blend of life-science expertise, sovereign capital, and deep-tech conviction. In 2026, Bioptimus is the clearest European bet that foundation models can unlock biology at scale—and a contender to become the default AI layer for drug discovery in Europe.
Digital industry association organizing startup visibility formats including Innovators' Pitch.
Retail investing platform offering cryptocurrencies, stocks, ETFs, and precious metals with fractional trades.
Leading founders festival in Munich connecting founders, investors, and startup enthusiasts for networking and learning.
Europe's premium founder festival at ICM Munich, blending high-signal startup networking with curated investor access and Oktoberfest culture. The event limits attendance to maintain quality, with thousands of founders and investors and structured matchmaking for fundraising and partnerships.
BlaBlaCar is the world’s leading long-distance carpooling platform, often hailed as France’s flagship startup success. Founded in 2006 by Frédéric Mazzella (along with Francis Nappez and Nicolas Brusson), BlaBlaCar was born from Mazzella’s realization that countless car journeys had empty seats. The platform (named after users’ self-described chattyness level – “Bla”, “BlaBla”, or “BlaBlaBla”) connects drivers with spare seats to passengers traveling the same way, so they can share the ride and costs. Today, BlaBlaCar has a 100 million-member community across 22+ countries, serving over 25 million travelers per quarter pre-pandemic. It operates in most of Europe and parts of Latin America and Asia, having successfully localized carpooling in markets like Germany, Russia, Brazil, and Turkey. The company also branched into bus travel: in 2018, BlaBlaCar acquired Ouibus from SNCF, rebranding it BlaBlaBus, to offer intercity bus routes alongside carpool rides. BlaBlaCar’s business model charges a roughly 10–20% booking fee from passengers in mature markets, though in new markets it often launches free to build liquidity. Known for its strong community culture, BlaBlaCar emphasizes trust – it introduced verified profiles, ratings, and even an optional “Ladies Only” carpool option. The company achieved unicorn status in 2015 when it raised $200 million at a $1.6 billion valuation and later was valued around $2 billion. Despite the pandemic’s impact on travel, BlaBlaCar rebounded by 2022, even reporting profitability. In 2023, it raised €100 million in financing to fuel growth. BlaBlaCar is often cited in case studies (Harvard, etc.) as a pioneer of the sharing economy in Europe, proving that a people-powered platform can transform intercity transport. By bringing cost-effective travel to millions and fostering new friendships on the road, BlaBlaCar has truly brought “ridesharing” into the mainstream – and stands as one of Europe’s few consumer-tech unicorns with global reach.
Founded 2012. Seed and Series A investor in smart technologies across northern Poland.
Blockbrain builds private enterprise AI assistants that connect to internal knowledge tools such as Slack, Notion, Google Drive, and email. The platform creates context-aware internal search and answer workflows to reduce information fragmentation and speed up employee access to institutional knowledge.
Bloop is a social shopping network launched in Portugal in 2025 that combines social sharing and e-commerce while rewarding users with platform credit for product reviews. The company has reported EUR 2M in total investment and built its marketplace stack with Marketplacer plus Checkstep moderation tooling for EU DSA-aligned compliance workflows.
BLOXHUB is a Copenhagen innovation hub focused on sustainable cities, architecture, and the built environment. Located in the BLOX building on the waterfront, it brings together startups, corporates, researchers, and public agencies to develop solutions for urban challenges. BLOXHUB runs programs such as Urbantech and hosts collaborations that help startups pilot products with city partners. It is a flagship hub for urban tech and climate oriented innovation in Denmark.
Bolt is an Estonia-born mobility superapp operating ride-hailing, micromobility (scooters and bikes), food delivery, grocery delivery via Bolt Market, and car sharing through Bolt Drive. The company reported about EUR 2.0b in revenue in 2024 and has said it is preparing for a potential stock market listing when conditions are favorable. Bolt continues to expand across Europe with a multi-vertical platform built around local operations and logistics density.
Founded 2015. Early-stage micro-VC and syndicate investing high-volume seed tickets in consumer internet and impact-driven startups.
Founder of Filmaster and co-founder of VC fund SMOK Ventures, Borys also spearheads the SMOK Angels network. A former coder turned investor, he has nurtured dozens of early-stage Polish startups. Borys is known for community building (e.g. Reaktor Warsaw) and has invested in startups across AI, gaming, and software. He co-leads an angel fund, so he straddles angel and VC roles. Associated startups: Included via SMOK portfolio (e.g. Spin.ai, Incentive Games) and through SMOK Angels network.
Single-track, founder-focused conference for SaaS and software leaders. Price: about GBP 995-1495. Deep talks on scaling, product, and culture.
National, state-backed scale-up program operated by Bpifrance. Intensive 12–18 month tracks combining training, consulting, and peer learning, with sector-specific programs (industry, health, luxury) and access to non-dilutive funding and Bpifrance capital.
Early-stage VC with offices in Paris, London, and Barcelona, backing fintech and consumer startups across Europe.
A well-known UK tech entrepreneur (Lastminute.com) and investor, Brent has a footprint in Poland via his fund Firstminute and personally. He’s invested in Polish AI ventures and often speaks highly of Poland’s tech scene. Associated startups: Cosmose AI, Digital Pharmacy (examples of Polish startups he’s supported).
Marketing automation and CRM platform (formerly Sendinblue) with a large London presence and strong SMB community ties.
Brickanta is building an AI-native operating layer for early-stage commercial construction planning. The platform interprets drawings, code constraints, and cost data to automate bid analysis and estimation, reducing procurement risk and planning overhead for project owners and contractors.
Corporate VC studio of Sonae Group investing in cybersecurity, retail tech, telecom, and fintech.
Corporate accelerator by Brisa focused on mobility startups, offering pilot projects on highways and support for smart traffic and tolling technologies. Support: pilots, mentorship, and potential funding. Scope: National.
Accelerator by Budimex for construction-tech startups in green construction, AI, robotics, and site automation. Offers pilots on construction sites, industry mentors, and potential investment or procurement. Scope: Regional (Poland and CEE).
Mobile-first bank that lets individuals and businesses control accounts, cards, and payments.
byFounders is a founder led venture fund backed by a collective of Nordic and Baltic entrepreneurs. The team invests from pre seed to Series A and provides portfolio founders with direct access to experienced operators across the region. byFounders is known for strong community support, rapid founder feedback, and deep connections to the Nordic ecosystem. It has become one of the most influential early stage funds headquartered in Copenhagen.
Founded 2016. Early-stage fund backing digital transformation and consumer internet startups in Iberia.
Co-founder/CTO of Slack, Cal (based in the US) made a rare Polish investment by backing Nomagic (AI robotics from Warsaw). His involvement provides Silicon Valley validation. Cal’s interest in Poland came through seeing its engineering talent in AI and automation. Associated startups: Nomagic (warehouse robotics), and anecdotally, he has advised Polish dev communities.
Callsy is a Vilnius-based conversational AI startup focused on recovering abandoned e-commerce checkouts for online merchants. The product integrates with Shopify, initiates natural-language voice calls to high-intent shoppers, and follows up with personalized SMS incentives to improve conversion. Its multilingual voice workflows are tailored for cross-border commerce across Europe and beyond.
Opened 2018 with Dieter Schwarz Foundation support. Runs an Incubator for idea validation and a 12-week Accelerator for investor readiness; notable mobility and AI startups. Support: training, mentorship, foundation grants. Scope: Regional (Heilbronn-Franken).
Cardeal is a Tbilisi-based auto marketplace and auction platform that digitizes cross-border vehicle sourcing and trade workflows. The product enables buyers to access international car inventories and live bidding, then manage shipping, customs, and delivery from a unified interface. It grew through the 500 Georgia/Eurasia program and serves regional demand across the Caucasus.
Carlos Espinal is a Managing Partner at Seedcamp and a long-time early-stage investor known for backing European founders from pre-seed onward.
Impact venture initiative backed by the Gulbenkian Foundation, supporting social and environmental startups.
Online marketplace that simplifies buying, financing, and swapping nearly-new cars in Europe.
Customer service and contact center event centered on AI, automation, and CX tech. Price: expo-only often free/low cost; congress passes about EUR 1500+. Good for chatbot and voice automation startups.
Launched 2020 as Italy's National Innovation Fund with EUR 1.8B backed by CDP and the government. Generalist mandate to revitalize Italy's startup ecosystem across deep tech, digital, and impact.
Celonis is a Munich and New York-based enterprise software company that pioneered the field of process mining – technology that analyzes a company’s IT event logs to visualize and optimize its business processes. Founded in 2011 by three friends (Alexander Rinke, Bastian Nominacher, and Martin Klenk) out of university in Munich, Celonis bootstrapped in its early years and landed Siemens as a key pilot customer for its process analytics tool. The software proved invaluable in identifying inefficiencies in processes like order-to-cash, procurement, and inventory management. By 2015 Celonis was the leader in this niche, and it partnered with SAP which resold Celonis as SAP Process Mining by Celonis. Venture capital soon followed: Celonis raised $27.5M in 2016 (Series A) then $50M in 2018 (Series B). Its growth was massive – from €1M ARR in 2012 to well over €100M by late 2010s. In 2019, Celonis raised $290M at a $2.5B valuation, making it a unicorn. It wasn’t done: by June 2021, Celonis announced a $1B Series D round valuing it at $11 billion, one of Europe’s largest software funding rounds. And in 2022, Celonis reportedly reached a $13B+ valuation, firmly cementing it among Europe’s most valuable private tech companies. The company’s product evolved into the Celonis Execution Management System (EMS), which not only discovers processes but also suggests and implements improvements (sometimes via RPA bots or triggering workflows). Celonis counts thousands of enterprise customers – including Siemens, BMW, Coca-Cola, Uber – and its software helps them save billions by cutting throughput times, reducing errors, and optimizing resource use. With dual HQs in Munich and New York, Celonis has aggressively expanded in the U.S., competing with companies like IBM’s process mining. The firm is also eyeing an IPO; CEO Rinke has mentioned that Celonis is positioning itself for a public listing when market conditions are right. In the meantime, Celonis keeps growing (estimated $400M+ ARR in 2023) and acquiring smaller tech startups to bolster its platform. Celonis epitomizes the success of enterprise software from Europe – deeply technical, essentially creating a new category, and achieving decacorn status within a decade.
City-backed incubator and creative-tech hub in Warsaw's Praga district, focused on creative industries and digital entrepreneurship. The center provides workspace, training, and events in a revitalized historic building.
Municipal incubator in central Warsaw offering subsidized coworking and office space for early micro and small businesses. It also provides legal, accounting, and business advisory support for new founders.
Former co-founder of mBank and private equity executive, Cezary transitioned into venture investing with a fintech focus. He co-founded Private Equity Managers and Alior’s corporate venture, and as an angel he’s taken stakes in AI and fintech startups. He is often noted among top AI-sector angels in Poland. Associated startups: Fintech and AI companies (e.g. he has been linked to AI startups through the MIT Enterprise Forum and as an angel advisor).
CGTrader is an online marketplace for licensable stock and custom 3D models, serving creators and enterprise customers with marketplace and enterprise 3D modeling services.
Chainalysis was co-founded in 2014 by Danish entrepreneur Michael Gronager to bring transparency to crypto markets. The company builds blockchain analytics software used by exchanges, regulators, and law enforcement to trace illicit activity and manage compliance risk. Chainalysis grew into a global leader in crypto intelligence, raised major rounds, and built offices worldwide while keeping a Danish engineering footprint. It is one of the most valuable companies with Danish founding roots in the blockchain sector.
Venture builder and fund founded in 2015 (building on earlier programs) that co-creates tech startups from Chalmers University research using its Encubation model. Support: incubation, seed investment, business coaches, and access to labs. Scope: Regional (West Sweden).
Established 2015 (building on earlier university incubation). Venture builder and fund for tech startups from Chalmers University using an Encubation model; provides pre-seed funding, business coaches, and lab access. Notable spin-offs include Minesto and KomboSat. Scope: Regional (West Sweden).
Organizer of ChangeNOW, a global summit focused on climate and impact innovation.
Global climate and impact summit under the Grand Palais roof connecting founders with investors, corporates, and public-sector decision-makers. High-value platform for climate startups seeking B2B/B2G pilots, procurement pathways, and scale partnerships in sustainability and transition infrastructure.
Early-stage generalist fund backing founders who build European platform companies.
Choice provides QR payments and digital menus for restaurants, enabling faster ordering and higher table turnover. The platform is growing quickly across CEE and Eastern Europe as restaurants digitize front-of-house operations. It reduces staffing overhead while giving restaurants richer customer data. By 2026, Choice is a fast-scaling Czech restaurant-tech player.
Large innovation campus at Varso Place hosting startups, scaleups, and corporate innovation teams. It is a core meeting point for Warsaw ecosystem networking, including regular Venture Cafe community events.
Conference focusing on the transformation of creative industries, showcasing innovations and fostering collaboration.
Large-scale IT and networking conference with training labs, cloud infrastructure sessions, and the World of Solutions expo. Price: about EUR 700 expo-only to EUR 2700 full conference. DevNet Zone is strong for developer founders and platform integrations.
CityFibre is a full-fiber digital infrastructure scale-up building wholesale fiber networks across the UK. The company partners with ISPs and mobile operators to replace legacy connectivity with gigabit-capable infrastructure that supports residential broadband, enterprise services, and future smart-city and 5G capacity.
Class of Wonders is an impact-focused edtech startup building gamified classroom tools and inclusive learning experiences, including language-learning adaptations for migrant children. Through Lisboa Innovation for All, the team presented MAGOS for All, and it has also participated in ecosystem initiatives such as Techstars Startup Weekend in Viseu.
Focused networking for the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking. Price: free with application/registration. Targets SMEs and startups collaborating on hydrogen and electric flight tech proposals.
Curated venture day focused on urban transition topics including climate infrastructure, mobility, district energy, and smart buildings. Program is aligned with Amsterdam deep-tech week and targets investor plus city-infrastructure stakeholder matchmaking.
Climeworks is a Swiss climate tech pioneer specializing in direct air capture (DAC) of CO₂ – essentially technology to filter carbon dioxide directly out of the atmosphere. Founded in 2009 as a spin-off from ETH Zürich by engineers Jan Wurzbacher and Christoph Gebald, Climeworks has the distinction of building the world’s first commercial DAC plants. Its modular CO₂ collectors use a special filter that binds CO₂ when air passes through, then releases pure CO₂ when heated, allowing it to be captured and stored or reused. In 2017 Climeworks opened a prototype DAC plant in Iceland in partnership with Carbfix, where captured CO₂ is injected underground and mineralized into rock. By 2021, they launched “Orca” in Iceland – the largest DAC plant at the time – able to remove 4,000 tons of CO₂ per year, selling carbon removal as a service to corporate clients like Stripe, Microsoft and Shopify. Climeworks gained widespread attention as the first DAC unicorn: in April 2022 it raised $650M in an equity round (Europe’s largest-ever climate tech funding) at a valuation reportedly around $2 billion. Investors include Carbon Removal Partners and Big Oil venture arms, reflecting broad interest in negative emissions tech. As of 2025, Climeworks is scaling up “Mammoth,” a 36,000 tCO₂/yr plant in Iceland, and planning multi-megaton facilities by 2030. The EU and US policy push for carbon removal (with 45Q tax credits, etc.) strongly benefits Climeworks. The company also sells captured CO₂ for reuse in drinks and agriculture (a smaller market) and operates demonstration units in countries like Switzerland and Italy. With global climate goals increasingly reliant on carbon removal, Climeworks is positioned as a leader in an emerging industry. It touts a goal of removing 1% of global CO₂ emissions by 2050. While challenges remain (DAC is energy-intensive and currently expensive, around $600/ton), Climeworks has achieved real progress – turning sci-fi into reality. Its name comes up frequently in climate policy discussions, and it was highlighted at COP26 as an example of scalable climate innovation. In summary, Climeworks is a trailblazer in direct air capture, turning a bold lab idea into the world’s first commercial carbon removal service, putting Zurich on the climate tech map.
Community-led cloud conference at CENTQUATRE-PARIS focused on practical engineering sessions over vendor marketing. Strong match for infrastructure startups and DevOps-first teams working on Kubernetes, platform tooling, and secure cloud operations.
Internet infrastructure event hosted at Europa-Park. Price: about EUR 400-600 standard (often free with codes), EUR 1200 VIP. Strong for hosting, cloud security, and SaaS infrastructure startups.
CloudTalk is next-generation call center software built for modern customer support and sales teams. The platform integrates deeply with tools like Salesforce and HubSpot and layers AI-driven analytics on top of every conversation to improve agent performance and sentiment tracking. By 2026, CloudTalk has raised a significant Series B and serves global ecommerce and tech support teams, making it one of Slovakia’s most visible SaaS exports.
Business angel network founded in 2015 and active across Poland and CEE. COBIN Angels syndicates pre-seed and seed rounds, supports founders via pitch sessions and education programs, and connects startups with experienced operators and private investors. The network is led by professionals including Robert Ługowski (founder and managing partner), Paweł Michalski (managing partner), and board/community contributors such as Kasia Pieniądz and Tomasz Laskowicz.
Coding challenge and networking event at Google for Startups Campus in Warsaw, designed for developers and technical founders. Useful for recruiting, team formation, and early-stage product validation in software and AI-focused projects.
Large, polyglot developer conference with a festival atmosphere and broad coverage across modern stacks and DevOps. Strong community and recruiting upside for startups.
Founded 2018. Growth-stage investor backing enterprise software and fintech scale-ups from Central Europe.
UK's largest road transport event. Price: free with registration. Strong for fleet telematics, EV vans, and logistics optimization startups.
Comudel develops a business operating system that automates workflows, legal contract handling, and AI-assisted financial operations for companies. Founded in 2022, it is associated with Unicorn Factory Lisboa and Instituto Pedro Nunes, operates from The Fintech House in Lisbon, and participated in the SPRINT accelerator focused on compliance and enterprise operations.
Founded 2013 by prominent Spanish entrepreneurs. Runs 5-month batches for early-stage digital startups in media, gaming, and mobile; mentors take equity and support Demo Day. Notable alumni include Glovo and Meller. Scope: Regional (Barcelona & Madrid).
Leading Polish technical security conference focused on applied hacking, incident response, and infrastructure defense. Strong venue for cybersecurity startups to validate products with practitioners and security buyers.
conmeet offers AI workflow automation for SMB craft and construction businesses. It processes inbound messages from channels such as email and chat, drafts responses, supports scheduling, and streamlines quote preparation so teams can reduce office overhead and focus on delivery work.
Copenhagen Fintech is a non profit cluster that accelerates Denmark's fintech ecosystem through a coworking lab, accelerator programs, and the annual Copenhagen Fintech Week. It connects startups with banks, regulators, and corporate partners, helping teams navigate compliance and secure pilots. The hub has supported hundreds of fintech startups across payments, open banking, regtech, and crypto. It is the main convening platform for Denmark's financial innovation community.
Corti builds healthcare-specific AI infrastructure and models to support clinical documentation, coding, and workflow automation.
Generative protein design platform helping scientists engineer new vaccines, therapeutics, and materials.
Founded 2003. Nordic VC investing from seed in consumer internet, fintech, gaming, and SaaS.
Creandum is a Nordic venture capital firm known for early bets in category-defining European tech companies. It led Better Stack's Series A financing in January 2024 and also has Bolt in its portfolio.
Credo Ventures is a Prague-based early-stage VC focused on Central and Eastern Europe. The firm manages about EUR 250m across four funds and is currently investing out of Fund IV, writing initial checks up to roughly EUR 5m. Credo backs founders from pre-seed to Series A and has supported breakout CEE companies including UiPath, Productboard, and ElevenLabs. Key partners include Ondrej Bartos and Vladislav Jez, alongside partners such as Tomas Burian and Michal Cernocky. The firm is known for hands-on support and long-term follow-on capital in the region.
The Cross-Border Impact Venture Accelerator (also known as Unsung Tech’s Poland-Ukraine program) is a fully online accelerator launched in 2022 to support young Ukrainian entrepreneurs in building humanitarian and impact-focused startups amid the ongoing crisis. This unique six-month program was co-founded by Polish and international tech non-profits in response to the war in Ukraine, aiming to empower Ukrainian youth (often refugees or internally displaced) to address challenges faced by their communities. The program provides equity-free stipends to participants (to cover living and working costs), mentorship in business fundamentals and pitching, and connections to NGOs and international partners. Topics emphasized include leadership under adversity, social entrepreneurship, and financial planning in volatile environments. Notably, the accelerator connects startups with NGOs across seven countries to pilot their solutions in real humanitarian contexts. For example, a cohort team developing a mobile app for reconnecting separated families was paired with relief organizations working in Poland and Ukraine to test and deploy the app. Other startup ideas have included portable water purification units, mental health support platforms, and low-cost prosthetics – all direly needed due to war impacts. The accelerator is run online with occasional in-person meetups in safe locations (e.g., at Google for Startups Warsaw), enabling participants dispersed across Ukraine, Poland, and beyond to collaborate. By late 2023, the Cross-Border Impact Accelerator had supported two cohorts (around 20 startups). Successes included one venture securing grant funding from UNICEF to expand a digital education tool for Ukrainian children, and another joining a global humanitarian tech competition. The program is backed by international donors and tech companies’ CSR arms. Its broader significance lies in showing how entrepreneurship can be a tool for resilience: instead of seeing war-affected youth solely as victims, it empowers them as innovators solving problems like displacement, infrastructure damage, and trauma. The name “Unsung Tech” reflects the mission to uplift underrepresented voices and create solutions that might otherwise go unsung. In sum, the Cross-Border Impact Accelerator stands out as a bold initiative turning tragedy into an impetus for social innovation, forging a new generation of Ukrainian impact-driven founders even in the face of adversity.
Organizer of the Crypto Finance Conference in St. Moritz.
Investor-focused blockchain and digital assets conference held in the Swiss Alps.
CulturePulse builds AI systems that create “digital twins” of societies to model social dynamics and predict conflict or messaging resonance. Initially used in defense and security contexts, the technology has expanded into brand and marketing testing for large enterprises. By 2026, CulturePulse holds a unique position at the intersection of social science, AI, and strategic forecasting.
Expo and conference on cloud security, zero-trust, and enterprise cyber resilience.
UK government's flagship cybersecurity event. Price: about GBP 400-800. Essential for govtech and infosec startups selling to the public sector.
Student-run cybersecurity conference focused on red teaming, AI-driven defense, and a parallel CTF competition. A strong recruiting venue for security and engineering leaders.
Cyrkl is a circular-economy marketplace described as “Tinder for industrial waste.” It enables factories to sell scrap materials such as plastics or metals to recyclers instead of landfilling them. The platform improves pricing transparency and accelerates reuse of materials across industrial supply chains. By 2026, Cyrkl is a recognized circular-economy player in CEE with growing cross-border adoption.
Hybrid AI and data engineering summit at Legia Warszawa Conference Center bridging advanced research with production use cases. Good lead-generation venue for startups building ML infrastructure, analytics platforms, and enterprise data tooling.
Data center infrastructure conference exploring sustainable facilities, cloud infrastructure, and edge compute.
Serial entrepreneur and angel investor, Dawid is known for co-founding CHIC Group, which was acquired by British American Tobacco in a landmark transaction. He actively backs consumer-facing and technology-enabled brands, combining growth strategy support with capital. Notable startup involvements include TakeDrop and investments across lifestyle and tech ventures, including co-investments in projects such as Samurai Labs.
Dawn Health develops regulated software-as-a-medical-device products with pharmaceutical and life-science partners. The company builds digital therapeutics and companion applications for adherence, remote monitoring, and real-world clinical data capture in regulated settings.
Daytrip provides door-to-door private car transfers between cities, pairing long-distance travel with local driver-guides. The model serves tourists who want flexible, comfortable intercity travel without the hassle of trains or buses. The company is profitable and has expanded globally, including the US and Asia. By 2026, Daytrip is a recognized Czech travel-tech export.
Non-profit accelerator hub from Dublin City University running programs like Propeller and Female High Fliers. Support: office space, mentoring, entrepreneurship training courses, and access to DCU research and talent. Scope: National.
The DCU Ryan Academy for Entrepreneurship is a not-for-profit startup support organization in Dublin, affiliated with Dublin City University and founded with philanthropic support from the Ryan family (of Ryanair fame). Since its establishment in 2010, the Ryan Academy has become a hub for accelerator programs, entrepreneurship training, and ecosystem initiatives in Ireland. It operates from DCU’s Innovation Campus and focuses on early-stage startups as well as fostering entrepreneurial skills among students and the general public. Two flagship programs define the Academy: Propeller Accelerator, which was one of Ireland’s first seed accelerators (launched 2011, focused on tech startups), and the Female High Fliers program, an accelerator exclusively for women-led startups. Through these, the Academy has accelerated dozens of startups – alumni include fintech startup CurrencyFair and data startup Logentries, both of which achieved successful exits. Startups accepted into Ryan Academy programs receive pre-seed funding (up to €30k), office space, mentorship from seasoned entrepreneurs, and investor introductions. The Academy also provides entrepreneurship training courses, both at DCU (to students via modules) and to the wider community via short courses. Uniquely, the Ryan Academy blends academic and practical aspects: participants can tap into DCU research expertise while getting hands-on workshops by industry practitioners. The Academy actively engages in EU projects and networks, e.g. it led the INSPIRE program to support immigrant entrepreneurs and partnered on the Startup Europe initiative. Impact-wise, the DCU Ryan Academy has supported over 500 entrepreneurs and helped secure follow-on funding for many. It is credited with improving diversity in Ireland’s startup scene (through Female High Fliers) and championing social entrepreneurship as well. Alumni like Boxever (AI in travel, acquired by Sitecore) got early support at Ryan Academy. With its mission to “develop Ireland’s next generation of entrepreneurs,” the Academy plays a pivotal role in the ecosystem. It effectively acts as a “support organization” bridging academia, industry, and startup community – offering not just programs but also research, events, and policy input to grow Ireland’s innovation capacity.
DDD Invoices is a Ljubljana-based API-first compliance platform for e-invoicing and fiscal reporting. It enables software vendors and ERP providers to handle country-specific invoicing, tax reporting, and archival requirements through a single integration layer. The company supports multi-country compliance workflows across European and global markets.
Organizer of Deep Tech Momentum, a Berlin marketplace event for deep-tech founders and specialist investors.
Deep-tech marketplace event at Wilhelm Studios Berlin covering AI, Web3, photonics, and advanced manufacturing, culminating in Berlin's Deep Tech Award ceremony. Especially relevant for R&D-heavy startups seeking patient capital and strategic industrial backers.
DeepDrive is the Munich startup that convinced major automakers to rethink the electric motor itself. Its core innovation is a patented dual-rotor motor architecture. In a traditional motor, a single rotor spins inside a fixed stator. DeepDrive's design spins both the internal and external rotor simultaneously, delivering higher torque density and substantially better efficiency. The practical outcome is compelling: EVs can achieve roughly 20% more range with 50% less motor weight, while reducing bill-of-materials costs. By 2026, DeepDrive has moved beyond impressive prototypes to industrialization. The company has reportedly secured series nominations with eight of the top ten global automakers for platform launches in 2028–2029. That level of OEM validation is rare at this stage and signals confidence in both the performance and manufacturability of the design. The company is now focused on building automated production lines in northern Munich to scale output for fleet testing and pre-series runs. A particularly strategic application is the in-wheel motor. Because the dual-rotor unit is compact and lightweight, it can fit inside the wheel hub, freeing up interior volume and enabling fully flat skateboard platforms. That creates new possibilities for autonomous shuttles and urban delivery vehicles where maximizing passenger or cargo space is paramount. It also allows for advanced vehicle dynamics such as torque vectoring without complex drivetrain components, improving both safety and handling. DeepDrive is a classic spin-out from the UnternehmerTUM ecosystem at TU Munich, with early validation support from the XPRENEURS incubator. Its investor base blends strategic automotive capital with deep-tech venture funding: Leitmotif led the Series B, BMW i Ventures provides rare early-stage OEM participation, Continental's corporate VC is a strategic partner for braking and chassis integration, and UVC Partners and Bayern Kapital anchor local support. In 2026, DeepDrive is one of Europe’s most promising hardware deep-tech bets: a motor breakthrough with clear OEM pull, manufacturability momentum, and the potential to reshape EV platform design.
DeepL is a Cologne-based AI translation company founded in 2017 by CEO Jarosław Kutylowski. Renowned for its neural machine translation quality, DeepL quickly surpassed competitors in accuracy and nuance. The company’s cloud platform serves over 100,000 business and government customers worldwide, including enterprises like Zendesk and Deutsche Bahn. DeepL achieved unicorn status in 2023 with a €1 billion valuation and continued to grow explosively – by early 2025 it had raised $410 million (led by investors like Index Ventures and Atomico) and reached a $2 billion valuation. In late 2025, reports emerged that DeepL is considering an IPO amid surging revenue, which doubled year-on-year to $185 million in 2024. DeepL’s core product is an AI-driven translator supporting 30+ languages, used for real-time document and content translation. The firm also launched DeepL Write to improve monolingual writing and an AI Agent to automate business tasks. As of 2025, DeepL is recognized as one of Europe’s premier AI startups, combining cutting-edge NLP research with a fast-growing SaaS business. The company’s success – valued at $2 billion and poised for a public offering – underscores Europe’s strength in deep-tech innovation.
Deepnote is a collaborative, browser-based data notebook often described as “Figma for data scientists.” It enables teams to explore data, build analyses, and share results in real time without the friction of local environments. By 2026, it is a default tool for modern data teams and has significant traction in the US market. The company is a Czech-born SaaS success story with global adoption.
Defense and aerospace startup building autonomous dual-use UAV systems for civil and military deployments. Its stack combines launch hardware, onboard autonomy, and cloud software for emergency response, critical infrastructure monitoring, and border surveillance use cases.
Open-source cybersecurity platform for zero-trust access, self-hosted VPN management, and identity controls. Defguard is known for integrating multi-factor authentication at WireGuard protocol level to support enterprise-grade security and privacy requirements.
Founded 1994. Early-stage VC investing in enterprise and consumer technology in Ireland and the UK.
Founded in 2013 as a talent incubator that forms teams and startups from scratch through a six-month program, offering up to €100K pre-seed investment via Think Bigger Capital. Scope: International (Europe). Support: co-founder matchmaking, incubation, pre-seed funding.
Founded 2013. Talent incubator that forms teams and builds startups from idea stage in a 6-month program, with up to EUR 100K pre-seed from its fund. Expanded to multiple European cities; reports 78% survival across 40+ companies. Scope: International.
Organizer of DevOpsCon conferences focused on cloud-native engineering, architecture, and DevOps delivery practices.
Major software engineering conference on cloud architecture, CI/CD, Kubernetes, observability, platform engineering, and secure DevOps practices. Valuable for DevTools startups targeting technical buyers and for startup teams recruiting senior backend and cloud talent.
Community-led DevOps and software ops conference. Price: about EUR 300-400. Great for developer tool startups to find early adopters.
Developer-first conference centered on software architecture, cloud systems, and modern engineering practices. Strong channel for DevTools and infrastructure startups building technical communities with senior engineers and CTOs.
Major developer conference covering cloud, architecture, AI, and Java ecosystems with 2,700+ attendees. Popular venue for recruiting senior engineers.
Premier game industry conference with an indie showcase, publisher meetings, and a strong startup presence across VR/AR, AI tools, and creative tech.
Enterprise-focused sessions on digital strategy, modernization, and technology-enabled change.
Digital innovation hub founded in 2017 for the Rhineland region offering structured accelerator programs, mentorship, networking, and investor access to digital startups. Focus on digital transformation with alumni in cybersecurity and enterprise software. Scope: Local (Bonn/Rhineland).
Founded 2017 as a digital innovation hub for the Rhineland region. Runs structured accelerator programs with mentorship, networking, and investor access; alumni include cybersecurity and enterprise software startups. Support: accelerator program, coworking, corporate partner access. Scope: Local (Bonn/Rhineland).
Distalmotion develops Dexter, a hybrid robotic surgery platform intended to make robotic-assisted minimally invasive procedures more accessible to a broader hospital base. The system allows surgeons to move between robotic and laparoscopic workflows during operations to improve flexibility and operating-room integration.
Dixa is a Danish customer engagement platform that unifies phone, email, chat, and messaging into one support workspace. Founded in 2015, Dixa emphasizes a relationship driven approach called Customer Friendship and helps digital first brands manage omnichannel support at scale. The company expanded across Europe and the United States, raised large funding rounds, and acquired knowledge base and conversational AI products to broaden its suite. Dixa is a notable Copenhagen based SaaS scale up.
Organizer of DLD Munich, an international innovation conference series.
Flagship innovation conference with strong participation from French VCs and Next40 founders, spanning tech, business, and science.
Organizer of DMEA, Europe's leading digital health and healthcare IT trade fair in Berlin.
Europe's largest digital health trade fair at Messe Berlin, spanning healthcare IT, procurement, interoperability, and compliant medical software rollout. Includes the 'DMEA fuer Health Startups' program, the DMEA nova Award startup finals, and DMEA Sparks pitch visibility for early-stage health-tech companies.
DocPlanner is a Polish-founded healthcare booking and patient engagement platform operating brands such as ZnanyLekarz and MioDottore. The group expanded across Europe and Latin America and in 2017 acquired Germany’s Jameda, strengthening its presence in the DACH market; its TuoTempo brand deepened the practice management stack for larger healthcare providers. DocPlanner is backed by investors including Point Nine Capital, Goldman Sachs Private Capital, and One Peak Partners. The company connects patients with doctors while offering clinics scheduling, CRM, and telehealth tools.
Healthtech leader with a major Berlin office and a leading position in Germany’s healthcare market.
DOJO AI is an AI marketing operating system for challenger brands, unifying strategy, content, SEO, and paid media workflows through agent-based automation. The company announced a USD 1M pre-seed round led by HEARTFELT with participation from COREangels and Axel Springer Porsche, and reports more than 20 clients across the US and UK including PensionBee, Unbabel, and Amplemarket.
Publicly listed VC backing European founders from Series A onward with follow-on capital.
Mobile gaming studio behind Royal Match, building polished, high-grossing casual puzzle titles.
DTU Skylab is the innovation hub of the Technical University of Denmark, providing students and researchers with prototyping facilities, mentoring, and startup support. The space includes electronics labs, workshops, and maker facilities that help teams build hardware, robotics, and deep tech prototypes. Skylab runs courses, hackathons, and incubation programs that turn student projects into real ventures. It is one of the most important feeders of new engineering startups in Denmark.
Bringing together AI innovators, researchers, and industry leaders to explore the latest trends and applications in artificial intelligence.
One of Europe's fastest growing tech conferences, bringing together global leaders, innovators, and disruptive technologies.
Large summit at the RDS with around 8,000 attendees and a strong enterprise-tech buyer presence. Programming emphasizes B2B startup-to-enterprise partnerships in cloud, fintech, and big data.
Pure B2B expo for e-commerce service providers. Price: free with B2B registration and approval. High ROI for startups selling logistics, payments, marketing automation, or retention tools.
Europe's defining energy industry fair with Smart Energy and innovation sectors. Price: about EUR 75 day ticket or EUR 225 for 3-day pass. Great for renewable energy, smart metering, and grid intelligence startups.
Launched 2013. Energy and cleantech accelerator with a 3-month program, up to EUR 22,000 funding, coaching, and access to E.ON's network. Support: seed funding, mentorship, utility industry access. Scope: National.
Earlybird is a Berlin-based venture capital firm investing across Europe and is an early backer of companies such as N26 and UiPath.
Easelink develops Matrix Charging, an automated hands-free EV charging system that connects vehicles to ground charging pads without manual cable handling. It positions against charging ecosystem players such as IONITY, EV Connect, and ChargePoint.
Circular-economy startup commercializing technology to upcycle spent coffee grounds into bio-based ingredients, including oils, antioxidant fractions, polymer feedstocks, and protein-rich additives for cosmetics, packaging, and food supply chains.
Organizer of Ecosummit Berlin, a climate-tech investor and founder matchmaking event focused on decarbonization and deep tech.
Climate-tech and green economy matchmaking event at Flussbad Campus (Reethaus), focused on AI-accelerated decarbonization across energy, sustainable buildings, green mobility, and deep tech. Startup Pitch tickets are typically around EUR 600 + VAT and include a guaranteed short on-stage founder pitch in front of active climate investors.
VC arm of utility EDP investing in energy technology, cleantech, and electric mobility.
Specialist cardiology congress focused on heart rhythm innovation. Price: about EUR 600-1000. Strong for ECG AI and cardiac device startups.
EIFO, the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark, is the state backed institution that provides loans, guarantees, and equity to support Danish companies from early stage startups to export focused scale ups. Formed by merging Denmark's growth fund and export credit agencies, EIFO plays a central role in de risking innovation and attracting private capital. The organization co invests with venture funds, supports green transition projects, and helps companies expand internationally. EIFO is a cornerstone of Denmark's public support infrastructure for entrepreneurship.
Global growth investor with teams in Europe scaling healthcare, fintech, and deep tech companies.
Tech veteran and angel building founder communities through Passion Capital and individual bets.
Einride is the Swedish pioneer of autonomous freight, best known for its cab-less "Pod" trucks that are designed from the ground up without a driver. Rather than retrofitting automation into traditional vehicles, Einride built a purpose-made electric platform paired with remote operations. Its "Mesh" system allows a single human operator to supervise multiple autonomous pods in real time from a control center, enabling higher utilization while keeping safety oversight in the loop. The year 2026 is a defining moment for Einride. In November 2025, the company announced a $1.8B merger with Legato Merger Corp. III to list on the NYSE, a deal expected to close in the first half of 2026 and provide more than $300M in growth capital. This public-market transition gives Einride the balance sheet to scale fleet deployments, charging infrastructure, and regulatory approvals across key logistics corridors. By mid-2026, Einride is executing on major commercial contracts with GE Appliances in the United States and DP World in the UAE. It does not sell trucks in the traditional sense; it sells freight capacity as a service (FaaS), bundling vehicles, energy management, and its digital "Saga" operating system that optimizes routes, energy usage, and scheduling. The 2026 focus is on "Einride Grids": dense regional networks in Northern Europe and the US Southeast where autonomous pods handle repeated hub-to-hub routes, driving down costs compared to diesel trucking while cutting emissions. Einride's ecosystem ties include Norrsken House in Stockholm and early innovation pilots through Plug and Play. Its investor base blends Nordic growth capital and strategic logistics backing: EQT Ventures, NordicNinja, Maersk Growth, Soros Fund Management, and Temasek are among the key supporters. In 2026, Einride stands out as the most mature European autonomous freight platform, combining electric hardware, autonomy software, and logistics orchestration into a single commercial service. The company is also investing in safety validation, regulatory engagement, and remote-operations tooling to scale autonomy responsibly across multiple jurisdictions.
European cleantech accelerator offering a three-stage program with grants, mentorship, and industry network access. Notable projects include carbon management and sustainable agriculture startups. Support: non-dilutive funding, expert coaching, EU network. Scope: International (EU-wide).
Established 2010. EU-backed accelerator and investor driving sustainable energy transition with funding, IP support, and industry partnerships; 248 investments and 8 exits, including early backing of Northvolt. Scope: International (EU).
Deep tech and AI-focused VC with offices in Paris and Barcelona and strong ties to European research labs.
Raiffeisen Bank International's venture unit investing in fintech and banking innovation across CEE.
A decacorn AI audio company co-founded by Polish-raised engineers, focusing on AI-powered voice technology and generation.
A decacorn AI audio company with Polish roots, co-founded by Polish individuals, offering advanced text-to-speech and voice AI technologies.
AI voice synthesis platform creating realistic multilingual speech for dubbing, audiobooks, and virtual agents.
Multi-family office operating syndicated investments in high-growth Irish startups.
Organizes courses focused on leading the bio-revolution across life science, offering executive education and leadership development for professionals in biotechnology and related fields.
Congress on sustainable mobility, EV charging, and autonomous transport. Price: about EUR 60 business pass to EUR 400 VIP. Strong for startups selling to cities and fleet operators.
Founded 2006. Growth-stage investor in digital media, AI, and software scale-ups across Europe.
EQT Growth is EQT’s growth-stage platform and led Vinted’s 2021 Series F round, supporting its international expansion.
Launched 2016. Early to growth-stage VC investing in AI, fintech, mobility, and marketplaces.
Angel network and early-stage fund investing in high-tech and high-growth SMEs with active mentoring.
Global congress for clinical microbiology and infectious diseases. Price: about EUR 600-900. Ideal for diagnostics and medtech startups with clinical data.
Conference on open source policy, bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, and open source community members to discuss current trends and future directions in Brussels.
Summit at the Mediterranean Conference Centre with 2,500+ attendees and 400+ investors. Features the Big Pitch Competition with a prize package worth over EUR 1M and strong media visibility.
Founded 2009. One of Europe's largest incubators, hosting 200+ startups annually with multi-stage programs from incubation to acceleration, plus labs and funding access. Ranked a top French startup hub; alumni include fintech scaleups and AI firms. Scope: Regional (Hauts-de-France) with international reach.
French growth equity investor with offices in Paris, London, and Berlin, active in Series B+ rounds across Europe.
Retail tech hotspot integrated into EuroShop 2026. Price: about EUR 70 day ticket or EUR 120 full event. Focus on checkout-free stores, AI analytics, and omnichannel payment systems.
Leading blockchain and Web3 conference with startup pitching, regulation panels, and fintech innovation talks. Dates TBA (mid-February).
Week-long deep-tech programming across Paris with major sessions at Station F and Bpifrance-linked venues, designed to connect science-based founders with industrial buyers and patient capital. Includes deep-tech summit programming across SpaceTech, quantum, robotics, and advanced manufacturing.
Policy and leadership forum for youth innovators across the EU and Eastern Partnership countries. Strong fit for civic, edtech, and impact-oriented founders seeking public-sector partnerships.
An annual gathering for European founders, investors, and ecosystem builders to connect and kick off the new year.
Triennial retail technology trade fair with immersive store tech, analytics, and digital signage.
Six-month EIT Food program run by Startup Hub Poland for female agrifood entrepreneurs. Provides EUR 1,000 stipend, training, 1:1 mentorship, and a chance to win up to EUR 10,000 grants. Scope: National with EU-wide network.
CEO of Vestbee and general partner at Next Road Ventures, Ewa is one of the most connected ecosystem operators in CEE. Through startup-VC matching at scale, she has developed broad deal flow and fundraising pattern insight across European early-stage markets. Her investing and mentoring focus includes SaaS, marketplaces, AI, and high-impact teams including female-led startups.
Exeger manufactures Powerfoyle, a patented solar-cell material that converts both indoor and outdoor light into usable electricity. The flexible material is designed for seamless integration into consumer products, enabling self-charging devices without external cable charging in many use cases.
Warehouse robotics unicorn valued at $2B+ whose Skypod system uses fleets of robots to automate order fulfillment for global customers like Decathlon and Gap.
Founded 2013. Late seed and Series A fund backing high-growth Polish SMEs.
faaya collective is an art-commerce platform that sells fine-art prints from emerging artists and produces on-demand prints locally in Graz, positioned as a sustainability-focused alternative to larger print marketplaces.
Launched 2013. Seed fund focused on AI, data, and climate tech across Iberia.
Fashion for Good is an Amsterdam-based innovation platform and accelerator dedicated to making the fashion industry more sustainable and circular. Launched in 2017 with backing from founding partner Laudes Foundation (formerly C&A Foundation), Fashion for Good runs a 9-month accelerator program for startups developing technologies or business models that improve fashion’s environmental or social impact. Focus areas include innovative materials (e.g. bio-based fibers, textile recycling), new dyeing and finishing processes, circular business models (rental, resale), and supply chain traceability solutions. Each batch (around 10 companies) receives coaching, pilot opportunities, and a small grant; uniquely, the program is venture client-oriented: Fashion for Good’s corporate partners – which include Adidas, Kering, PVH, Stella McCartney, C&A and other major brands – collaborate with the startups to test and implement their innovations. For example, early cohort member Ambercycle (USA) has partnered with Adidas on textile recycling pilots, and Pili Bio (France) worked with brands on microbial dyes. In addition to the accelerator, Fashion for Good runs Scaling Programs for more mature innovators to facilitate larger deals (often joint ventures or first-of-a-kind factory deployments). It also operates a public Experience Museum in Amsterdam showcasing sustainable fashion and educating consumers. By 2022, Fashion for Good had accelerated over 125 startups, helping many secure follow-on funding – alumni have collectively raised hundreds of millions. Notable graduates include Renewcell (Sweden, textile recycling, IPO’d), Natural Fiber Welding (US, plant-based leather, now partnering with Ralph Lauren) and Circular.Fashion (Germany, circular design SaaS acquired by Zalando). Fashion for Good’s success lies in its consortium approach: besides brands, it engages manufacturers and investors (like AccelR8, a fashion-focused VC) to ensure innovations can actually be adopted at scale. Its impact is tangible – alumni like Orange Fiber (Italy, citrus-based silk) have seen their materials used in collections by H&M and Ferragamo. As the fashion industry faces pressure to reduce waste and emissions, Fashion for Good has positioned Amsterdam as a key nexus of fashion tech and sustainability, proving that collaboration across the value chain can accelerate the transition to a Good Fashion future.
FashionLab is a Swedish fashion content platform that uses generative AI to produce product imagery and video for apparel brands at scale. The product replaces parts of traditional studio production by generating brand-aligned visuals with customizable models, scenes, and localization variants. The company has operational ties to the Eurasian ecosystem through the 500 Eurasia program.
Fast Track Malmö is a startup accelerator based in Malmö, Sweden, that has gained recognition for its founder-friendly approach and strong results. Launched in 2015 and backed by Malmö’s public and private stakeholders (including Malmö City, Minc incubator, and VC firm Hax), Fast Track Malmö (FTM) selects around 10 startups per year from around the world for its program. The accelerator provides an up-front investment of €50,000 for 5% equity – a relatively generous seed deal – along with a 3-month intensive program and free housing for international teams. Each cohort gets access to mentors from successful Swedish startups (like King, Truecaller, etc.) and a series of workshops on product, growth, and fundraising. FTM has been particularly successful in drawing startups from across Europe to Malmö, turning the city into a surprising startup hotspot. Alumni have gone on to raise over $100M collectively. For instance, Worldfavor (sustainability data platform) and Bibliotech (UK edtech) both participated in FTM and later raised significant rounds. The program culminates in Demo Day during Malmö Startup Live, where founders pitch to a curated audience of Nordic and international investors. Fast Track Malmö prides itself on its supportive community – it often ranks highly in founder NPS surveys. Notably, 70%+ of its startups secure funding within 6 months post-program. Malmö’s strengths in game development and IoT sometimes reflect in FTM cohorts (some gaming startups and hardware/IoT teams have come through). Another distinctive trait: FTM works closely with Minc, the Malmö incubator, to offer follow-on incubation and soft landings for teams that relocate to Sweden. This extended support helped Fast Track Malmö produce success stories despite operating in a smaller ecosystem. By 2023, the accelerator reported its alumni have created 100+ jobs and 30% of them have at least one female founder – stats that underscore its impact and inclusive ethos. Fast Track Malmö demonstrates that with smart funding and community backing, even a mid-sized city can accelerate startups to global success.
Windows, doors, and facades trade fair with an Architecture & Technology forum. Price: about EUR 30-50. Good for smart glass and energy-efficiency hardware startups.
World's largest fitness and wellness trade show. Price: about EUR 40-90. Strong for wearables, health tracking, and connected gym startups.
FINMAP is a Kyiv-based cash-flow management and financial analytics platform for SMEs. Built to replace spreadsheet-heavy finance workflows, it gives founders a simple dashboard for real-time visibility into balances, forecasts, and cash gaps. The product integrates with banks and payment services across Europe and supports international expansion in Central and Eastern Europe.
FINN is a car-subscription platform serving consumers and businesses with an all-inclusive monthly model that bundles insurance, maintenance, and roadside support. The company has expanded B2B fleet workflows with automated management tools and EV-focused offerings for employee mobility programs.
Fintech demo conference with a no-slides rule: 7-minute live product demos only. Price: about GBP 2299 general, with startup rates around GBP 799. Audience skews to senior banking decision makers looking for vendors.
An expo and conference focused on the latest trends and innovations in financial technology (Fintech) in Amsterdam.
Long-distance mobility network operating intercity buses and trains across Europe.
AI-enabled business management platform combining ERP, HR, finance, and projects for SMBs.
Cloud contact center and customer communications software provider serving enterprise and mid-market teams with omnichannel support workflows.
UK's largest food trade show with healthy and plant-based zones. Price: free trade registration. Strong for foodtech and CPG startups seeking retail listings.
Life sciences VC founded 2006 investing in biotech and medtech from early to growth stages.
Free and open source software developers' conference, covering a wide range of topics and technologies. A major community-driven event for open source enthusiasts and professionals in Brussels.
Local chapter operator of Founder Institute's pre-seed acceleration program.
Barcelona chapter of the global Founder Institute pre-seed program for idea-stage and early-stage founders. Application deadline: November 18, 2026. Structured cohort model designed to move founders from concept to traction and funding readiness.
Founder-only conference emphasizing candid, off-the-record conversations about the realities of scaling, leadership, and founder psychology.
Founded 2008. Specialist VC investing in biotech, pharma, and medical devices with a transatlantic presence.
Co-founder of Coinbase, Fred has a venture fund (Paradigm) but also personally invested in at least one Polish crypto project. He reportedly joined a round for Ramp as an angel, underscoring Poland’s emergence in the crypto infrastructure space. Associated startups: Ramp, possibly others in Web3.
Government-backed scale-up labels that function as a virtual accelerator. Selected companies receive a dedicated startup manager who fast-tracks administrative, regulatory, and international scaling needs.
Concierge-style soft-landing hub integrated with local partners such as SeedRocket and Pier01. Strong on mobile, gaming, and impact startups, with frequent networking to fast-track community access.
Community networking evening hosted during MWC week, typically held at Pier 01 and focused on connecting French founders and partners in Barcelona.
Community hub bridging France and Germany with market-access programming and the Franco-German Tech Lab. Strong focus on deep tech and Industry 4.0 partnerships with German corporates.
Public-service help desk inside Station F where founders can meet French administrations (tax, IP, labor, visas) to resolve regulatory and compliance issues quickly.
CEE gateway hub running cross-landing programs with French Tech Lyon–Saint Etienne. Helps French startups build Polish R&D teams and supports Polish founders entering France.
Community-led mentorship program matching early-stage founders with senior operators and investors for 6–12 months. Focused on UK market entry, legal and tax clinics, and founder coaching for cross-channel expansion.
Monthly community meetup for French founders, investors, and operators in London. Typically held on the first Thursday of the month at venues like The Arboretum or Huckletree.
Soft-landing support for French startups opening their first German office, with industrial matchmaking across Bavaria and deep-tech partnerships.
Networking night hosted during Web Summit week by the French Embassy and French Tech community in Lisbon.
Diversity-focused accelerator hosted at Station F. Provides grants, workspace, and mentoring for founders from underrepresented backgrounds, with a focus on fast-tracking access to the broader French Tech ecosystem.
Launched 2012. Seed fund bridging Europe and the US with a focus on B2B software and global go-to-market support.
Global fresh-produce trade fair with a Smart Agri focus and dedicated startup day. Price: about EUR 48 day ticket or EUR 88 permanent pass. Best for agri-tech founders selling to growers, distributors, and retailers.
Fuergy builds smart battery storage systems branded as brAIn, optimizing energy use for buildings and commercial facilities. Its platform automates when to store and discharge solar energy, and can trade energy on markets to lower bills. As energy price volatility persists in Europe, Fuergy’s systems are gaining traction among enterprise and real-estate operators. By 2026, Fuergy is one of Slovakia’s fastest-growing energy-tech companies.
Early-stage fund rebranded from DBIC Ventures in 2022, backing Irish software and deep tech startups.
Senior-level utility summit focused on net-zero transition. Price: about EUR 1800-2500. Great for grid tech, smart metering, and energy analytics startups.
GAIMIN is a Web3 distributed cloud infrastructure platform that uses gamers' unused computing power, including GPUs, for HPC and AI workloads. The company reported more than USD 1.79M in funding, launched the GMRX token, partnered with ecosystems such as Movement Labs and BNB Chain, and secured cloud-compute support from Aethir's ecosystem fund. In decentralized resource and staking markets, it competes with larger platforms such as Lido, Kiln, and Ubitus.
Co-founder of Uber and StumbleUpon, Garrett has occasionally invested in Poland from Silicon Valley. He was part of the angel group that funded Airly (Kraków-based air quality sensor network). His investment in Polish cleantech is a testament to the global reach of top Polish startups. Associated startups: Airly (environmental IoT).
Organizer of Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo events for CIOs and enterprise technology leaders.
Enterprise IT leadership conference in Barcelona where global CIOs and technology executives shape annual strategy and procurement priorities. Strategic venue for enterprise SaaS startups selling high-ticket AI, cybersecurity, and data-management platforms.
Veteran JVM and backend engineering conference with deep technical talks across Java, Scala, Kotlin, and cloud architecture. Strong recruiting venue for senior engineers.
Experiential travel marketplace curating tours, attractions, and local guides across Europe.
Organizer of GITEX Europe, a global-scale tech conference and exhibition focused on AI, cybersecurity, and digital finance.
Berlin edition of the global GITEX brand focused on sovereign AI, cybersecurity, and digital finance, connecting European startups with international buyers and investors. The event uses tiered passes (from low-cost expo tickets to premium access) and features Supernova startup competitions, with reported equity-free funding prizes up to EUR 100,000.
Virtual pitch competition for deep-tech startups aligned with the CES spotlight.
France's massive industrial gathering with a startup village and Industry 4.0 showcases. Price: free for professionals with badge. Strong for industrial IoT and smart manufacturing startups.
Travel-tech startup pitch competition at Phocuswright Europe in Barcelona. Application deadline: April 1, 2026. Live pitch date: June 16, 2026. Format typically selects seed and scale-up companies for investor and corporate jury exposure.
Organizer of GLOBALS Tech Festival, focused on scaleup growth and international expansion.
High-energy scaleup festival at The Social Hub Barcelona, scheduled as a pre-MWC gathering for founders, operators, and investors. Focused on international expansion, B2B growth, and cross-border execution in Europe and Latin America.
Glorri is a Baku-based HR software platform that unifies sourcing, applicant tracking, hiring collaboration, and onboarding workflows into one system. The product targets fragmented recruiting stacks used by growing teams and enterprise HR units, with a focus on reducing time-to-hire and process overhead. It gained regional visibility through the 500 Global in Eurasia accelerator.
On-demand delivery super-app for food, groceries, and courier services across Southern and Eastern Europe.
GoStudent is an online tutoring platform providing paid, one-to-one video-based tuition to students.
Founded 2006. Growth equity investor in digital services and software.
AI-powered writing assistant offering grammar, clarity, and tone suggestions across browsers, apps, and keyboards, with freemium and enterprise plans.
Organizer of Greentech Festival, a large Berlin sustainability and climate innovation conference and exhibition.
Major sustainability-focused exhibition and conference at Messe Berlin, founded by Nico Rosberg, showcasing climate innovation across mobility, circular economy, and supply chains. Exact 2026 dates are to be announced.
Launched 2017. Corporate venture program connecting startups with the Jose de Mello Group in healthcare, energy, and infrastructure. Support: pilot agreements, corporate guidance, and potential customer contracts. Scope: National.
Founded 2018. Five-week investment readiness program (run in 3-month cycles) for female-led or diverse startups; includes VC-led workshops, fundraising roadmaps, and investor pitch sessions. Supports female and diverse founders.
Founder and CEO of SALESmanago, Grzegorz became an active smart-money investor after a majority stake transaction in SALESmanago. Through Borubar Ventures and direct investing, he backs B2B SaaS companies in big data, AI-driven analytics, and sales automation. Portfolio references include Exmetrix and Appoint.ly.
Organizer of MWC Barcelona and associated startup programming including 4YFN.
GymBeam is the leading fitness and nutrition D2C brand in Central and Eastern Europe. It uses aggressive data analytics and direct-to-consumer distribution to launch, test, and scale new supplements and wellness products faster than traditional competitors. By 2026, GymBeam is a major ecommerce scale-up with exceptional revenue growth and a growing international footprint, positioning it as a potential IPO or strategic exit candidate.
H (formerly Holistic) represents France’s second-wave AI builders: less focused on text generation and more focused on action. Founded in 2024 by a team that included former DeepMind researchers such as Charles Kantor and Laurent Sifre, the company drew attention with a seed round that eclipsed prior European records, signaling investor appetite for agentic AI. H’s core thesis is that the next leap is not bigger language models but AI systems that can plan, execute, and verify multi-step workflows across real software interfaces. The company frames this as “RPA 2.0,” using vision-language models to interact with screens and applications rather than brittle scripts and APIs. The firm’s early months were turbulent, including leadership turnover in late 2024, but the product roadmap accelerated. In November 2025 H launched Runner H, a vision-language agent that can see a desktop and operate mouse and keyboard actions to complete tasks such as booking travel, compiling invoices, or processing customer tickets. The release of Surfer-H-CLI soon after gave developers a programmable surface for building web agents, which helped H win mindshare with the European developer community. An acquisition of Mithril Security in 2025 signaled a focus on secure, private agent deployment — a crucial requirement for enterprise adoption, where the biggest fear is an autonomous agent mishandling data or credentials. H is deeply embedded in the Paris AI ecosystem, with early incubation support from Aglae Ventures and strong ties to the Paris AI Hub around Sorbonne and Ecole Polytechnique. Its backers read like a who’s-who of strategic supporters: Accel led financing, Eric Schmidt invested personally, and strategic relationships with Amazon and UiPath position H as a bridge between cloud infrastructure and automation workflows. French tech patrons Xavier Niel and Bernard Arnault provide both capital and political signal value. By early 2026, H is widely watched as a potential category leader in action-oriented AI, competing to become the default “application layer” for autonomous digital workers across Europe’s enterprises.
World's most important industrial trade fair with the Young Tech Enterprises startup hub. Price: about EUR 35-80. Core event for industrial AI, robotics, and energy startups.
Organizer of the mRNA-Based Therapeutics Summit Europe series.
Operator-led Polish deep-tech VC fund with a target size of EUR 20M (about PLN 80M), investing at pre-seed and seed. Founded by Maciej Zawadzinski, Maciej Frankowicz, and Konrad Trzyna, the fund focuses on robotics, photonics, cybersecurity, biotech, space tech, and hardware-enabled software. Typical initial checks are up to PLN 3M with follow-on capacity up to PLN 8M for top portfolio companies.
Opened 2007. Provides office space, mentorship, and links to Limerick's industry network for medtech, biotech, and digital media startups; supported 50+ firms. Notable alumni include Stokes Bio. Scope: Regional (Mid-West Ireland).
Specialized accelerator (since 2018) for aquaculture and alternative seafood startups with ~USD 100K investment, mentorship, and pilot opportunities in global aquaculture facilities. Programs run in Ireland, Norway, and Hawaii. Scope: International.
Virtual matchmaking event connecting healthtech startups with healthcare providers and investors.
Heartcore Capital, formerly Sunstone, is a Copenhagen based VC focused on early stage consumer and software companies. The firm invests across the Nordics and Europe, supporting founders who build category leading marketplaces, subscriptions, and SaaS products. Heartcore has been an early backer of companies such as Vivino and Lunar and has built one of Denmark's most experienced VC teams. Its consumer first perspective remains a distinctive focus in the Nordic funding market.
Hedepy is an online therapy platform connecting patients with certified psychotherapists via video. It has expanded across more than ten European markets, offering multilingual access and flexible scheduling. The service addresses mental health capacity shortages by making therapy easier to access and scale. By 2026, Hedepy is a leading Czech health-tech company in digital mental health.
An early-stage “angel fund” that invests in tech and communication startups, specializing in marketplaces, e-commerce, B2B, and IoT. It operates like an angel syndicate, with a portfolio including companies like Allani, Evenea, and Preply. Notable focus: seed-stage online platforms – Hedgehog provides capital plus hands-on involvement to spur growth (many of its investments later raised VC funding).
Helio.ai is an AI-powered recruiting platform from Tbilisi focused on automating candidate screening and improving hiring quality. The product combines ATS workflows, multilingual CV matching, and behavioral assessment tools to help teams make faster, less biased hiring decisions. The company has expanded across regional markets with backing from Georgian and international investors.
An event organisator focusing on deep tech innovation, known for its Global Summit and Deep Tech Pioneers program.
Selection process for deep-tech startups seeking curated access to Investor Day matchmaking during Amsterdam Deep Tech Days. Deadlines for Pioneer status typically close in early spring 2026 ahead of June programming.
Amsterdam deep-tech flagship structured across Investor Day (June 10) and Global Summit (June 11-12), with LP/GP and founder-investor tracks. Startups targeting curated Investor Day access typically apply via Deep Tech Pioneer selection, with deadlines usually in early spring 2026.
Helsing is a defense technology company building AI software systems for democratic governments and armed forces in Europe. Its platform fuses data from radar, drones, optical and infrared sensors to provide real-time situational awareness and operational decision support. After major growth financing in 2025, Helsing expanded across core European defense programs and into autonomous systems, including the HX-2 platform.
Hemab is a clinical-stage biotech company developing prophylactic therapies for severe bleeding and thrombotic disorders. Founded by biotech operators with Novo Nordisk roots, the company engineers antibody-based treatments aimed at preventing episodes before they occur in underserved rare-disease populations.
Founded 2006. Seed fund focused exclusively on B2B SaaS and cloud services.
Organizer of HTGF Family Day, one of Germany's key startup-investor-corporate networking events.
High-Tech Gruenderfonds (HTGF) is Germany’s public-private seed investor. In 2022 it launched HTGF IV with about EUR 493m, backed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, KfW Capital, and 45 corporate LPs including BASF, Bayer, Bosch, and SAP. HTGF focuses on high-tech, industrial tech, chemistry, and life sciences and is a cornerstone early-stage fund in Germany.
Deep-tech venture builder at High Tech Campus Eindhoven (established 2015) turning advanced tech from sources like CERN or ESA into startups through a nine-month program. Support: co-founding teams around tech IP, seed funding, access to Eindhoven's R&D ecosystem. Scope: International.
Deep-tech venture builder at High Tech Campus Eindhoven (est. 2015). Runs a 9-month venture-building program turning advanced tech from CERN, ESA, and others into startups; exits include Accerion. Support: co-founding teams, seed funding, R&D ecosystem access. Scope: International.
Organizer of HLTH Europe, a major conference connecting digital health innovators with healthcare decision-makers.
Pan-European health innovation conference at RAI Amsterdam connecting providers, payers, pharma, policymakers, and digital health startups. Strong entry point for navigating fragmented national healthcare systems through centralized buyer and partner access.
Virtual and hybrid event platform enabling immersive conferences, expos, and town halls.
Information day on funding opportunities for health-related projects under the Horizon Europe framework programme, specifically for Cluster 1 (Health). Provides guidance for applicants and consortia.
Matchmaking event for Horizon Europe mobility calls. Price: free with registration. Focused on 1:1 meetings to build consortia for non-dilutive EU funding.
Hostinger is a web hosting and cloud services provider offering hosting, domains, and website tools. Launched in 2004 as a Lithuania-based startup, it serves over 4 million people in 150+ countries.
Invite-focused networking and portfolio event hosted by High-Tech Gruenderfonds at STATION Berlin under the 2026 theme 'Next European Tech Renaissance.' Known for high-efficiency 1:1 investor-corporate-startup meetings and strong syndication opportunities.
Deutsche Telekom's tech incubator founded in 2012 with campuses in Berlin and Kraków, focusing on 5G, IoT, and AI startups. Support: corporate seed funding, technical resources, co-creation programs, and access to Telekom's network. Notable alumni include telecom IoT ventures integrated into Deutsche Telekom. Scope: International.
Founded 2012. Deutsche Telekom's tech incubator focused on 5G, IoT, and AI with campuses in Berlin and Krakow. Support: corporate seed funding, infrastructure access, expert mentoring, and co-creation pilots with Telekom. Notable alumni include IoT ventures integrated into Deutsche Telekom. Scope: International.
E-commerce SaaS platform enabling merchants to run online stores, integrate marketplaces, and manage order operations at scale.
Organizer of ICE Gaming, the global gaming industry expo and conference.
Global gaming industry expo and conference showcasing casino, betting, and gaming technology.
City-wide innovation festival across Reykjavik with 1,500+ attendees and a strong climate and impact focus. Includes climate-pitch formats like Ok, Bye and intimate networking across decentralized venues.
ICONIQ Growth is a global growth-stage investor that co-led ElevenLabs' Series C in 2025 and participated again in the 2026 Series D round. The firm backs category leaders in software, AI, and digital platforms.
University-led startup competition connecting Polish founders with IE University’s global alumni, VCs, and corporate partners. The 2026 edition focuses on impact entrepreneurship and includes a multi-round pitch format with jury feedback and finalist presentations.
Organizer of IFA Berlin, a major global consumer electronics trade show with startup-focused programs such as IFA NEXT.
Flagship global consumer electronics trade show at Messe Berlin and a major launch platform for hardware and smart-home products. Startup-focused programs such as IFA NEXT help early-stage teams access media, distribution, and manufacturing partners.
Organizer of the Ignite Sweden Summit on corporate-startup collaboration.
Summit on corporate-startup collaboration with case studies and B2B networking.
Established 2014. EU-backed accelerator for mobile and digital startups (edtech, mobility, etc.) with online program, equity-free grants, mentoring, and international roadshows. Notable alumni include ChainGO. Scope: International (EU).
Part of the global Impact Hub network running tailored programs for social impact startups, including accelerators like Better Mobility and RE:WIEN. Support: mentorship, workshops, grant opportunities, and corporate/NGO partnerships. Scope: International (impact focus).
Impact Hub Vienna is a leading center for social entrepreneurship and innovation, part of the global Impact Hub network that spans 100+ cities. Founded in 2010 in Vienna, it provides coworking space, incubation programs, and a vibrant community for startups addressing social and environmental challenges. Impact Hub Vienna runs several tailored acceleration initiatives – for example, RE:WIEN (supporting urban sustainability startups in partnership with the city) and Better Mobility Accelerator (for green mobility solutions). These programs typically offer mentorship, workshops, and occasionally grant funding or prize money to selected ventures. The Hub has a strong convening power: its corporate and NGO partners include Vienna’s public agencies, energy companies, and organizations like WWF. Startups to come out of Impact Hub Vienna’s ecosystem include Refugeeswork.at (job platform for refugees), Kiweno (at-home health tests), and EET (solar energy storage solutions). In addition to formal accelerators, Impact Hub offers its members year-round benefits – from “Connect” meetups to an Investor Circle that links impact startups with socially-minded investors. The facility itself, located centrally in Vienna, hosts numerous hackathons, pitch nights, and community events that cross-pollinate ideas between sectors. Uniquely, Impact Hub is structured as a social enterprise: it’s mission-driven to amplify impact, and revenue comes from memberships, partnerships, and consulting. Over the last decade, Impact Hub Vienna has supported hundreds of impact innovators. It emphasizes cross-border collaboration too – many ventures it accelerates tackle problems applicable across Central/Eastern Europe. For example, its “Climate Ventures” program (with Climate-KIC) has cohorts from multiple countries. By providing a nurturing home for impact startups, Impact Hub Vienna has solidified Vienna’s status as a hub for social innovation. It demonstrates that entrepreneurial solutions to societal issues – whether in climate, inclusion, or education – can be scaled successfully with the right support network.
Large CEE technology and policy event connecting scale-ups with corporate and government decision-makers. Strong fit for startups pursuing enterprise partnerships, public-sector pilots, and regional expansion.
Launched 1999 by Institut Mines-Telecom. Incubator for tech startups from students and researchers with programs like START@IMT and SCALE'Up; focuses on AI, big data, and VR with early-stage funding options. Scope: Regional (Ile-de-France).
Global personal care ingredients trade fair. Price: free with pre-registration or about EUR 100 on-site. Ideal for biotech and sustainable cosmetics startups.
Index Ventures is a globally renowned venture capital firm that originated in Europe and has been instrumental in scaling many of the continent’s top tech companies. Founded in Geneva in 1996 by the Daly brothers and Neil Rimer, Index later opened major offices in London and San Francisco, making it a transatlantic VC powerhouse. Index invests at all stages (seed to growth), though it is especially prominent in Series A/B in Europe. The firm has an extraordinary track record: it was an early backer of Skype (sold to eBay), Last.fm (sold to CBS), Supercell (acquired by Tencent), and MySQL (acquired by Sun) in the 2000s, and more recently of Deliveroo, Adyen, Figma, Revolut, Robinhood and Notion – to name a few. Index’s portfolio spans consumer and enterprise: it has seeded fashion marketplaces like ASOS and Farfetch, scaled up fintech stars like TransferWise (Wise) and Robinhood, and supported open-source and SaaS successes (Elastic, Confluent, Collibra). The firm manages multiple funds (it raised a $3B+ set of funds in 2022) and often co-invests across its early and growth funds to support companies long-term. Index is particularly known for its knack in consumer-facing startups and its ability to spot trends early (e.g., it led Patreon’s Series A in the creator economy space, and Discord’s seed in gaming communication). Partners at Index are a cosmopolitan bunch – with backgrounds ranging from gaming entrepreneurs to investment bankers – and they bring a strong network in both Silicon Valley and Europe. Uniquely, Index also has a life sciences arm (Index Life) that invested in companies like Moderna. In Europe, Index has been among the top three most active VCs by number of unicorns backed. For example, Index led Deliveroo’s Series B in 2014 and remained a major shareholder through its 2021 IPO. Similarly, Index was pivotal in Adyen’s growth (now a ~$50B payments giant). Culturally, Index is known for being founder-friendly and global in outlook – encouraging its European portfolio to expand to the US when needed and vice versa. It also frequently publishes insightful content (e.g., Bernard Dallé’s guides on SaaS metrics or interviews with founders). As of 2025, Index Ventures stands as a gold-standard VC, with a portfolio boasting dozens of IPOs and acquisitions, and a current crop of rising stars across continents.
Founded 2019 by an ex-Caixa Capital team. Independent VC investing in Iberian tech startups across fintech, AI, and marketplaces.
Evergreen fund founded 1979 investing in Swedish deep tech and life science.
Modular vertical farming network bringing fresh, low-footprint produce into urban retail and hospitality.
Health AI company building medical guidance and triage tools for providers, insurers, and digital health platforms. Its platform automates symptom assessment and patient routing in multiple languages across international markets.
Large software and startup conference at AmberExpo with 6,000+ attendees, 500+ startups, and 200+ investors. Startup Contest offers EUR 30,000 and the agenda is especially strong for developer tools and data-heavy products.
Infrastructure security forum hosted at Sound Garden Hotel focused on resilience of critical systems in utilities, telecom, and enterprise IT. High-signal venue for cybersecurity startups targeting B2B and public-sector pilots in Poland.
Jewelry and watch trade fair with the Trendfactory forum on retail tech, 3D printing, and wearables. Price: about EUR 34 early online to EUR 79 on-site.
Founded 2002. Academic incubator supported by University of Vienna, TU Wien, and Vienna Business Agency. Helps research-driven startups commercialize IP via START:IP and SCALEup, with funding up to EUR 100K and lab access. Scope: Regional (Vienna).
Launched 2010 with backing from Dutch pension fund APG. Early-stage investor in healthcare and enterprise software.
Founded 2007. Early-stage fund investing in technology and life sciences with parallel focus on digital, IoT, and healthcare.
Flagship day of UK FinTech Week held at Guildhall. Price: about GBP 900-1500. Strong policy and regulatory audience.
Organises an annual event for insurance professionals to explore innovation, emerging technologies, and future trends in the insurance sector.
Founded 2011. Seed fund focused on B2B SaaS and developer tools.
Bitkom's Innovators' Pitch 2026 live finals featuring startup teams in future technologies for logistics and education. Application deadline was February 23, 2026 (now closed); live pitch takes place March 19, 2026 with equity-free prize money and ecosystem visibility.
Innovatrics is a global leader in biometrics, known for highly accurate fingerprint and facial recognition algorithms. Its technology is used by governments and enterprises for elections, border control, national ID systems, and KYC compliance. The company is established, profitable, and influential in the identity market, exporting Slovak engineering excellence into critical infrastructure worldwide.
InoBat builds custom-designed batteries for demanding applications such as aviation, premium EVs, and performance mobility. Unlike standard gigafactory players, InoBat focuses on tailored R&D, pilot production, and high-value customers that require specialized chemistry and form factors. By 2026, the company is a strategic player in the EU battery value chain with backing from partners like Rio Tinto and Gotion High-Tech, positioning Slovakia as a serious contributor to Europe’s energy storage ecosystem.
Tier-1 venture capital firm focused on early-stage software startups from Poland and CEE. Inovo invests from pre-seed to seed, typically backing founders targeting global markets across SaaS, developer tools, AI, and digital health.
Insight Partners is a global software investor with a London presence and was a participant in Vinted’s 2021 Series F round led by EQT Growth.
Creator-economy ad platform connecting brands with livestreamers through automated micro-sponsorships. It places lightweight, context-aware overlays in live broadcasts and supports large-scale campaigns for gaming and media brands.
One-day insurtech and digital finance conference on insurance transformation and security.
Largest European insurtech conference with carrier decision makers and startup kiosks. Price: about GBP 1500-2500. Great for claims automation and risk analytics startups.
Large AV and systems integration expo with strong participation from French creative tech and AdTech companies.
Conference track on RPA, AI-driven process automation, and the future of work.
Hospitality and gastronomy trade fair with an innovation area for food tech and digital operations. Price: about EUR 35-50 for trade visitors. Strong for POS, kitchen robotics, and novel food ingredients.
Organises one of the world's largest exhibitions for food, agriculture, and horticulture, showcasing innovations in green industries.
One of the world's largest food, agriculture, and horticulture exhibitions, showcasing innovations and trends in green industries.
B2B matchmaking event focused on France–Bavaria innovation partnerships, connecting French deep tech startups with German industrials.
Foodservice and hospitality trade fair with a Newcomers Area for gastro startups. Price: about EUR 40-50. Strong for restaurant tech and beverage brands.
Austria's largest manufacturing technology trade fair. Price: free with registration to about EUR 25. Strong for automation, tooling, and industrial startups.
Inventoro provides AI-driven sales forecasting and inventory optimization for SMB retailers. The platform recommends what to order, when to reorder, and how to reduce dead stock, helping merchants improve margins. It integrates with POS and ecommerce systems to automate demand planning without enterprise complexity. By 2026, Inventoro is a fast-growing Czech AI retail-tech company.
Founded 2008. Active early-stage investor across ICT, biotech, and fintech with multiple fund vehicles.
Massive IoT event co-located with AI & Big Data and Blockchain expos. Price: free Expo Pass; paid passes about GBP 499-1099. Strong for edge computing, industrial IoT, smart cities, and applied IoT across transport and healthcare.
Space launch company developing cost-efficient small and medium-lift rockets to give Europe independent access to orbit.
Founded 2018 at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria to back university spin-offs and deep science startups.
Enterprise IT and B2B software conference with practical case studies and buyer-facing sessions. Useful for SaaS and cybersecurity startups seeking pilot contracts and distribution partnerships in Poland.
Networking forum at the Swiss Stock Exchange showcasing Italian startups and cross-border partnerships.
World's leading travel trade show with a major eTravel World segment. Price: about EUR 60 day ticket or EUR 100 permanent pass. Essential for TravelTech startups selling to airlines and hotels.
Another Netguru co-founder, Kuba is now a notable angel investor. He co-invested alongside Wiktor Schmidt in startups like Estimote and ColibriTool, and has made several other early-stage investments on his own. He brings product insight and network connections from building one of Poland’s top software companies. Associated startups: Estimote, ColibriTool, and other Polish SaaS startups.
Co-creator of fashion marketplace Showroom.pl, Jan became an angel investor after Showroom’s success. He has a keen eye for consumer and lifestyle startups and was nominated among top angels in 2018. Associated startups: Showroom.pl (co-founder), plus investments in fashion-tech and consumer platforms.
CEO of AI startup Synerise and also known for involvement with Wisła Kraków football club, Jarosław sometimes acts as an angel for other AI and sports-tech ventures. He was highlighted in 2022 for significant startup investments. He often reinvests his earnings into deep-tech projects and advocates for AI innovation in Poland. Associated startups: Synerise (his company), plus angel investments in AI analytics and sports-tech startups.
Debuting Business Angel of the Year 2024 and CEO of Luma Automation, Jarosław brings industrial operating experience into startup investing. He backs founders applying AI and automation to legacy sectors where measurable efficiency gains matter most. His focus spans deep tech, industrial IoT, and Industry 4.0 solutions for manufacturing and logistics.
A German investor (ex-TechStars London) who launched Angel Invest (a micro-fund), Jens was awarded Poland’s 2022 “Best Foreign Investor” for actively investing in Polish startups. He has made quick, small angel investments in Polish SaaS and deep-tech companies, often as one of the first foreign checks in. Associated startups: Satellite imaging startup KP Labs, various B2B SaaS in Poland.
Founded 2014. Early-stage VC backed by Spanish entrepreneurs investing in consumer and enterprise tech.
A British entrepreneur-turned-investor (co-founder of Notion Capital), Jos has angel-invested in Poland’s enterprise software space. He took part in early funding of Helpshift’s Polish office and has been scouting enterprise SaaS startups in Central Europe. Associated startups: Possibly NetworkedAssets (Polish-German IT firm) and other SaaS ventures.
Just Eat began in Kolding in 2001 as one of the first online takeaway ordering marketplaces in Europe. After early traction in Denmark, the company relocated to London and expanded aggressively across Europe and beyond through acquisitions and country launches. Just Eat listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2014 and later merged with Takeaway.com, forming one of the largest food delivery groups globally. The company is a defining example of a Danish startup scaling into a multi-billion euro public business.
Founded 2016. Entrepreneur-friendly fund backing product-led Spanish tech startups.
Data and automation specialist and LP at Erebor Capital, Kamil represents a new wave of Polish angels focused on lean, automation-heavy products. He frequently co-invests in data-intensive startups and AI-native software companies. His activity includes early involvement and advisory support in products such as Tidio and other LLM-agent startups.
Angel investor and board member at COBIN Angels, Kasia is based in Switzerland and helps connect Swiss and Polish startup ecosystems. She is vice-president of the Swiss-Polish Blockchain Association and brings specialization in health economics. Her portfolio and advisory focus include Bitfold and early-stage teams using blockchain in healthcare data management and security.
Katalist is a Slovenian-founded generative AI startup building a video pre-production platform for scripts, shot planning, and storyboard generation. The system emphasizes character and scene consistency across sequences to support creative teams, agencies, and marketing workflows. The company emerged from the 500 Eurasia ecosystem and scales internationally from its CEE roots.
KAYA Ventures is a Prague-based early-stage VC backing CEE founders building global software companies. The firm invested in Better Stack from its early stages and has been an active supporter of Czech technical founders expanding into US and global markets.
Keboola provides an all-in-one data operations platform for connecting, cleaning, and orchestrating data pipelines. It is known for flexibility, modularity, and an enterprise-grade pay-as-you-go model. The company has been profitable for years and raised a late Series A to accelerate global expansion. By 2026, Keboola is a trusted DataOps layer for mid-market and enterprise customers.
Founded 2015. Series A and B investor in enterprise software, fintech, and consumer internet.
Founded 2002. Manager of the Bank of Ireland Seed and Growth Funds, backing regional Irish startups and university spin-outs.
An American angel (co-founder of Lookout), Kevin has shown interest in frontier tech startups from Poland. He’s invested in Polish space/mining startup Karman+ and AI safety startup Knostic (both with Polish founders). With multiple Poland-related investments, Kevin is a gateway to Silicon Valley for those teams. Associated startups: Karman+ (asteroid mining), Knostic (AI safety).
Founded 2012. Early-stage investor in digital platforms, SaaS, and data-driven services.
Kilo Health is a digital health and wellness company building and scaling health products, serving 7+ million customers with 30+ products globally.
High-volume seed investor accelerating founders through the critical first hires and pilots.
Invite-only denim supply-chain trade show with a strong sustainability focus. Access is trade-only. Good for fashion circularity and materials startups.
Kiwi.com is an online travel agency that combines flights across carriers through its virtual interlining technology.
Klarna is a Swedish fintech company that pioneered the “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) model globally. Founded in 2005 by Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Niklas Adalberth, and Victor Jacobsson, Klarna started by offering online shoppers in Sweden a way to purchase goods on invoice (pay after delivery). Over the next decade, the company expanded across Europe and beyond, becoming a dominant online payments provider. As of 2021, Klarna was Europe’s highest-valued private tech company at $45.6 billion, reflecting meteoric growth fueled by consumers’ appetite for installment payments. Klarna’s app and services allow users to split purchases into interest-free installments or pay later, and it partners with over 450,000 retailers worldwide, including global brands like H&M, IKEA, and Nike. The company has over 150 million users across 45 countries and handled $80 billion in transaction volume in 2021. Klarna’s journey, however, has seen dramatic swings: after reaching a $45B valuation in mid-2021, a combination of rising interest rates and tech market downturn led to a downround in 2022, cutting its valuation to $6.7 billion (an 85% drop). The company restructured, laying off 10% of its staff, and refocused on profitability. By 2023, Klarna returned to profit and saw renewed growth, aided by expanding beyond BNPL into a full shopping app with price comparison, loyalty features, and banking services (Klarna obtained a banking license in Europe in 2017). In 2025, Klarna reportedly delayed an IPO amid market volatility but ultimately went public in September 2025, raising $1.37 billion. Despite valuation fluctuations, Klarna remains the global leader in BNPL, with a strong brand among Gen Z and millennial shoppers. Its journey from a small Stockholm startup to a financial giant serving 65 million customers (2025) at one point valued at $75 billion exemplifies the rise (and resiliency) of Europe’s fintech sector.
KleinVision is the creator of the AirCar, a dual-mode vehicle that can drive on roads and transform into a certified aircraft. The AirCar has received a Certificate of Airworthiness and completed cross-country test flights, making it one of the few credible flying-car projects globally. By 2026, the company is working toward small-scale production and licensing partnerships, including interest from international markets such as China.
Kontent.ai is a headless CMS platform that helps organizations manage and deliver content across channels.
Ex-CEO of Deutsche Bank Poland, Krzysztof brings finance industry gravitas to the startup world. After decades in banking, he now invests in fintech and regtech startups as an angel. His deep understanding of banking regulation makes him an ideal mentor for fintech founders. Associated startups: Early-stage fintech and compliance tech startups (leveraging his banking network).
Flagship Kubernetes and cloud-native conference with a busy Startup Hall. Price: about EUR 1500 corporate, EUR 750 individual. Ideal for DevOps, observability, and container startups.
Community-backed fund supporting founders across Berlin, Paris, and Lisbon in SaaS and marketplaces.
Labster builds virtual laboratory simulations for science education, letting students run experiments in a 3D environment and learn through interactive missions. Founded by researchers from the Technical University of Denmark, Labster works with universities and schools worldwide to expand access to lab learning and reduce costs. The platform integrates with learning management systems and has been used by hundreds of institutions. Labster became a global reference for VR and simulation based STEM education.
Launched 2013 by Juan Roig. Accelerator and incubator supporting 250+ companies with programs from incubation to growth, zero-equity loans, and mentorship. Based at Valencia's Marina startup campus; alumni include Flywire. Scope: National.
Lassie is a digital pet-insurance company that combines coverage with preventive-care engagement. The app uses education modules and behavior incentives to reward owners for proactive pet health practices, linking prevention to premium outcomes.
Kultuurikatel-hosted summit with 3,500+ attendees and 600+ investors. The Latitude59 Pitch Competition can reach EUR 1M in syndicate investment and the program heavily features digital-state and defense-tech themes.
One of Europe's longest-running immersive technology events, focused on practical XR deployment across healthcare, manufacturing, and defense. Strong venue for spatial-computing founders building B2B hardware and software products.
Launched 2014 by Credit Agricole. National accelerator network with 30+ villages across France offering coworking, mentorship, and business connections with CA's banking network. Sector-agnostic (fintech, agritech, etc.). Scope: National.
Course designed to equip leaders with insights and strategies for navigating and driving innovation in the life science bio-revolution. Focuses on emerging trends and leadership challenges in the sector.
Legal and RegTech-focused summit centered on AI-era compliance automation, with demo zones for contract, e-discovery, and governance tooling.
Founded 2016. Venture studio co-founding fintech and SaaS startups by providing strategy, design, product development, and funding in exchange for equity; built companies like Mondido. Scope: National.
An angel network operating under the Lewiatan Confederation (a major business organization in Poland). They look for startups across industries that have innovative solutions and strong teams. Lewiatan BA often connects corporate executives with startup founders. Notable focus: multi-industry, emphasis on competitive advantage and innovation in the business model.
One-day life sciences convention with biotech keynotes, startup pitches, and investor panels.
Liftago is a ride-hailing and delivery marketplace connecting customers with professional taxi drivers and courier services.
Biennial lighting and building services technology fair. Price: about EUR 30-50 day ticket. Key for proptech, smart home, and building automation startups.
Electric vertical takeoff and landing jets designed to unlock zero-emission regional air travel.
Part of ANJE, LINC Evora (est. 2011) incubates tech startups in the Alentejo region with office space and a collaborative community. Focus on software, mobile apps, and social media; reports 69 investments and 6 exits. Scope: Regional (Alentejo).
LiveBoard is an interactive digital whiteboard platform from Yerevan used by tutors, educators, and remote teams for real-time collaboration. The product supports live drawing, shared lessons, PDF workflows, and session recording across tablets, mobile, and web. The company has grown through the Eurasian startup ecosystem and targets international e-learning markets.
Seed-stage venture firm backing mission-driven founders primarily in the UK and Europe.
Largest European intralogistics exhibition. Price: about EUR 30-50. Essential for robotics, warehouse automation, and supply-chain software startups.
City-wide celebration of games with a strong B2B core at Games Finance Market. Price: industry passes about GBP 150-300 depending on events.
Recruiting fair with strong attendance from French scaleups hiring in London. A key talent pipeline for French Tech companies with UK operations.
Organizer of London Tech Week, a city-wide program of tech and startup events each June.
Government-backed UK flagship week at Olympia and partner venues with 45,000+ attendees and 5,000+ startups. Includes founder-focused tracks, policy programming, and dedicated communities such as EQL:HER.
Founded in 2023, Lovable builds an AI-powered full-stack software development platform that converts natural-language prompts into deployable applications. The product generates real frontend and backend code, integrates directly with GitHub, and is used by both non-technical founders for MVP creation and enterprise teams for rapid prototyping.
Generative AI copilot for 3D game development and visualization workflows, with a strong focus on Unreal Engine production pipelines. The platform helps teams create assets and scene components faster while reducing technical bottlenecks for creators.
Luigi’s Box provides advanced search and product recommendation for ecommerce sites, boosting conversion by understanding intent, typos, and synonyms. Its tooling has become a de facto standard across CEE ecommerce, with strong adoption among mid-market retailers. By 2026, Luigi’s Box is one of the region’s top AI-powered ecommerce infrastructure companies.
Coming from the family that founded TVN and Onet, Łukasz launched his own investment firm Dirlango. As a business angel, he’s injected capital into Polish tech successes like Booksy (booking app) and PizzaPortal (food delivery). He focuses on consumer internet and mobile, often co-investing alongside global funds. Associated startups: Booksy, iTaxi, Plum Research, and others via Dirlango.
Home insurance startup focusing on prevention, fast claims, and digital-first service.
Launched 2018. Seed-stage fund backing Swedish digital startups.
Lunar is a Danish digital bank founded in Aarhus in 2015 to deliver a mobile first banking experience for consumers and small businesses. After starting as a fintech app layered on partner infrastructure, Lunar secured its own banking license in 2019 and expanded across the Nordics. The app offers current accounts, cards, budgeting tools, business banking, and investment features, positioning Lunar as a regional challenger bank. The company has raised major funding rounds and remains a prominent Nordic fintech.
Publicly listed VC and accelerator operator (LUISS EnLabs) focused on pre-seed and seed digital startups in Italy.
Lyzer is a Logistics-as-a-Service platform for retail and e-commerce operations, covering order management, warehouse picking optimization, and last-mile orchestration. In July 2025, the company announced a EUR 10M Series B and reported over EUR 160M in GMV plus more than 500,000 fulfilled orders across the Iberian peninsula.
UK's national exhibition for engineering and manufacturing. Price: free with registration. Strong for 3D printing, tooling, and automation startups.
Founder of interior design marketplace Pixers, Maciej now actively mentors and funds young startups. Drawing on his e-commerce background, he has invested in projects like PCdoc and ScreenSHU, among others, to help new founders scale their services. Associated startups: PCdoc.pl, ScreenSHU, and various e-commerce/marketplace startups.
Angel investor and host of the Zaprojektuj Swoje Życie podcast, Maciej is known as one of Poland’s most transparent private investors, openly sharing portfolio wins and failures. With prior senior leadership roles at Dell and NTT, he focuses on stable B2B SaaS models and healthtech opportunities. His publicly discussed portfolio includes Just Join IT, Booksy, and HiPeople.
Co-founder of Grupa Pracuj and managing partner at Pracuj Ventures, Maciej is one of the most active HR-tech focused investors in Poland with a portfolio spanning 40+ companies. He is known for scaling marketplace and B2B software models, and remains a key shareholder in Grupa Pracuj following its Warsaw Stock Exchange IPO. Notable startup involvements include Symmetrical.ai, Jutro Medical, and SonarHome.
Founding partner at Hard2beat VC and serial entrepreneur with multiple exits. Maciej is known for building Piwik PRO, a privacy-first analytics platform, and Clearcode, an AdTech/MarTech software company. His transition from founder to deep-tech investor was featured in Forbes Poland (March 2026) in the profile Mistrz exitow na inwestycyjnej sciezce by Krzysztof Domaradzki. Notable outcomes include the 2023 exit of Piwik PRO and the acquisition of Clearcode by ARICOMA Group.
Informal founders meetup for Madrid's startup community, hosted by Startup Network Europe.
Malcom Finance (formerly 4Trans) provides factoring and financing for truck drivers and logistics SMEs. Its underwriting leverages real-time telematics and operational data to assess risk more accurately than traditional banks. This enables faster payouts and more flexible credit for transport operators who are cash-flow constrained. By 2026, Malcom is a fast-growing Czech fintech focused on the logistics economy.
Freelance talent marketplace active across France and Germany, connecting independent professionals with enterprise clients.
Composable banking platform letting digital lenders and neobanks launch services quickly.
Founder of Coders Lab (one of the first Polish coding bootcamps), Marcin has since become an angel, especially in edtech and health startups. He has invested in companies like Tomorrow Medical and Listny Cud, while also serving as a mentor in programs like PFR School of Pioneers. Associated startups: Tomorrow Medical, Listny Cud (Leafy Miracle), and other edtech/healthtech startups.
An early dot-com entrepreneur (co-founded Gadu-Gadu), Marcin made angel investments in startups like DocPlanner and UXPin before co-founding the VC fund Market One Capital. His angel portfolio included many Polish marketplaces and SaaS companies, leveraging his extensive network from the 2000s startup wave. Associated startups: DocPlanner, UXPin, and numerous marketplace platforms (early investor).
Co-founder of Snowflake and one of the most successful Polish founders globally, Marcin is active as a deeptech angel focused on data infrastructure and enterprise AI. Following Snowflake’s landmark NYSE IPO, he expanded his investment activity into European high-growth technical startups. Notable investments include Respo.Vision, Nomagic, and Mirai.
Co-founder and partner at Innovation Nest and former VP of Onet.pl, Marek is a veteran of the Polish internet and a key figure in the Krakow tech scene. He is known for product-led support rooted in Lean Launchpad principles and for backing B2B software, AI/ML, and Industry 4.0 companies. Notable portfolio examples include Autenti, Estimote, and Silvair.
A veteran of Poland’s startup scene, Mariusz founded GoldenLine and DocPlanner. Alongside running a unicorn-scale company (DocPlanner), he has been an angel in numerous startups including Preply, Shoplo, Positionly, and Brainly. He often provides both capital and guidance on scaling to international markets. Associated startups: Preply, Shoplo, Positionly, Brainly, Allani, among others.
Founded 2017. Marketplace-focused fund investing at seed and pre-Series A across Europe.
Founder of Bolt (ride-hailing), Markus (from Estonia) has reinvested some of his gains into fellow CEE startups. He joined a funding round for Sunroof (Polish-Swedish solar roof startup) as an angel. He represents the new generation of founders backing each other across borders. Associated startups: Sunroof, Planet42 (has operations in PL).
Running since 2014. Global fintech accelerator, equity-free six-month program (mostly virtual) providing access to Mastercard clients and partners. Supported 60+ fintech and digital asset companies; notable alumni include Divide (acquired by Google). Scope: International.
High-level forum on EU digital policy, AI competitiveness, and innovation-friendly regulation.
Serial entrepreneur (co-founder of platforms like ZadajPytanie and later CEO of fashion startup Allani), Mateusz turned to angel investing after successful exits. Notably, he invested early in the edtech unicorn Brainly before fully focusing on growing Allani. His founder perspective in marketplaces and consumer apps guides the startups he now supports. Associated startups: Brainly, Allani, and other consumer internet ventures.
Co-founder of Woodpecker.co, Mateusz became an active angel after selling a prior web development business. He reinvested proceeds into RightHello, leveraging his entrepreneurial experience to mentor and fund B2B tech companies. Associated startups: RightHello, Woodpecker.co, and various B2B SaaS ventures.
Matsuko builds real-time holographic communication, enabling lifelike 3D telepresence using only a smartphone camera. The technology captures and transmits volumetric video without requiring VR headsets for capture, making it a practical “Skype for holograms.” By 2026, Matsuko has partnered with major telecoms such as Deutsche Telekom and Orange to demonstrate 5G use cases and positions itself as a leader in next-gen communication.
Founded 2018 with backing from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. Runs the Maze X 3-month accelerator for social impact startups, providing tailored mentoring, impact investor access, and a EUR 50K stipend. Notable alumni include Speak. Scope: International.
MCI Capital is a Warsaw-listed digital private equity and growth investor focused on scaling technology leaders in Central and Eastern Europe. Founded in 1999, the firm invests primarily in SaaS, fintech and insurtech, e-commerce marketplaces, and digital infrastructure, with additional focus on climate tech opportunities.
Biotech skincare startup developing bio-identical melanin from stem-cell-based processes to improve UV protection and skin health. The company focuses on long-duration photoprotection and alternatives to conventional sunscreen formulations.
Mewery is a food-tech and biotech startup cultivating pork meat using microalgae-based processes. The hybrid approach reduces the cost and complexity of lab-grown meat by combining cell cultivation with plant inputs. This positions the company to deliver cultured meat products faster and at lower price points than traditional cellular agriculture methods. By 2026, Mewery is a notable Central European pioneer in sustainable protein.
Mews is a cloud-native property management system built to replace legacy hotel software with an API-first platform. It powers hotel operations from booking and pricing to payments and guest communications, enabling chains to modernize at speed. By 2026, Mews is aggressively acquiring smaller travel-tech vendors and expanding global enterprise contracts, positioning itself as the default operating system for modern hospitality. The company is a Czech-born unicorn with a strong international footprint and deep Prague engineering roots.
Co-founder of CD Projekt (the studio behind The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077), Michał is a tech millionaire who has diversified into angel investing. He tends to support deep-tech and science-driven ventures, including wellness startups, with patient capital. Associated startups: Early backer of Polski Bank Komórek Macierzystych and other science-driven projects; also funds meditation and sustainability initiatives.
MicroHarvest produces microbial protein using agricultural side streams and a rapid fermentation process designed to deliver sustainable protein ingredients in around 24 hours. The company reported over USD 10.2M in venture funding from investors such as Astanor, Happiness Capital, Simon Capital, and FoodLabs, and received a EUR 5.5M German government grant in February 2026 for an industrial-scale Leuna plant expected to produce about 15,000 tonnes of protein annually.
Ran 2013-2016 as part of Microsoft for Startups. Four-month cohort with expert mentorship, Azure credits, and investor connections. Support: coaching, cloud infrastructure, partner network. Scope: Global.
Fintech and insurtech fund with a significant Dublin presence investing in Europe and North America.
Premier real estate conference with a dedicated PropTech hub. Price: about EUR 2500+. Strong for startups pitching to developers and real estate investors.
Marketplace and commerce platform with a significant London presence hosting SaaS and retail community meetups.
Founded in April 2023 by former Google DeepMind and Meta AI researchers, Mistral AI has become one of Europe's most valuable AI startups. The company builds frontier large language models such as Mistral Large and Mixtral and follows an open-weight plus enterprise deployment strategy. Its products are used via API, cloud partners such as Microsoft Azure, and local deployments for regulated organizations requiring data control and model transparency. Le Chat is the company's conversational interface built on its model stack.
Flagship Polish mobile industry conference focused on UX, product, and on-device AI. Includes the Mobile Trends Awards and strong networking among product leaders.
Payments infrastructure provider helping EU businesses accept local and global methods.
Organizer of Money20/20 Europe, a flagship fintech and payments conference in Amsterdam.
Flagship fintech and payments conference at RAI Amsterdam, convening banks, payment leaders, regulators, and startups. Core venue for partnerships in payments infrastructure, compliance tech, cross-border finance, and EU market expansion.
Construction robotics company building agile bricklaying robots that automate urban infill projects.
Polish e-commerce platform for electronics and consumer goods with nationwide retail logistics and fulfillment operations.
Dedicated summit for mRNA-based therapeutics, focusing on R&D, manufacturing, and clinical applications in Europe.
MultiplexDX focuses on precision cancer diagnostics, developing visualized diagnostic tests aimed at reducing misdiagnosis in oncology. Its work is particularly focused on breast cancer and improving clinical decision confidence. By 2026, the company is a high-impact biotech research player in the Slovak ecosystem with expanding clinical collaborations.
Multivative builds modular prototyping systems and Pick2Place workflows to accelerate electronics and hardware development for manufacturing teams, with a practical focus on SMEs.
Munich stop of the global Venture Capital World Summit series at Nymphenburger Hoefe, bringing together seed and Series A investors, angels, and growth-focused startups. High-priority event for founders actively fundraising in Q2/Q3 2026 and seeking cross-border capital access.
Global connectivity and mobile tech flagship. Price: Discovery Pass about EUR 879; Leader Pass EUR 2400+. Best startup access via 4YFN for investors and corporate innovation teams.
AI assistant for small business owners that automates website operations and digital marketing workflows, focusing on generating leads and managing core online presence tasks with minimal manual setup.
N26 is a Berlin-based digital bank with a mobile-first current account and financial products for consumers across Europe. In May 2024, BaFin lifted the growth restrictions previously imposed on the bank, clearing the way for renewed customer expansion. In 2025 N26 rolled out free stock and ETF trading for all eligible customers, adding investing to its core banking offering. The company positions itself as a full-stack European challenger bank with a focus on product breadth and operational discipline.
Deep-tech company founded in 2020 building photocatalytic air purification systems. Its titanium-dioxide-based approach targets gases, bacteria, and viruses without traditional replaceable filters, enabling deployments in transport, buildings, and food environments.
Founded 2004. Pan-European early-stage fund focused on B2B software and deep tech.
Preventive health company offering AI-assisted full-body scanning clinics for early detection of risks.
Neoplants is one of Europe's most consumer-friendly deep-tech startups, known for engineering "plants with a purpose." Its flagship product, Neo P1, is a golden pothos that has been genetically modified to actively metabolize volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as formaldehyde and benzene—pollutants common in homes due to paint, furniture, and cleaning products. Rather than simply filtering air passively, the plant converts toxins into harmless sugars and amino acids, turning living organisms into functional indoor air purifiers. The company began commercial sales in the United States, where GMO consumer regulations are more permissive, but 2026 marks a strategic pivot back to Europe. Neoplants is positioning itself to launch in the UK and select EU markets as the New Genomic Techniques (NGT) framework evolves. This regulatory shift is crucial: it could unlock a path for consumer biotech products to be sold in Europe at scale. Neoplants is actively engaging with regulators and policymakers to ensure its products meet safety and transparency standards, framing its technology as a climate and public-health benefit rather than a controversial GMO niche. Neoplants is also a serious biotech company under the consumer-friendly brand. It operates a 12,000-square-foot R&D facility in Saint-Ouen, Paris, with capabilities closer to a pharma lab than a greenhouse. The 2026 R&D pipeline includes plants engineered to capture CO2 at orders-of-magnitude higher rates than typical trees, targeting corporate offices and commercial spaces where sustainability investments must be visible and measurable. That positions Neoplants for a dual-market strategy: consumer air purification today, B2B climate infrastructure tomorrow. The company's ecosystem roots are strong. The founders, Lionel Mora and Patrick Torbey, met at Entrepreneur First in Paris, and Neoplants was an early resident at Station F. It also benefited from the Wilco healthcare and biotech accelerator. Its investors reflect the blend of deep-tech and consumer focus: True Ventures led the seed, Heartcore Capital and Collaborative Fund support the consumer angle, and angels such as Niklas Zennstrom and Xavier Niel provide strategic visibility. In 2026, Neoplants represents a "solarpunk" vision of European tech—advanced biology that is both functional and approachable, turning climate and health solutions into products people can live with.
Leading event series organiser focused on accelerating the decarbonization of data centres and other industries.
Europe's leading event focused on accelerating the decarbonization of data centres, bringing together industry experts.
Insurance comparison and brokerage platform helping consumers compare policies and purchase coverage online across CEE markets.
Polish-Israeli medtech startup developing VGuard, a non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation system aimed at improving cognitive outcomes in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The company is advancing clinical validation and regulatory pathways across Europe and the US.
Enterprise Ireland's national entrepreneur development program offering mentorship, training, and a EUR 15,000 stipend during the six-month Phase 2. Delivered across 18 regional centers; alumni include FeedHenry. Scope: National.
Organizer of the New Label Poland Expo for private-label and FMCG innovation.
Founded 2000. Early-stage VC focused on enterprise software in the Benelux and Nordics.
NEXUS (Nexus Lab) is a Baku-based climate aviation software startup focused on reducing non-CO2 flight impact, especially contrail-related warming. The platform uses atmospheric and flight optimization modeling to help airlines adjust routes and altitudes while balancing operations and environmental goals. It emerged through the 500 Eurasia ecosystem and aligns with growing European non-CO2 compliance requirements.
Foodtech company focused on premium boxed diet subscriptions and personalized meal plans for consumers in Poland.
Founded 2017. Impact investor and accelerator focused on foodtech and alternative protein startups; provides early-stage funding and strategic support. Notable investment: Stockeld Dreamery. Scope: National with global outlook.
Evening of debates hosted by the Institut Français featuring French thinkers, technologists, and AI ethicists. Strong crossover with the French tech community in London.
Nord Security is a cybersecurity company building privacy and security products such as NordVPN, NordPass, NordLocker, and NordLayer.
Collective of Nordic angel investors backing early-stage founders.
Founded 2016 by the Norrsken Foundation. Eight-week impact accelerator selecting 20 startups annually; offers USD 125K for 5% equity and mentorship from global tech leaders. Focus on climate, health, and education. Scope: International.
Nortal is a digital transformation and technology company serving governments and enterprises worldwide.
Northvolt is a Swedish battery manufacturer founded to build a European supply of sustainable lithium-ion cells. In November 2024, Northvolt AB filed for Chapter 11 protection in the United States to pursue a financial restructuring while seeking strategic solutions for Northvolt North America. On March 12, 2025, the company filed for bankruptcy in Sweden and a trustee was appointed to oversee the process. Northvolt remains a landmark industrial project for Europe’s battery ambitions, but its current status is restructuring and insolvency rather than a typical growth-stage startup.
Northzone is a prominent European venture capital firm with Scandinavian roots, known for early bets on companies like Spotify and Klarna. Founded in 1996 in Oslo (and now headquartered in Stockholm with a big presence in London), Northzone is an evergreen VC fund that has raised 9 funds to date. It invests from Seed and Series A up to Growth (Series B/C), typically focusing on consumer internet, fintech, and B2B SaaS. Northzone rose to fame as the earliest institutional investor in Spotify – it led Spotify’s $21M Series A in 2008 and remained a major shareholder until IPO. It was also an early backer of Klarna (led the $8M Series A in 2010) and other Nordic breakouts like iZettle (payments, acquired by PayPal) and Avito (Russian classifieds, acquired by Naspers). Over the years, Northzone expanded its geographic focus to include the UK, Benelux, and the US East Coast (they’ve invested in Wallapop in Spain, Personio in Germany, and Secret Escapes in UK, among others). The firm’s investment approach is relatively hands-on – partners often take board seats and leverage Northzone’s network for business development of their portfolio. With approximately €1.5 billion under management, Northzone typically writes initial checks of €2–10M and can follow on with much larger amounts. In 2022, Northzone raised a new €1B+ fund, reflecting growing LP interest in European tech. The team blends operational experience and finance acumen; notable partners include Pär-Jörgen Pärson (who led the Spotify deal) and Michiel Kotting (who sits on Personio’s board). Northzone often leads or co-leads rounds and likes to syndicate with US VCs when scaling globally. Beyond fintech and music tech, they have investments in healthtech (Kry), edtech (Kahoot!), crypto (Sovereign), and more – showcasing a broad thesis of “transformative tech.” Northzone’s steady success over 25+ years – producing multiple billion-dollar exits – has cemented its reputation as one of Europe’s top-tier venture firms, bridging the vibrant Nordic ecosystem with the rest of the continent.
Northzone is a prominent European venture capital firm with Scandinavian roots, known for early bets on companies like Spotify and Klarna. Founded in 1996 in Oslo (and now headquartered in Stockholm with a big presence in London), Northzone is an evergreen VC fund that has raised 9 funds to date. It invests from Seed and Series A up to Growth (Series B/C), typically focusing on consumer internet, fintech, and B2B SaaS. Northzone rose to fame as the earliest institutional investor in Spotify – it led Spotify’s $21M Series A in 2008 and remained a major shareholder until IPO. It was also an early backer of Klarna (led the $8M Series A in 2010) and other Nordic breakouts like iZettle (payments, acquired by PayPal) and Avito (Russian classifieds, acquired by Naspers). Over the years, Northzone expanded its geographic focus to include the UK, Benelux, and the US East Coast (they’ve invested in Wallapop in Spain, Personio in Germany, and Secret Escapes in UK, among others). The firm’s investment approach is relatively hands-on – partners often take board seats and leverage Northzone’s network for business development of their portfolio. With approximately €1.5 billion under management, Northzone typically writes initial checks of €2–10M and can follow on with much larger amounts. In 2022, Northzone raised a new €1B+ fund, reflecting growing LP interest in European tech. The team blends operational experience and finance acumen; notable partners include Pär-Jörgen Pärson (who led the Spotify deal) and Michiel Kotting (who sits on Personio’s board). Northzone often leads or co-leads rounds and likes to syndicate with US VCs when scaling globally. Beyond fintech and music tech, they have investments in healthtech (Kry), edtech (Kahoot!), crypto (Sovereign), and more – showcasing a broad thesis of “transformative tech.” Northzone’s steady success over 25+ years – producing multiple billion-dollar exits – has cemented its reputation as one of Europe’s top-tier venture firms, bridging the vibrant Nordic ecosystem with the rest of the continent.
Design-led consumer electronics brand behind transparent Android smartphones and earbuds.
Operator-led fund partnering with B2B SaaS and fintech founders across Europe.
NovaUCD is the innovation and startup incubator of University College Dublin (UCD), one of Ireland’s premier research universities. Established in 2003 on UCD’s Belfield campus, NovaUCD provides a supportive environment for knowledge-intensive startups, particularly those arising from university research in life sciences, engineering, and ICT. The center offers modern incubation facilities, including lab space, prototype workshops, and offices set in a historic Georgian building refurbished for innovation. NovaUCD runs a 9-month VentureLaunch accelerator program to help researchers and students validate business ideas, build teams, and refine commercialization strategy. Startups benefit from UCD’s resources – access to faculty experts, graduate talent, and sometimes use of specialized equipment (for biotech, etc.). Over nearly two decades, NovaUCD has supported 450+ companies. Alumni include Evolution (Bio) – a UCD bioinformatics spin-out acquired by Evotec, Logentries (cloud logging, acquired by Rapid7 for $68M), and Equinome (equine genomics, acquired by Plusvital). These successes underscore NovaUCD’s strength in turning academic excellence into enterprise. A hallmark is its focus on knowledge transfer: NovaUCD works closely with UCD’s tech transfer office, so startups often license university patents or software as a basis. The incubator also facilitates seed funding through networks like Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN) and University Bridge Fund (a college-focused VC). The Irish government and Enterprise Ireland are key backers, aligning NovaUCD with national goals to foster high-tech industry. The incubator has expanded physically too – in 2022, it opened “AgTech UCD” on UCD’s Lyons farm for agri-tech startups, reflecting an effort to specialize. NovaUCD contributes hugely to Dublin’s startup scene, connecting academic founders with industry mentors and investors. Each year it hosts the UCD VentureLaunch Competition awarding cash prizes to the most promising spin-outs. Notably, NovaUCD companies have raised over €760M in capital and created thousands of jobs in Ireland. By offering an “on-campus home” for entrepreneurs, NovaUCD helps ensure that Ireland’s top research doesn’t just stay on paper, but translates into impactful businesses – from lifesaving medical devices to groundbreaking software – driving innovation and economic growth.
Novo Holdings is the investment arm of the Novo Nordisk Foundation and the largest life science investor in Denmark. It backs biotech, medtech, and health innovation across seed, venture, and growth stages while also managing the foundation's long term ownership in Novo Nordisk and Novozymes. The firm provides patient capital, deep scientific expertise, and global networks for founders building therapies, diagnostics, and industrial biotech solutions. Novo Holdings is a cornerstone of the Danish life science ecosystem.
Nscale develops and operates AI-native infrastructure, including modular data center capacity optimized for high-density GPU workloads. The company focuses on sovereign and energy-efficient compute supply for enterprise and model providers, and has expanded rapidly through large infrastructure financing and strategic partnerships.
Nuki provides smart-lock and access-control products that enable secure keyless entry and remote door management via mobile devices. Its competitive set includes Latch, igloohome, August, and Assa Abloy.
Founded in 2011 (originating from Le Camping), NUMA accelerates digital startups and runs open innovation programs for corporates. Support: 3–6 month acceleration with mentorship, community events, and investor demo days. Scope: International.
NUMA is a storied name in the Paris startup scene – both an accelerator and an innovation hub that traces its origins to one of Europe’s first startup programs. Established in 2011, NUMA evolved from the famed “Le Camping” accelerator (run out of a historic building on Rue du Caire). As an accelerator, NUMA ran 3- to 6-month cohorts for digital startups, providing mentorship, community events, coworking space, and investor demo days. It was particularly influential in France’s early startup boom – alumni include successes like Dataiku (AI platform) and Algolia (search-as-a-service), which both passed through NUMA’s programs. Over time, NUMA expanded its scope beyond acceleration into corporate innovation. It launched NUMA Consulting to help large companies implement startup methodologies, and also opened international outposts (NUMA Bengaluru in India and NUMA New York were launched around 2015–2016). In Paris, NUMA’s space became an “innovation hub” – a vibrant campus hosting events, hackathons, and innovation programs for corporates and the community. NUMA was notable for being a public-private effort initially, supported by the City of Paris and corporates, which helped ignite the French ecosystem a decade ago. By the late 2010s, NUMA transitioned its accelerator model – focusing more on themed open-innovation programs (e.g. for smart cities or AI) rather than general batches. It also partnered with the European Commission on projects to spur startup-corporate collaborations. Though NUMA (the accelerator) concluded its last batch in late 2019, the brand still persists as a hub and network of innovation spaces. The legacy of NUMA is significant: it helped institutionalize French startup support and proved the value of mentorship-driven acceleration in Europe. In ecosystem terms, NUMA stands as a pioneer whose model of combining startup acceleration with corporate and community innovation has been emulated widely.
Biotech company using AI and genomics to develop RNA therapies targeting chronic liver disease.
Oddin.gg is a B2B provider of esports odds feeds, risk management, and trading tools. It supplies real-time probabilities for esports titles such as Counter-Strike and League of Legends, enabling betting operators to price markets reliably. The company has become a global leader in esports wagering infrastructure. By 2026, Oddin.gg is one of the Czech Republic’s most internationally recognized gaming-tech exports.
Odense Robotics is Denmark's national robotics and automation cluster, connecting companies, universities, and public partners in the Odense region. The hub supports startups through business development, talent programs, and investor matchmaking, and it helps scale a dense robotics supply chain anchored by global leaders. Odense Robotics also promotes Denmark internationally as a robotics hub and drives collaboration in areas like drones, cobots, and industrial automation. It is a key engine behind Denmark's robot valley reputation.
AI-for-social-good hackathon finals with mentoring, demos, and awards for impact-driven solutions.
Business consultant, certified coach, and ecosystem mentor with 20+ years in marketing and sales leadership. Olga is highly active in Sieć Przedsiębiorczych Kobiet (Network of Entrepreneurial Women), where she supports early-stage founders with practical go-to-market guidance and growth planning. She was recognized with a Polish angel ecosystem award in 2021 for her mentorship and community impact, including work that helps bridge the gender gap in startup investing.
Advocacy organisation promoting open source, open standards, and open markets in Europe, particularly concerning public policy and digital infrastructure. Organises the EU Open Source Policy Summit.
Corporate accelerator by Orange Polska (est. 2015) focused on 5G, IoT, AI, and customer experience. Provides proof-of-concept projects, telecom mentorship, and access to Orange's global Fab network in 18 countries. Scope: National with global reach.
AI-driven materials discovery company designing carbon-capture sorbents and cooling materials for clean energy.
Deep tech fund founded 2017 investing in AI, space, and fintech from Central Europe.
Overmind provides a security and control layer for agentic AI deployments in enterprise systems. The platform supervises autonomous agent behavior in live workflows and intervenes when actions appear unsafe, adversarially influenced, or outside policy constraints.
Founded 2013. Early-stage investor focused on Italian digital and consumer tech with initial tickets around EUR 0.5-3M.
Leading trade fair for industrial coating technology. Price: about EUR 30-50. Strong for materials science and robotics automation startups.
Founded 2015. Healthcare and medtech specialist investing across Europe in devices, diagnostics, digital health, and biotech.
Utilities and subscription management platform with one of the largest French startup teams in Barcelona.
Organizer of Paris Blockchain Week and related startup competition programming for Web3 founders.
Premier European gathering for institutional Web3 and digital assets at Carrousel du Louvre. Strong concentration of founders, C-suite decision-makers, and liquidity providers. Startup competition applications close close to event week, with finalists pitching live on stage to investors and industry operators.
Competition track for early-stage Web3 companies at Paris Blockchain Week. Applications close close to event week, with selected finalists pitching on stage to investors and digital-asset industry participants.
Established 1996. Paris economic development agency running 20+ thematic incubators (sports, foodtech, smart cities, etc.) with coaching, offices, and corporate partners; supports hundreds of startups annually and hosts ecosystem events. Scope: Regional (Paris).
Parloa is the German champion of enterprise AI for customer service. While consumer chatbots attract headlines, Parloa has built the operating system for large contact centers, enabling non-technical teams to deploy AI agents that handle complex voice and chat interactions. Its platform is trusted by large European enterprises such as Allianz, Decathlon, and Swiss Life, and it focuses on governance, compliance, and integration with legacy systems rather than flashy demos. In January 2026, Parloa announced a $350M Series D led by General Catalyst, reportedly valuing the company at about $3B. The round validated its strategic shift from "chatbots" to "agent fleet management." Parloa does not just deploy a single bot; it manages and audits thousands of agents, ensuring they remain compliant, minimize hallucinations, and integrate cleanly with back-office systems such as SAP and Salesforce. This operational emphasis is why Parloa has become the default choice for risk-sensitive industries like insurance, retail, and financial services. Parloa's 2026 roadmap is "voice-first AI." The company has developed speech-to-speech models that reduce the latency and robotic cadence that make older IVR systems frustrating. Its agents can handle interruptions, use backchannel cues, and operate across regions with language and accent adaptation, which is critical for multinational contact centers. With fresh capital, Parloa is acquiring smaller AI boutiques to consolidate the European market and is building a significant presence in New York to serve Fortune 500 clients in North America. The company is deeply connected to the Berlin AI ecosystem, with ties to Merantix and the wider Berlin AI Campus, and it has a strategic relationship with Microsoft for Startups and Azure deployment. Its investor base includes General Catalyst, Altimeter Capital, EQT Ventures, Newion, and Senovo, giving it a mix of global growth capital and specialized SaaS expertise. In 2026, Parloa stands out as Europe's clearest enterprise AI winner in customer service: a scaled, governance-heavy platform that makes autonomous agents safe and effective inside the largest organizations.
French-founded VC with offices in Paris, Berlin, and Dakar. Generalist from seed to growth and one of the most active French funds in Germany.
Global airport design and operations conference. Exhibition is free; conference about EUR 2000+. Ideal for biometrics, baggage tracking, and airport AI startups.
Investment Ecosystem Mentor of the Year 2024, Paulina is recognized for building practical bridges between public support mechanisms and private angel capital. In addition to direct startup support, she helps first-time angels structure legal, tax, and process fundamentals for investing. Her core impact is in ecosystem education, mentorship, and investor-readiness programs.
Co-founder of IdoSell (IAI Group) and one of the pioneers of Polish e-commerce, Paweł scaled the company for over two decades before transitioning into active angel investing. His major liquidity event was a majority stake sale in IAI Group to MCI Capital in a transaction valuing the business at hundreds of millions of PLN. He now focuses on smart-money support for B2B SaaS and e-commerce infrastructure startups, including investments such as Piesotto and Embargo.
A veteran CEO (founder of DDB Warsaw marketing agency), Paweł became an active angel in his late career. He won Poland’s Business Angel of the Year 2020 for investing in and mentoring innovative startups. Notably, he was an early backer of retail AI platform Cosmose AI and has supported regtech and cybersecurity startups like ClauseMatch, Nethone, and BotGuard. Associated startups: Cosmose AI, ClauseMatch, Nethone, BotGuard.
Managing partner at COBIN Angels and CEO of VCLeaders, Paweł focuses on VC education and cross-border investing in Europe. He built VCLeaders as a platform for venture professionals and is known for practical investor education on topics such as term sheets and investment mathematics. His experience includes venture partner cooperation with World Fund, former Chief Growth Officer responsibilities at Beesfund, and former business development leadership at hardware startup First11.
Former CEO of BRE Ubezpieczenia (mBank Insurance), Paweł is one of Poland’s most recognized impact-oriented angels and was named Business Angel of the Year 2020. He invests in companies solving social or environmental problems and contributes hands-on strategic support from his corporate leadership background. Notable investments include Noctiluca (successful IPO exit), Simpl.rent, Fresh Inset, Sales Intelligence, TakeDrop, and IMKER.
Payze is a Tbilisi-based fintech company building payment infrastructure for merchants in emerging markets, with a focus on CIS and regional cross-border commerce. Founded in 2020, the platform offers unified online payment acceptance and automated split payments for marketplaces and e-commerce operators. Payze is backed by ecosystem supporters including Y Combinator, 500 Global (via 500 Georgia/Eurasia), and GITA.
Founded 2007. Early-stage fund focused on marketplaces, platforms, and subscription software.
Accounting and financial management platform growing its engineering footprint in Spain.
Personio is a Munich-based HR software company that has become one of Europe’s most valuable SaaS startups. Founded in 2015 by Hanno Renner (CEO) and three co-founders from the Technical University of Munich, Personio set out to streamline HR management for small and mid-sized businesses. Its cloud platform offers an “all-in-one” suite – from recruiting and applicant tracking to payroll, attendance, and performance management. Personio’s focus on Europe’s underserved SME segment paid off spectacularly: as of 2024, the company serves 12,000+ customers across 70 countries (primarily firms with 10–2,000 employees). This rapid growth attracted major VC funding. Personio became a unicorn in January 2021 with a $1.7 billion valuation, and by October 2022 it raised a $200 million Series E extension at a staggering $8.5 billion valuation – making it one of Europe’s most valuable private tech companies at the time. Investors like Index Ventures, Accel, Lightspeed, and Greenoaks have backed Personio. The company has since expanded to 8 offices (including London, Dublin and Amsterdam) and grown to about 2,000 employees. Despite the size, Personio continues to post strong metrics: in 2023, revenue reportedly doubled and the firm reached over 15,000 customers by 2025. Personio’s success is often attributed to its user-friendly, modular platform tailored to non-technical HR teams at smaller companies. It integrates with 100+ other business tools and emphasizes automation of routine HR tasks. Now valued at $8.5 billion+, Personio is widely seen as a future IPO candidate and a role model for Europe’s B2B SaaS boom – proving that an “SMB HR” niche can scale to a global category leader.
Europe’s largest women-in-tech event with mentoring zones, startup competitions, and strong employer branding opportunities.
Organizer of Phocuswright Europe and associated startup pitch formats in travel technology.
Photoneo is the global leader in 3D robotic vision, providing high-precision scanning and perception systems for industrial automation. Its spin-off Brightpick extends the stack into autonomous mobile robots for warehouse fulfillment, enabling end-to-end automation of the picking process for ecommerce and logistics giants. By 2026, the group is a Series B+ scale-up competing globally with the leading AMR vendors and is a flagship example of Slovak deep-tech reaching world-class manufacturing and robotics deployments.
Phubber is a Tbilisi-based fashion re-commerce marketplace combining social feed dynamics with C2C and B2C commerce. The platform helps users sell pre-loved apparel and enables local fashion brands to reach buyers with integrated payments, logistics, and trust features. It emerged as a breakout startup from the 500 Georgia/Eurasia ecosystem.
PhysicsX applies machine learning and generative AI to advanced engineering simulation across aerospace, automotive, and energy systems. The platform accelerates design loops by reducing simulation time for fluid, thermal, and structural modeling, helping industrial teams move from concept to validation faster.
Business planning platform offering collaborative budgeting, forecasting, and scenario modeling.
Baltic e-commerce marketplace group operating local platforms across Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland under brands including Pigu and Hobby Hall.
Biotech drug-discovery company developing PKL-021, a small-molecule MMP inhibitor program for acute neuroprotection after stroke and traumatic brain injury, with additional applications in field-ready snakebite treatment.
Co-founder of Divante and managing partner at Catch the Tornado, Piotr is among Poland’s most active operator-turned-angels. After scaling and selling Divante, he helped build a venture-builder model focused on open source, composable commerce, and AI-first startups. Portfolio references include Ramp Network, Vue Storefront, and Rigby, alongside investments linked to major outcomes such as Callstack.
Business Angel of the Year 2021 and former PwC partner, Piotr combines corporate finance expertise with deep-technology investing. He focuses on high-potential international projects, especially biotech and complex fintech products. His portfolio includes early-stage investments in biotechnology initiatives and specialized fintech tooling.
A fintech entrepreneur (ex-CEO of Turbine Analytics), Piotr co-founded Data Ventures and also invests personally in tech startups. He has shown particular interest in blockchain and DeFi startups and is ranked among the top crypto-focused angels in Poland with investments in blockchain companies. Associated startups: Aleph Zero (blockchain platform) and multiple fintech/crypto ventures.
Pipedrive is a sales CRM platform built to help small businesses manage pipelines and grow revenue.
Collaborative presentation platform built for modern teams rolling out investor decks and roadmaps.
Monthly founder pitching meetup with rapid-fire Q&A and high-energy feedback. The March edition is one of several recurring meetups in 2026.
Pleo is a company spend platform that issues smart cards, automates expense reporting, and gives finance teams real time visibility into employee spending. Founded in 2015 by Jeppe Rindom and Niccolo Perra, Pleo scaled across Europe with a product that blends payment cards, receipt capture, approvals, and accounting integrations. The company has raised multiple large rounds and reached unicorn status while serving tens of thousands of businesses. Pleo remains one of Denmark's most visible fintech success stories.
Spanish arm of Plug and Play (since 2012) connecting startups with corporate partners in fintech, insurtech, and mobility. Operates from Valencia with pilots and venture funding; global alumni include PayPal and Dropbox. Scope: International.
Curated startup and investor conference at Habakuk Congress Centre, capped around 1,200 attendees for deal quality. Known for selected startup participation, Podim Pitching Competition, and structured 1:1 meetings.
Podimo is a Copenhagen founded subscription platform for podcasts and audiobooks, focused on local language content and creator revenue sharing. Launched in 2019, the company built exclusive catalogs in markets such as Denmark, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands, and later expanded to Latin America. Podimo uses a subscription model that pays creators based on listen time, giving podcasters an alternative to advertising. The company has raised significant funding to scale its content studio and international footprint.
Early-stage fund specializing in B2B SaaS and marketplaces across Europe and North America.
Equity-free acceleration program run by Startup Hub Poland with public funding support. It offers structured tracks such as Corporate Plugin, VC Forge, and Poland Prize, with non-dilutive grants for eligible startups.
Networking event connecting the Polish diaspora and expats with local business opportunities, featuring structured matchmaking and roundtables on legal and tax changes. Strong fit for B2B founders and digital transformation providers.
Arctic startup pitching event where founders present in an ice hole, plus a day of talks and networking.
Founded in 2003, PolBAN is the first business angels club in Poland. It finances innovative projects with strong teams and market potential. As a pioneer, PolBAN helped establish angel investing norms in Poland. Notable focus: a broad range of innovative early-stage companies meeting criteria of innovation and motivated teams.
The first U.S.-based network for Polish startups, Polonia Angels unites Polish and Polish-American investors to fund Polish-founded startups at early stages. It acts as a bridge to U.S. capital, sourcing deals via Polish VCs, universities, and founder applications. Notable focus: Polish-founded startups seeking access to U.S. markets and investors, often before approaching traditional U.S. VCs.
A venture fund + angel network based in Szczecin, Pomerangels invests alongside business angels and syndicates in post-revenue companies. With a network of 100+ angels, they co-invest up to €4M in innovative SMEs across ICT, autonomous tech, biotech, etc. Notable focus: companies that already have strong angel syndicates; Pomerangels adds capital on top of angel rounds to scale these ventures.
Poolside is arguably the most important "import" to the European AI ecosystem in the last decade. Founded by Jason Warner (former CTO of GitHub) and Eiso Kant, the company started in the United States but relocated its headquarters to Paris in 2024 to tap France's deep talent pool in mathematics, systems engineering, and AI research. Its mission is unusually ambitious: not just to build code autocomplete, but to create the world's most capable AI for software engineering, with a long-term goal of systems that can build and evolve software autonomously. This framing has made Poolside a defining player in the AI-for-developers category. By 2026, Poolside has established itself as a core node in the "Paris AI Triangle" alongside Mistral and H. After a massive $500M Series B in late 2024 led by Bain Capital Ventures, the company launched its flagship foundation model trained on a distinct corpus of code, software architecture, and repository-level structure. The emphasis on engineering artifacts rather than general internet text allows Poolside's models to reason about large codebases, infer intent from architectural patterns, and propose higher-level refactors instead of one-off snippets. This technical posture differentiates Poolside from generalist models and makes it uniquely useful for enterprises grappling with decades of technical debt. The company's 2026 platform looks less like a plugin and more like a "shadow engineering team." Poolside can analyze legacy banking systems, plan migrations across stacks, and coordinate changes across modules while preserving compliance and auditability. That capability has made it a darling of large financial institutions such as HSBC and Citi, and it explains why strategic investors are embedded alongside venture capital. Poolside is also scaling Project Horizon, a 2-gigawatt AI data center campus in Texas in partnership with CoreWeave, while keeping its research and model development anchored in Paris. This split setup reflects a broader pattern: US-scale compute, European R&D depth. Poolside's ecosystem ties are deep. It is a central node at Station F and an active participant in the Paris AI Hub, and its relocation is often cited by the French government as a proof point for attracting foreign tech leadership. The investor roster underscores its strategic importance: Bain Capital Ventures led the growth round, DST Global joined as a late-stage backer, Xavier Niel provided early strategic support to facilitate the Paris move, and Nvidia is a hardware partner. In 2026, Poolside stands out as Europe's most credible attempt to build an AI-native software engineering stack at frontier scale.
State-backed VC founded 2012, funding early-stage Portuguese startups across multiple industries.
Founded 2015. World's first port and maritime industry accelerator based in Rotterdam (now also Antwerp and Singapore). Three-month program with 100+ mentors and a Shakedown demo day; alumni include We4Sea and CargoLedger. Scope: International.
Powerful Medical builds clinical-grade AI for cardiology. Its flagship product, PMcardio, can diagnose acute heart attacks by analyzing a photo of a 12-lead ECG, outperforming average human interpretation in critical scenarios. The system is FDA and MDR certified and is being rolled out in hospitals across Europe and the UK. By 2026, Powerful Medical is one of the region’s most credible medical AI companies with global regulatory traction.
Operator-focused summit built around long-form workshops on sales scaling, labor law, and applied AI in operations. Includes a mentor corner with executives from leading Polish scale-ups.
Praktika.ai is an AI-native language learning platform focused on conversation-first fluency practice with realistic voice avatars. Founded in 2022, it helps users overcome speaking anxiety through real-time feedback on pronunciation and grammar, personalized lesson paths, and adaptive roleplay. The company has reported strong commercial traction and is backed by investors including Blossom Capital, Creator Ventures, and 500 Global.
Predicting Health develops AI-based clinical risk prediction tools that analyze patient data to support early intervention and improve care quality. The company is a spin-off from the KAGes Data Science Team in Graz and operates in the same category as platforms like PIPRA.
PreSeed Ventures is Denmark's most active pre seed fund, originally rooted in the DTU science park. It provides the first institutional capital for university spin outs and technical founders, typically investing at idea or prototype stage. The firm has backed early Danish successes including Unity and Trustpilot and continues to nurture deep tech and software startups across the Nordics. PreSeed is a crucial bridge from research to venture.
Founded 1999. Growth-oriented fund investing in European consumer internet, fintech, and SaaS scale-ups.
Founded 2016. Operates sector funds including Barcamper Ventures for digital and a SpaceTech fund for newspace.
Productboard provides the operating system for product teams, helping companies collect user feedback, prioritize features, and align roadmaps. Dual-headquartered in Prague and San Francisco, it is widely adopted by global enterprises and scale-ups alike. By 2026, Productboard is a category leader in product management software and a major employer of Czech engineering talent. Its platform underpins product decision-making for thousands of teams worldwide.
An academic (professor at Kozminski University) and CSR expert, Bolesław has become an angel investor focusing on impact-driven startups. He earned a special award in 2022 for contributions to impact investing. Associated startups: Impact and sustainability startups (recognized for championing ethical investment practices).
Hospitality software company providing booking engines, channel management, and CRM tools for hotels and resorts.
World's biggest wine and spirits trade fair. Price: about EUR 50-80. Growing focus on WineTech, packaging, and non-alcoholic innovation.
Proxima Fusion is a deep-tech fusion energy company spun out from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in 2023. It is developing quasi-isodynamic stellarator systems designed for stable, commercial fusion power generation and is targeting a demonstrator pathway toward net-energy performance in the next decade.
Founder of Grupa Pracuj and investor associated with Market One Capital (MOC), Przemysław focuses on marketplace models and network-effect businesses. He invests both personally and through fund activity, bringing strategic support in category creation, scaling, and international expansion. Notable portfolio references include Tier Mobility, Packhelp, and DocPlanner.
A tech entrepreneur and software engineer, Przemek is known in Warsaw’s startup circles as a hands-on angel. He invests in AI and developer-tool startups, often contributing code-level expertise. Associated startups: Stealth AI and developer tool companies (he keeps a low profile, but actively funds tech teams).
Early-stage angel fund led by Bartek Pucek, focused on globally scalable technology startups. The fund is known for founder-friendly terms, fast decision cycles, and co-investments with international VC firms.
Germany's Python and data science gathering. Price: about EUR 400-700 for business tickets. Great for AI startup hiring and OSS tool exposure.
Community-led Python conference in Bologna with a strong developer focus. Tickets currently list EUR 60 student, EUR 200 personal, and EUR 250 business. Great for dev-tool startups and Python hiring.
Developer platform using generative AI to help teams build software products from natural language requirements. The startup is part of the CEE builder ecosystem and raised seed funding with backing from Inovo Venture Partners.
Practitioner-led software engineering conference focused on architecture, microservices, and AI/ML engineering. Price: about GBP 2350-2900. Ideal for dev-tool and infrastructure startups.
Qdrant (pronounced "Quadrant") provides the memory layer for AI applications. As companies build AI agents in 2026, they quickly discover that large language models do not remember internal company data. Qdrant solves this by offering a high-performance vector database that stores embeddings for documents, images, and conversations and retrieves the most relevant context in milliseconds. That capability is the foundation of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and agent workflows across enterprises. Born as an open-source project in Berlin, Qdrant has become a default choice for teams building on modern AI stacks, especially in Rust and performance-critical environments. Its adoption accelerated because it can run anywhere—from embedded devices to large Kubernetes clusters—without locking users into a proprietary cloud. This flexibility, combined with strong performance and transparent licensing, has allowed Qdrant to surpass older competitors in developer mindshare and production deployments. By late 2025 it had raised a Series B and was widely described as a "soonicorn" within the AI infrastructure category. The 2026 breakthrough is Qdrant's hybrid search engine. Pure vector search captures semantic similarity but can miss precise keyword matches that matter in enterprise contexts. Qdrant combines semantic retrieval with keyword filters and metadata constraints, enabling queries such as "find a part like this" while also honoring exact identifiers like "Part #404-X" or compliance tags. This hybrid approach is now table stakes for enterprise RAG, and it has made Qdrant the database of choice for large-scale deployments at organizations such as Discord, Mozilla, and Deloitte. Qdrant Cloud is the company's managed service offering and is growing quickly as enterprises move from prototypes to production. It provides enterprise controls, observability, and multi-region deployments without sacrificing the portability that developers expect from the open-source core. Qdrant's ecosystem roots include Techstars Berlin and a strong open-source community, where the project has amassed tens of thousands of GitHub stars. Its investor base includes Spark Capital, Unusual Ventures, 42CAP, and IBB Ventures, giving it both global capital and local Berlin support. In 2026, Qdrant is the clearest European winner in vector databases: the infrastructure layer that lets AI systems remember and reason over real company data.
Business banking platform expanding aggressively into Germany and Italy to serve European SMEs.
Decision intelligence platform that links enterprise data to fight fraud, manage risk, and deepen customer analytics.
Manufacturer of autonomous fixed-wing VTOL drones used for battlefield reconnaissance and intelligence.
Founder of InPost and one of Poland’s highest-profile entrepreneurs, Rafał is active as an impact-oriented investor through personal and foundation initiatives. His flagship company reached a landmark Amsterdam IPO, and his broader investment activity spans logistics-adjacent consumer sectors, food, and medical innovation. Notable references include activity around Bakalland and support for oncology and advanced medical equipment initiatives.
A pioneer of Poland’s dot-com era (founder of Internet Technologies and former head of Google Campus Warsaw), Rafał has a long angel track record. He invested in one of the first Polish unicorns Milestone Systems and supported fintech and media startups. His approach blends early internet industry wisdom with a vast network of contacts. Associated startups: Past investments include travel startup iTaxi and others; as ex-Campus Warsaw head he advised countless startups.
A well-known entrepreneur and rally champion (Dakar Rally winner), Rafał channels his business success into startup investments. He founded Gemini Holding (shopping malls) and now, as an angel, focuses on B2B services and SaaS. For example, he was an early investor in HR platform HCM Deck, helping enterprises manage talent. Associated startups: HCM Deck, Sundose (personalized nutrition), and other SaaS startups.
Co-founder of Pipedrive, this Estonian angel frequently invests in the region including Poland. He loves B2B SaaS and edtech; for example, he’s mentored and funded Polish education startup Mentornaut and others. Ragnar’s cross-border investments help integrate Polish startups into the Baltic network. Associated startups: Mentornaut, Lift99 (community spaces bridging to Poland).
Rebookify is a Riga-based travel automation platform that helps agencies recover margin from fluctuating hotel rates. The system tracks refundable bookings, detects equivalent lower-priced alternatives across suppliers, and alerts agents to rebook at better prices with minimal manual work. The company combines AI-driven matching with travel operations workflows for B2B agencies.
refurbed is an online marketplace for refurbished products, including electronics, household items, and sports equipment.
Resistant AI focuses on AI-driven fraud detection for financial services, specifically identifying manipulated documents used in KYC and onboarding. Its models detect fake paystubs, doctored IDs, and synthetic documents that bypass traditional checks. As digital fraud grows more sophisticated, Resistant AI has become a critical partner for fintechs and banks. By 2026, it is a leading Czech player in the FinTech security category.
Overview: Respeecher is a cutting-edge AI voice synthesis startup that enables one person's voice to be transformed into the voice of another specific person, with uncanny realism. In other words, it's known for its voice cloning technology. Respeecher's system takes in an actor or user's speech and outputs audio that sounds like a target voice - be it a famous actor, a historical figure, or anyone for whom it has trained a model. This technology has huge applications in entertainment: filmmakers can revive voices of actors from years past, game developers can have characters speak in iconic voices, and creators can produce content where, say, a celebrity appears to narrate (with permission). What makes Respeecher stand out is the high fidelity of the cloned voices - they are nearly indistinguishable from the real person, capturing emotion and intonation accurately. Respeecher provides its tech via a software interface; typically, a voice model is trained on recordings of the target voice, and then a voice actor provides performance which is converted. Importantly, Respeecher emphasizes ethical use: it requires consent from the voice owners and has gained a reputation for an "ethics-first" approach in the emerging synthetic media field. Founding Story (2018): Respeecher was founded in February 2018 in Kyiv, Ukraine by Alex Serdiuk, Dmytro Bielievtsov, and Grant Reaber. Serdiuk and Bielievtsov are Ukrainian, and Reaber is an American speech technologist - the trio met through mutual research interests in speech processing. They realized that recent advances in deep learning could make high-quality voice conversion possible, and they set out to create a system far beyond the rudimentary voice changers of the past. In 2018-2019, they went through the Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs Accelerator (powered by Techstars) in the US, which gave them industry connections. Early on, Respeecher got a lucky break: it was approached to work on a high-profile but secret project - which turned out to be Lucasfilm's The Mandalorian (Season 2 finale in 2020). The task was to recreate the voice of a young Luke Skywalker as he would have sounded in the 1980s, using Mark Hamill's old recordings. Respeecher delivered successfully, astonishing Hollywood sound engineers. This successful debut put Respeecher on the map in the film industry. In subsequent months, they also worked on a Super Bowl commercial voicing Vince Lombardi (AI-cloned from archival audio). The Ukrainian team, working under NDA, built these groundbreaking demos which then led to word-of-mouth referrals in Hollywood. Product and Use Cases: Respeecher's core product is delivered as a service to content creators. A client provides audio of the target voice (e.g., recordings of a person) and Respeecher trains a custom voice model. Then the client (often a voice actor or the person themselves) provides the new dialogue, which Respeecher's system converts into the target's voice. One notable use case was the documentary short film "In Event of Moon Disaster" - Respeecher recreated President Nixon's voice to simulate him reading a speech that was written in case Apollo 11 failed, and this project won an Emmy Award in 2021 for Outstanding Interactive Media (Respeecher's team was credited for the voice work). Another big use case: Darth Vader's voice in 2022's Obi-Wan Kenobi series - James Earl Jones, aged 91, could no longer perform with the same power, so Lucasfilm used Respeecher to generate Vader's lines using Jones' archival voice data. This was done with Jones's consent (he effectively authorized the AI recreation of his iconic voice). The result was so good that audiences thought Jones had recorded the lines himself. Outside of film/TV, Respeecher has been used in video games (e.g., to recreate voices of deceased voice actors so characters can return), and in music - in 2022, it enabled artist Aloe Blacc to perform a song where his voice was converted to sound like the late Avicii's voice, as a tribute. Researchers and archivists have also shown interest in using it to restore voices for people who lost theirs (like throat cancer patients), although that's still experimental. Traction and Achievements: Though a B2B company, Respeecher gained public fame because of the high-profile nature of its projects. By 2022, virtually every Star Wars fan and many industry professionals had heard of Respeecher due to media coverage of its involvement in resurrecting Luke Skywalker's youthful voice and Darth Vader's classic tones. The company has a relatively small number of clients (dozens of studios, game companies, etc.), but each project is high value. Its technology earned it an Engineering Emmy Award in 2021, and it won TechCrunch's Startup Battlefield (audience choice) at CES in 2020. In terms of funding, Respeecher raised about $1.5M in early 2020 (around the Techstars time), and as of 2021 it had raised over $3M in total from investors including Techstars, ff Venture Capital, and Acrobator Ventures. The team remained fairly lean (under 50 people) but comprised specialized AI researchers and sound engineers. Financially, Respeecher's revenue grew with each Hollywood contract; while not public, one can infer that by 2022 it was profitable or close, given the repeat work from Disney/Lucasfilm and others. One of Respeecher's achievements is also on the ethical front: in 2023 it was one of ten companies (alongside OpenAI and TikTok) to sign the Partnership on AI's framework for responsible media, committing to practices like obtaining consent, watermarking AI content, etc. This proactive stance has made them a trusted partner in an area often seen with suspicion (deepfakes). The war in Ukraine did pose a challenge - much of Respeecher's team was Kyiv-based, and during the Russian invasion in Feb 2022, the team amazingly continued working (the Obi-Wan Kenobi Vader voice project was completed in the spring of 2022 while Kyiv was under threat). This dedication further earned them respect in the industry. Key Partnerships: Respeecher's notable partnerships are with major studios like Disney/Lucasfilm, and with game studios such as CD Projekt Red (who used Respeecher in 2023 to voice a character in Cyberpunk 2077 in Polish, whose original actor had passed away). It also collaborated with the creative team of the documentary "Val" to recreate actor Val Kilmer's voice, which he lost due to cancer (Kilmer and his son provided the training data). Each successful partnership validates the tech and leads to more clients. On the academic side, Respeecher worked with medical research to explore giving people who lost their voice (e.g., ALS patients) a chance to speak in their own reconstructed voice - a heartwarming application of the tech. Future Outlook: Respeecher sits at the forefront of AI in media. The demand for voice cloning is likely to increase - whether to dubbing movies in a star's own voice across languages, bringing historical figures' voices to life for museums, or personal uses (with permission, someone might license their voice). The company's focus will be to maintain quality leadership as big players (like Microsoft or Google) also invest in voice AI. Respeecher's Ukrainian origin is a source of pride: it shows that despite adversity, Ukrainian tech can lead globally in innovation. The founders have expressed interest in eventually developing real-time voice conversion (currently it's not instant, it takes some processing time) and making the tech more accessible perhaps in creator tools. But they tread carefully to avoid misuse. In summary, Respeecher is a Ukrainian deep-tech startup that achieved what was once sci-fi - lending voices across time and space - and has done so responsibly. By powering some of Hollywood's most iconic moments with AI, it has cemented itself as a trailblazer in synthetic audio. As long as movies and games want to push creative boundaries, Respeecher's technology will likely be in the credits, helping the impossible become possible in voice. Sources: en.wikipedia.org, failory.com, techcrunch.com, youtube.com.
Retail innovation event at ExCeL. Price: free for retailers; vendors pay. Strong for payments, in-store analytics, and loyalty tech startups.
Revolut is a British fintech company offering a “super-app” for digital banking and financial services. Launched in 2015 by founders Nik Storonsky (a former Credit Suisse trader from Russia) and Vlad Yatsenko (Ukrainian developer), Revolut began as a multicurrency travel card allowing users to spend and transfer money globally with minimal fees. It quickly evolved into a full-featured neobank. As of 2025, Revolut operates in 48+ countries and has 65 million customers worldwide, making it one of the fastest-growing fintechs ever. The app provides a suite of services: GBP and EUR bank accounts, debit cards, currency exchange for 30+ currencies at interbank rates, stock and crypto trading, person-to-person payments, bill splitting, and more. Revolut’s growth has been astonishing – it surpassed £3.1 billion in annual revenue in 2024 with £1.1 billion operating profit. The company has raised over $1.7 billion from investors like SoftBank, Tiger Global, and TCV, reaching a private valuation of $33 billion in 2021. In late 2025, a secondary share sale reportedly valued Revolut at $75 billion, vaulting it among the world’s most valuable fintechs. Revolut’s journey has not been without challenges: it faced regulatory hurdles (e.g. its UK banking license was long-delayed), compliance scrutiny, and had to strengthen its governance as it scaled. Nonetheless, the company achieved profitability in 2021 and has continued to grow its user base across Europe, North America, and Asia. Revolut’s mission is to become a “global financial super-app”, consolidating banking, investing, insurance, and payments in one place. It has introduced products like “Revolut Junior” accounts for kids, pay-later services, and expanded into credit in select markets. With over 10,000 employees worldwide, Revolut is now a regulated bank in the EU and other jurisdictions. Its story from scrappy travel card startup to a $75B-valued fintech giant with 65 million users epitomizes Europe’s fintech rise and the potential of challenger banks to rewrite banking norms.
Cybersecurity startup launched in 2022 offering a European-focused cyber threat intelligence platform. It monitors darknet, deep web, and messaging channels for leaks and compromised credentials and helps teams detect phishing domains before campaigns go live.
Organizer of the Rise of AI conference, a curated summit connecting AI founders, researchers, policymakers, and investors.
Curated AI conference in Berlin (Humboldt Carre) with an intimate in-person audience and virtual access, focused on the European AI ecosystem, policy, and commercialization. 2026 speaker highlights include Franziska Giffey, Prof. Antonio Krueger (DFKI), Carla Hustedt, and Dr. Ulli Waltinger; founder participation is often routed through Applied AI Stage and speaker submissions.
Weekend hackathon and pitch competition for student founders run by START Barcelona.
CEO of Top Consulting SA, Robert is an example of a traditional industry executive who ventured into startup investing. Nominated as a top angel in 2018, he has provided capital to startups diversifying beyond his consulting business. Associated startups: Involvements kept fairly private; known in investment circles for supporting enterprise software startups.
Better known as a football superstar, Robert has also become an active startup investor in recent years. Through his firm RL9 Investments, he provides funding and global visibility to Polish startups. For instance, he joined Dawid Urban in backing Samurai Labs (AI anti-bullying platform) in 2020. He’s also invested in health tech and games (e.g. Movie Games). Associated startups: Samurai Labs, Movie Games, Zeny (fintech), and Stor9 (marketing) among others.
Founder of Polish Angels and managing partner at COBIN Angels, Robert is a veteran executive with experience at Xerox, HP, and Atos. He serves as a board member of the European Business Angels Network (EBAN) and specializes in business strategy and transaction structuring for early-stage deals. Notable involvements include CliniNote (AI-powered healthtech platform, co-founder), board roles with Photon Entertainment, Salesbook, and Vindicat, plus prior supervisory board service at Work Service S.A.
Long-running local startup meetup in Lodz focused on practical feedback, mentorship, and early-stage networking. The #402 edition continues a grassroots format that is especially accessible for first-time founders and local ecosystem participants.
RobotDreams develops AI diagnostics software that analyzes blood data to accelerate detection of acute conditions such as acute coronary syndrome, competing in AI-enabled in-vitro diagnostics.
Amsterdam-founded accelerator and seed investor with domain-specific programs in energy, agrifood, and emerging tech. Spring 2026 application windows are opening in March with track-specific deadlines. Model combines acceleration, initial capital, and potential follow-on funding for scaling teams.
Spring 2026 application windows for Rockstart domain programs (including energy, agrifood, and emerging tech) with initial investment and follow-on funding pathways. Programs are opening through March 2026 with track-specific deadlines.
CEO of Dapper Labs (Canada) and creator of NBA Top Shot, Roham extended his crypto enthusiasm to Poland by investing in Reality Games (a Kraków-based mobile gaming startup leveraging blockchain). He exemplifies global crypto investors tapping Polish gaming expertise. Associated startups: Reality Games, and advising Polish blockchain game devs.
Rohlik Group is the Czech Republic's flagship ecommerce and logistics scale-up, often compared to Ocado for its vertically integrated model. The company dominates online grocery across Central Europe and operates the Knuspr brand in Germany and Austria, pairing premium assortment with fast delivery windows. By 2026, Rohlik is heavily automating fulfillment to push down unit economics while expanding warehouse capacity across CEE. Its influence is outsized locally, acting as a talent magnet and a repeat-founder factory for the Prague ecosystem.
Business Angel Debutant of the Year (2021) and former CEO of Gemini Polska as well as former president of PZU Życie. Roman transitioned from top-level corporate leadership into startup investing with a focus on business transformation and commercial execution. He primarily backs startups in healthcare, insurance, and business transformation, bringing operator-level support in sales strategy and scaling.
Rossum specializes in intelligent document processing, moving beyond basic OCR to cognitive data capture. Its AI reads invoices, shipping manifests, and other structured documents with human-like accuracy, automating workflows for logistics, manufacturing, and finance. The company is scaling rapidly in the US market and positioning itself as the backbone for enterprise document automation. By 2026, Rossum is one of the Czech ecosystem's most credible soonicorns.
Founded 2011. Early-stage investor focused on digital health, telemedicine, and SaaS.
Global design and furniture fair with SaloneSatellite for under-35 designers and startups. Price: about EUR 40-60. Strong for design-led hardware and materials startups.
Founded 2016. Seed fund focused on marketplace and platform businesses with network effects.
Major French healthcare and hospital innovation expo with a large innovation village for digital health ventures. High-value event for founders targeting public-hospital procurement and clinical pilot partnerships.
Mobile payments network enabling peer-to-peer transfers and low-cost in-store payments without cards.
Tech incubator at Graz University (launched 2002) providing mentorship, workshops, and investor access for startups in mobility, greentech, and IT. Support: grants, investment matchmaking, workspace. Scope: Regional (Styria).
Seak Energy develops smart infrastructure systems that control street lighting and EV chargers over existing power lines, avoiding costly new cabling. This retrofitting approach allows cities to digitize “dumb” infrastructure quickly and affordably. By 2026, Seak Energy is expanding across municipalities seeking low-cost modernization of public assets.
Founded 2013. Growth-oriented VC backing Spanish and Iberian scale-ups in consumer internet and mobility.
Owner of Kulczyk Investments and founder of Manta Ray VC, Sebastian is a prominent growth and technology investor supporting globally scalable startups. Through both direct investment and ecosystem initiatives such as InCredibles, he has helped position Polish founders on international markets. His wider portfolio context includes involvement around major outcomes such as Base (acquired by Zendesk), and investments including Iceye and Brainly.
CEO/co-founder of Klarna, Sebastian has Polish roots and has made angel investments in Poland. He participated in funding for Warsaw-based custom packaging startup Packhelp, among others. His presence brings a bit of Scandinavian fintech savvy to the Polish ecosystem. Associated startups: Packhelp (and likely other Polish e-commerce enablers).
SEED Capital is Denmark's largest early stage venture fund and a first check investor for many of the country's most successful startups. The firm invests at seed and Series A and supports founders with hands on company building and follow on fundraising. SEED has backed Danish scale ups across SaaS, fintech, and consumer tech, with notable wins including Trustpilot, Vivino, Templafy, and Lunar. It is a key pillar of the Danish venture landscape.
Seedcamp is a London-based seed fund investing at pre-seed and seed across Europe. In 2024 it announced Seedcamp Fund VI, a $180m vehicle, and reports a portfolio of 460+ companies with total AUM of around $500m. Seedcamp is known for early backing of category leaders such as Revolut, UiPath, and Synthesia, pairing capital with a strong founder network.
Founded 2008. Spain's pioneering ICT accelerator providing training, seed funding, and mentorship by experienced entrepreneurs. Runs intensive campus programs; funded ~70 startups with 15 exits (e.g., Divisoft, Ulabox). Support: 3-month acceleration, angel network investment, free office space. Scope: National.
Corporate VC of Semapa investing in industrial, environmental, and mobility tech across Portugal and internationally.
MedTech robotics startup behind FIDI, an assistive feeding robot for people with upper-limb disabilities. The system combines 3D vision, AI, and adaptive utensils to align with user posture and pace.
Sensoneo provides enterprise-grade smart waste management systems that digitize collection workflows for cities and waste operators. Using ultrasonic sensors in bins and route-optimization software, it helps cities like Madrid and Prague reduce costs and emissions. The company is expanding into deposit return systems (DRS) software and broader circular-economy infrastructure. By 2026, Sensoneo is a recognized European leader in smart waste.
Sequoia Capital is a global venture firm that led ElevenLabs' $500M Series D round announced in February 2026 at an $11B valuation, with partner Andrew Reed joining the board. Sequoia also backs Bolt as it scaled its multi-vertical mobility platform across Europe.
FoodTech startup producing plant-based cheese alternatives from Polish lupin beans. The products target high protein and melt performance for mainstream consumer use in dairy-free diets.
Founded 2002. Life sciences VC investing in biotech, medtech, and diagnostics across Europe.
Founded 2007. Investor in smart energy transition and climate tech.
Sewio builds ultra-wideband (UWB) real-time location systems (RTLS) for indoor asset and people tracking.
Sherry Coutu CBE is a prominent angel investor and entrepreneur known for championing the UK’s scale-up ecosystem. Originally from Canada, Coutu moved to the UK and in 1994 founded Interactive Investor, an online brokerage, which she led to an IPO in 2000. After exiting that venture, she became a full-time angel in 2000 and has since invested in 50+ tech companies, focusing on consumer internet, education, and fintech startups. Coutu has been an early backer of notable UK startups like Zoopla and LoveFilm, and holds LP stakes in several venture funds. Beyond investing her own capital, Sherry Coutu is famed for her advocacy of “scale-ups” – mid-stage companies poised for high growth. In 2014, she authored the landmark Scale-Up Report for the UK government, highlighting the economic importance of helping startups grow into larger firms. This led her, alongside LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman, to found the ScaleUp Institute in 2015 – a nonprofit that provides resources, mentorship, and policy advocacy for scaling businesses. Coutu also founded Founders4Schools and Digital Boost, initiatives connecting students and small businesses with experienced entrepreneurs. She remains an active non-executive director on multiple boards – past roles include serving on the boards of the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), the University of Cambridge Finance Board, and Pearson plc. In the angel community, Sherry Coutu is respected not only for her investments but for her mentorship and network: she often provides board-level guidance and operational mentorship to founders. Appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2013 for services to entrepreneurship, Sherry Coutu is a pivotal figure helping UK tech startups navigate the jump from startup to scale-up.
Founded 2011. Micro-VC focused on pre-seed and seed investments in software and fintech.
Founded 2013. Impact accelerator and investment fund for social enterprises in health, cleantech, and energy. Runs acceleration programs and an impact fund; has accelerated 50+ startups. Support: mentoring, CSR partners, impact investment up to EUR 400K. Scope: National.
The Siemens Technology Accelerator (STA) is a unique corporate accelerator program run by Siemens AG since 2001, aimed at spinning out non-core technologies from Siemens’ R&D into independent startups. Based in Munich, STA essentially identifies promising internal innovations (often developed at Siemens Corporate Technology labs) that don’t fit Siemens’ core business, and forms new ventures around them. STA provides seed funding, co-founding management, and access to Siemens’ infrastructure to these ventures, effectively acting as a venture builder. Over its history, the Siemens Technology Accelerator has spun out more than 12 companies across sectors like energy, industrial automation, healthcare, and materials. Notable spin-offs include MetisMotion (advanced actuators), Magazino (warehouse robotics – which STA helped early on), and Epiqo (a digital twin software). One high-profile case is Rethink Robotics GmbH: in 2020, STA helped relaunch assets of Rethink Robotics (the US cobot pioneer) in a joint venture, integrating it with Siemens technology. The typical STA project starts with identifying a tech with market potential. STA then recruits external entrepreneurs or Siemens intrapreneurs to lead the startup, develops a business plan, secures intellectual property rights (license or assign IP from Siemens to the newco), and provides initial funding (often low millions of euros). Siemens often remains a minority shareholder and provides pilot customers or manufacturing help. The time from project inception to an independent company launch is around 18–24 months. STA’s model addresses a common big-corporate problem: great inventions that don’t make it to market. By essentially incubating startups from within, Siemens both creates value from dormant IP and fosters innovation culture. Many STA spin-outs go on to raise venture capital or get acquired. For example, Ionity (an EV charging network) was seeded by Siemens’ STA and later became a major joint venture with automakers. The Siemens Technology Accelerator operates with a small specialized team and has won awards for corporate venturing. It serves as a best-practice example of how large industrial firms can proactively spin off new ventures rather than let R&D sit on a shelf. In essence, STA extends Siemens’ innovation beyond its core by unleashing startups that bring cutting-edge tech (like novel sensors, new materials, etc.) to the broader market.
Simplicity is a GovTech and smart-city super-app that aggregates municipal news, payments, notifications, and city services into a single mobile experience. The platform evolved from local deployments in Slovakia and Europe into a US-focused expansion strategy, winning contracts with cities seeking a modern digital engagement layer. By 2026, Simplicity is a fast-scaling civic tech company turning city services into a unified digital channel.
Siteimprove provides a website governance and digital experience platform covering accessibility, SEO, and content quality.
Skeleton Technologies develops high-power energy storage solutions based on Curved Graphene for transportation, grid, and industrial use cases.
Founded 2014. Late seed and Series A fund focused on consumer digital brands and e-commerce.
One of the world's leading startup and tech events, connecting founders and investors.
One of the world's leading startup and tech events, connecting founders and investors.
smaXtec builds ingestible sensor and AI monitoring systems for dairy cows to detect health issues early and improve herd management decisions, competing with precision livestock platforms such as Allflex, CowManager, and Nedap.
An angel network led by Borys Musielak (of SMOK Ventures) focusing on Central & Eastern Europe. With 160+ founders and investors involved, SMOK Angels encourages experienced entrepreneurs to invest in idea and seed-stage startups. They often co-invest alongside SMOK Ventures fund. Notable focus: early-stage tech teams (idea to Series A) in CEE, leveraging its members’ mentorship.
Founded 2019. Seed fund focused on gaming, esports, and blockchain startups in CEE.
Social innovation accelerator promoted in the Munich ecosystem for mission-driven startups and social impact business models. Application deadline: April 15, 2026. Program start: mid-2026. Program notes include zero-equity participation, no-fee access, and travel reimbursement support for selected teams.
Embedded banking platform providing regulated accounts, cards, and payments APIs.
A former Spotify executive turned prominent angel (and VC at Atomico), Sophia from Sweden has invested in Polish startups, particularly in fintech and healthtech. She was an early angel in Warsaw-based Doctorly and supports female-founded companies in Poland through programs like Lift Women. Associated startups: Doctorly, Village Network (and other Polish startups via Atomico Angel Programme).
Sports gaming and digital collectibles platform with a major commercial office in London serving UK partnerships and sports leagues.
Major Madrid conference at La Nave with 20,000+ attendees, 2,000+ investors, and 6,000+ startups. Its startup competition is highly selective, and the event is a key bridge between Europe and Latin America.
Infrastructure automation platform for engineering teams using Terraform, OpenTofu, CloudFormation, Pulumi, and Ansible. Spacelift helps enterprises manage IaC workflows, policy controls, and secure cloud deployments at scale.
Founded 2011. Seed fund with more than EUR 600M under management across sector-focused micro-funds and a pan-European footprint.
Special bike trade fair focused on cargo and recumbent bikes. Price: about EUR 15-25. Strong for urban logistics and last-mile delivery hardware startups.
Founded 2016. Accelerator for the video game industry connecting German and French hubs; provides workshops, industry mentoring, and investor access. Notable studios: Burning Glass Creative, HandyGames. Support: game-specific mentorship, networking, funding access. Scope: Regional.
Founded 2014. Six-month program for entrepreneurial teams with coworking, mentoring, and technology partners; alumni include energy and healthcare startups. Support: mentorship, workspace, partner resources. Scope: Regional (East Germany).
Founded 2009. Early-stage investor in enterprise software, digital consumer, and IoT across the Nordics.
Spotwise.ai is a Riga-based B2B SaaS company that automates competitive radio advertising intelligence for broadcaster sales teams. Its AI continuously monitors radio streams, detects and transcribes ads, identifies advertisers, and routes actionable leads to CRM workflows. The platform is built for multilingual markets and positioned for European media groups operating across fragmented language regions.
Organizer of Spring I/O, a major European conference for the Java and Spring ecosystem.
Leading European conference for the Spring and Java ecosystem at Palau de Congressos, with deep technical talks by framework contributors and backend experts. Strong channel for enterprise Java, fintech infrastructure, and data-platform tooling startups.
Starship Technologies builds autonomous sidewalk delivery robots for last-mile grocery, food, and package delivery.
Student-run summit at Olma Messen with 7,000+ attendees, 1,000+ investors, and 1,500+ startups. Highlights include the START Summiteer pitch competition and high-volume investor-founder matchmaking.
Launched 2010 by Wageningen University. Leading agri-foodtech accelerator with EUR 25K non-dilutive funding, a 12-week program, and corporate/research connections; supported 100+ startups like Meatable. Scope: International.
Mazovian regional startup competition and support program for ventures under three years old. It runs tracks for INNO-TECH, SOCIAL IMPACT, and START with grant-based awards for early product validation and growth.
EU-backed, equity-free six-month accelerator supporting 41 SMEs across tracks (Industry Test, Go Global, Sector Agnostic) with tailored plans, workshops, and milestone tracking. Grants up to EUR 80K. Scope: National.
Impact-focused accelerator operated by SWPS University for ventures aligned with sustainable development goals. The program supports startups, micro-enterprises, and NGOs through commercialization, corporate piloting, and funding-readiness tracks.
Innovation hub and accelerator supported by Microsoft, nurturing deep-tech startups in biotech, nanotech, and digital sectors. Provides acceleration, access to University of Minho labs, and corporate partners; backed 120+ companies. Scope: Regional (Northern Portugal).
Estonia's largest business festival, bringing together founders, investors, executives, and visitors from around the world.
Startup festival at the University of Tartu Sports Hall with 3,500+ attendees, 350+ investors, and 400+ startups. Includes the sTARTUp Pitching competition (often with a EUR 300k+ syndication pool) and Brella-powered 1:1 matchmaking.
Regional support ecosystem linked to the University of Gothenburg and local partners such as Johanneberg Science Park, providing incubation, coaching, and investor connections for startups in the Gothenburg region. Scope: Regional.
Local pitch battle sending the winner to Startup Grind's regional finals. Date TBA (February).
Stockholm chapter of the global Startup Grind community.
Startup Grind fireside chat and networking event featuring global ecosystem builders.
PARP-backed accelerator attracting international startups to Poland, run by Space3ac in Gdansk. Offers up to EUR 65,000 equity-free funding plus soft-landing support (incorporation, legal/tax, accommodation, visas). Focus on smart cities, space, and logistics. Scope: International.
Startup Lisboa is a key incubator in Portugal’s capital, established in 2012 as a public-private initiative to boost entrepreneurship in the city. Situated in downtown Lisbon’s Baixa district in renovated historic buildings, Startup Lisboa provides mentorship, workspace, and networking for early-stage startups across sectors. It was launched with backing from the Lisbon City Council, bank Montepio, and IAPMEI (the Portuguese SME agency), reflecting strong civic support. Over an incubation period of up to 3 years, startups receive guidance on refining their business model, access to strategic partners, and help connecting with investors. Office space is a big draw: Startup Lisboa offers subsidized offices and co-working spots to dozens of startups, easing a major burden in early stages. The incubator runs several vertical programs, including dedicated tracks for tourism, social innovation, and fintech in partnership with corporates. Lisbon’s booming tourism industry spurred Startup Lisboa to create initiatives for travel-tech and “Smart Tourism” – alumni in this space include Unbabel (AI translation for customer service, now a scaleup with $90M+ raised). Other success stories from Startup Lisboa’s portfolio are EatTasty (food delivery, expanded to Madrid) and Hole19 (a golf app with millions of users). Besides incubation, Startup Lisboa manages events like the Lisbon Challenge (an international acceleration program) and interfaces with Portugal’s Startup Visa program to attract foreign founders. They also collaborate with Web Summit (the major tech conference hosted in Lisbon) to showcase local talent. A distinctive project is the “Made of Lisboa” community brand, which Startup Lisboa spearheads to unite the city’s tech scene. The incubator has supported over 300 startups, which have created an estimated 3,000+ jobs. Startup Lisboa also played a role in rejuvenating Lisbon’s downtown, turning it into a lively startup hub. With Lisbon now on the map as a startup-friendly city (helped by initiatives like €200M VC fund of funds from the government), Startup Lisboa continues to be at the heart of it – fostering new companies in an open, founder-centric environment, and solidifying Lisbon’s reputation as a launchpad for international startups in Southern Europe.
Organizer of founder-focused meetups and AI events including The Munich AI Conference.
An event organisator responsible for various startup and tech conferences across Europe, including AI and founder events.
Season kickoff event at the Madrid Stock Exchange connecting Spanish startups, investors, and ecosystem partners.
Regional meetup event in Klagenfurt, hosted by AustrianStartups, fostering connections within the local startup community as part of their ongoing series.
Regional startup community meetup in Carinthia, focused on local founders and ecosystem building.
Established in 2018 to support tech startups in the Tyrol region with tailored mentorship, business plan coaching, and connections to experts and Alpine industry partners. Scope: Regional (Tyrol). Support: mentor network, strategy workshops, investor introductions.
Established 2018. Regional program offering tailored mentorship, business plan coaching, and connections to partners in Tyrol's Alpine industries. Support: local mentor network, strategy workshops, investor introductions. Scope: Regional (Tyrol).
Organizer of recurring Amsterdam tech job fair and startup networking events for pre-seed founders and local angel communities.
Amsterdam hub of Startupbootcamp (est. 2010) running 3-month accelerators in fintech, cybersecurity, smart cities, IoT, and commerce. Provides EUR 15K seed funding, 6% equity, mentorship, and partner deals; alumni include early Adyen mentoring. Scope: International.
Opened in 2017, Station F is a large startup campus and incubator in a converted rail depot hosting 1,000+ startups through themed programs and events. Scope: National & international. Support: co-working, on-site accelerators, investor and partner network.
Station F is a large startup campus in Paris housed in the restored Halle Freyssinet and launched in 2017. The campus hosts 30+ programs, including STATION F's in-house Founders Program and Fighters Program, plus corporate programs such as Meta and Microsoft GenAI Studio alongside partners like LVMH. Station F is led by Director Roxanne Varza. Startups benefit from coworking space, mentorship, events, and dedicated founder support services that make the campus a core node of the Paris ecosystem.
Stegra (formerly H2 Green Steel) is one of Europe’s most ambitious industrial decarbonization projects, aiming to rebuild steelmaking around renewable energy and green hydrogen. The company is building a fully integrated production campus in Boden, northern Sweden, where abundant hydropower and regional mining supply chains converge. The core innovation is the direct-reduction process: instead of using coal to reduce iron ore, Stegra uses green hydrogen, cutting CO2 emissions by roughly 95% compared with blast-furnace steel. That technical shift is the foundation for a new European supply of low-carbon steel, which is increasingly demanded by automakers, construction firms, and consumer brands. The company rebranded to Stegra in September 2024 to signal that it is more than a steel mill. Its long-term platform vision is to combine renewable power, hydrogen production, and mineral processing into a repeatable template for heavy industry. By 2026, the Boden plant is reported to be more than halfway constructed, with gigascale electrolyzers (supplied by Thyssenkrupp Nucera) being installed and key offtake contracts signed. Customers reportedly include Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Scania, and IKEA, and more than half of initial output has been pre-sold — a strong indicator that the “green premium” market is real. Stegra’s financing structure is as notable as its technology. Rather than relying solely on venture capital, the company blends project-finance debt with growth equity, totaling more than €6.5 billion in commitments. This makes it one of the largest private industrial raises in Europe and a flagship case for climate infrastructure funding. Its origins are tied to Vargas Holding, a Swedish venture-builder that also co-founded Northvolt and Polarium, acting as an institutional co-founder rather than a conventional accelerator. Early support from EIT InnoEnergy helped validate the project at the EU level. Stegra’s investor roster reflects its strategic importance: Altor Equity Partners, GIC, Just Climate, Temasek, and Porsche SE are among its backers. In 2026, Stegra represents the “Northvolt effect” done right: a proof that Europe can re-industrialize around clean energy and keep advanced manufacturing on the continent. If it succeeds, it will be a template for decarbonizing other hard-to-abate sectors, from cement to fertilizers, and a cornerstone of Europe’s green-industry competitiveness.
Estonian operator-angel backing software, marketplaces, and frontier technology.
Also known as the Polish Business Angel Network, Sterling Angels is a community of private investors and some VCs who co-invest in early-stage companies. Based in Kraków, Sterling Angels not only provides capital but also mentoring and connections to help startups succeed. Notable focus: Southern Poland’s startup scene – tech startups in need of both funding and business expertise.
Sting (Stockholm Innovation & Growth) is Sweden’s leading startup accelerator and incubator, founded in 2002 and based in Stockholm. Over two decades, Sting has built a reputation as one of Europe’s most successful support programs for high-tech startups. Each year, ~25 startups participate in Sting’s programs, which are tailored to ICT, sustainability, and deep tech ventures. Sting offers two main tracks: the Accelerate program (a shorter, intensive accelerator with investment) and the Incubate program (a longer incubation with office space and coaching). Startups benefit from SEK 400,000 (≈€35,000) in pre-seed investment via Sting’s Propel Capital angel fund, as well as hands-on mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs. Sting is notable for its extensive network in the Nordics – participants get access to 80+ industry mentors and introductions to a broad investor pool in Sweden and internationally. The results speak volumes: Sting has supported 270+ startups since inception, with a survival rate over 70% and multiple high-profile alumni. Success stories include Yubico (security keys unicorn), Sellpy (fashion recommerce, acquired by H&M), and ClimateView (climate planning SaaS). In addition to funding and coaching, Sting offers free office space at A House in Stockholm, product development labs, and perks from partners. The program emphasizes key performance indicators (KPIs) and growth milestones – Sting aims to help companies reach first customers, significant revenues, or Series A readiness within 6–18 months. Beyond individual companies, Sting has played a crucial role in Stockholm’s ecosystem: it co-founded SUP46 (Start-Up People of Sweden) co-working space and hosts Sweden’s annual Startup Demo Day. Sting alumni have collectively raised over €600 million. With the Swedish ecosystem maturing, Sting remains a cornerstone – providing new founders with structured support, an entrepreneurial community, and that all-important first investment to turbocharge their growth.
Storyblok is a headless CMS that helps developers and marketing teams build and manage content across channels.
Ireland's premier science and technology exhibition for secondary school students, fostering innovation and scientific discovery.
Ireland's premier science and technology exhibition for secondary school students, fostering innovation and scientific discovery.
Partnering conference focused on Horizon Europe collaboration. Price: about EUR 150 (VAT included). Structured around pitches and 1:1 meetings across health, energy, mobility, and digital tech.
Sudolabs is a product studio and venture builder that designs and engineers high-end digital products for US startups. While technically a studio, it functions as a talent engine and a behind-the-scenes contributor to multiple venture-backed successes. By 2026, Sudolabs is one of the most respected engineering partners in the region.
SuperScale delivers revenue optimization for mobile games, combining AI with expert growth teams to revive older titles and improve monetization for new launches. The company partners with major global studios and provides a services-plus-software model that drives measurable uplift. By 2026, SuperScale is a leading Slovak gaming analytics and growth platform.
Organizer of the Sustainable Foods London conference and expo.
Conference and expo focused on sustainability challenges in food and drink.
Organizer of digital health matchmaking events for Swedish innovation networks.
Employee experience platform blending benefits, rewards, and wallet tools for hybrid teams.
Inaugural European SXSW edition across Shoreditch and East London, mixing startup pitches with tech, music, and interactive media programming. Strong fit for media-tech, AR/VR, and consumer innovation teams.
Symbion is one of Denmark's oldest science parks and incubators, founded to support research driven startups in tech and life science. It provides office space, labs, business services, and community programs for hundreds of early stage companies, and it hosts accelerators and investor events on site. Symbion is located in Copenhagen's innovation district and acts as a bridge between universities, corporates, and founders. Many Danish startups begin their journey inside the Symbion campus.
AI video creation platform that turns scripts into multilingual clips with photorealistic avatars.
Chief Marketing Officer at LiveChat, Szymon made a notable angel investment into Brand24 (social media monitoring), a company LiveChat’s founders also built. He has a niche focus on marketing technology and B2B software, where he lends both capital and marketing know-how. Associated startups: Brand24, and mentorship of B2B SaaS startups in marketing automation.
Co-founder of Ramp Network (a Polish crypto startup), Szymon has recently started angel investing on the side. With Ramp’s success, he backs other Polish crypto and fintech startups, sharing his know-how in scaling a global fintech product. Associated startups: Selected crypto/fintech startups (leveraging experience from Ramp).
Co-founder of TransferWise (Wise) and an Estonian tech icon, Taavet is an active angel across Europe, including Poland. He has personally invested in Polish startups (particularly in fintech/crypto); for example, he was an early backer of crypto-fiat ramp Ramp Network. Taavet’s global perspective and success in fintech make him a sought-after international angel. Associated startups: Ramp Network, Paytailor, and other fintech/crypto startups in CEE.
Taavet Hinrikus is a prominent European tech entrepreneur-turned-angel investor, best known as the co-founder of Wise (TransferWise). Hinrikus, originally from Estonia, was Skype’s first employee before co-founding TransferWise in London in 2011. Under his leadership (as CEO then Chairman), TransferWise revolutionized cross-border finance and reached a multi-billion valuation. After Wise’s success (it went public in 2021), Taavet Hinrikus shifted focus to investing and supporting other startups. He has become an “operator angel” who backs early-stage European founders, particularly in fintech and software, bringing his experience in scaling a fintech unicorn. In 2022, Hinrikus teamed up with Teleport co-founder Sten Tamkivi to launch a new VC firm called Plural, a €250 million fund “built by founders” to invest in Europe’s next generation of tech companies. As an individual angel, Taavet has made personal investments in startups like Bolt (ride-hailing, Estonia), Mirror (US fintech), Zego (insurance) and many others, often taking advisory roles. He is known for his hands-on mentorship style – for example, he has provided guidance to Wise alumni starting companies and frequently advocates for Baltic and European tech on the global stage. Taavet also serves on various boards (e.g. he was on the board of Nasdaq’s Estonia arm and advisory boards of fintech companies) and was a special adviser to the UK government on fintech. In the Europe Startup Guide, Taavet is described as an angel “investing as an operator-angel in European fintech and software,” focusing on pre-seed to Series A deals. His journey from founding a $10B fintech company to re-investing in the ecosystem has made Hinrikus an influential figure. Not only does he bring capital, but also credibility and connections – helping younger European startups navigate growth and international expansion. In essence, Taavet Hinrikus exemplifies the new wave of successful European founders who “pay it forward” by fueling the next cohort of startups.
Tachyum is developing the Prodigy Universal Processor, a bold attempt to unify CPU, GPU, and TPU workloads into a single hyperscale chip. The vision is a high-efficiency architecture that could dramatically reduce data center power consumption and cost. By 2026, the company is in moonshot territory, with tape-out success positioned as a potential disruption to incumbent giants like Nvidia and Intel. It is one of the most ambitious semiconductor bets in Central Europe.
Tactile is a Copenhagen-based mobile games studio focused on casual puzzle games such as Lily’s Garden and Cookie Cats.
Organizer of Talent Arena, a developer-focused conference and talent platform during MWC week.
Developer-first event aligned with MWC week, featuring coding sessions, architecture deep dives, and hackathon-style programs around AI, cloud, and cybersecurity. Useful for startup engineering recruiting and employer branding with senior technical talent.
Talkie.ai is a Polish conversational AI platform focused on healthcare voice automation for hospitals, clinics, and medical contact centers. The product handles appointment workflows, prescription-related requests, triage-first routing, and self-service call handling through localized NLP and no-code configuration. Built in Poland with expansion across Europe and the US, it targets high-volume patient communication with compliance-oriented integrations.
Polish VC focused on deep tech and science-based companies, including industrial technology, advanced materials, and biotech. The fund follows a long-horizon approach for R&D-heavy ventures moving from lab to market.
Tatum is a developer platform that unifies dozens of blockchain protocols into a single API, allowing enterprises to build crypto features without specialized blockchain teams. The platform abstracts wallet creation, transactions, and smart contract interactions into simple endpoints. By 2026, Tatum positions itself as the “Stripe for crypto infrastructure,” serving banks and fintechs that want to launch regulated digital-asset services. Its focus is on reliability and developer speed rather than speculative crypto exposure.
Organizer of Nordic-focused founder masterclasses and events.
Online fundraising and growth masterclass for founders with Q&A and expert guidance.
Online workshop on go-to-market strategy led by Tech Nordic Advocates.
Organizer of Tech Open Air, Berlin's interdisciplinary tech festival bridging technology, art, music, and science.
Large interdisciplinary tech festival at Funkhaus Berlin combining AI, synthetic biology, Web3, and health tech with music, art, and science programming. Includes startup visibility opportunities and a headline startup pitch competition.
Content-heavy summit at Old Billingsgate focused on European scale-up strategy, AI, fintech, and climate tech. Strong attendance from Series A-C founders, LPs, Tier 1 VCs, and tech media.
Founded 2002 in Upper Austria. Incubator providing training, personalized mentorship, market analysis, free office space, and investor network access; alumni include hardware and IoT companies. Scope: Regional (Upper Austria).
Organizer of Techarena, Scandinavia's large-scale tech and business event hosted in Stockholm.
Nordic/Baltic scale-up conference at Friends Arena with 7,500+ attendees and 400+ investors. Known for stage-specific pitch competitions and a strong sustainability and ESG focus.
Copenhagen-based organizer behind the annual TechBBQ summit for Nordic and European founders, investors, and ecosystem builders.
Nordic community-driven summit at Lokomotivvaerkstedet with around 7,500 attendees. Strong programming for life sciences, cleantech, and food systems, plus trust-first networking culture and investor access.
Baltic startup conference at Hanzas Perons with 2,300+ attendees and 250+ investors. Known for the Fifty Founders Battle (EUR 200k+ syndicate prizes) and strong Day 0 networking side events.
Organizer of Techinnov, France's structured B2B matchmaking event for industrial innovation.
France's flagship B2B innovation matchmaking day at Parc Floral de Paris, organized around pre-scheduled 20-minute meetings between startups and industrial buyers. Designed for high meeting density and fast enterprise business development in Industry 4.0 and industrial transformation.
International trade fair for technical textiles and nonwovens. Price: about EUR 30-60. Key for smart fabrics and materials startups.
TechWolf builds an AI-based workforce intelligence platform that helps enterprises transition to skills-based operating models. By integrating with HR systems, it infers employee skills, identifies gaps, and supports internal mobility and planning decisions at large-company scale.
Templafy is an enterprise content enablement platform that keeps documents, presentations, and emails on brand and compliant. Founded in Copenhagen in 2014, the company integrates with tools like Microsoft Office and Google Workspace to centralize templates, assets, and dynamic content. Templafy serves global enterprises with millions of users and automates governance for marketing, legal, and sales teams. It is one of Denmark's most successful B2B SaaS scale ups.
Trade fair for textile and flexible material processing. Price: about EUR 30-60. Strong for automated sewing, 3D body scanning, and on-demand manufacturing startups.
Text'nPayMe is a Yerevan-based fintech startup building keyboard-first payment experiences for peer-to-peer and micro-transactions inside messaging flows. Its infrastructure enables users to initiate secure transfers directly within chat interfaces without switching to separate banking apps. The company emerged from the 500 Eurasia ecosystem and targets embedded finance use cases for banks and digital platforms.
Building reusable Nyx capsules to ferry cargo to the ISS and future commercial space stations.
Focused evening conference hosted by Startup Network Europe and held at Codecentric Munich, centered on turning AI strategy into scalable enterprise execution. Designed as a compact, high-quality networking environment for founders, enterprise decision-makers, and technical AI leaders.
Founded 2017 by Alltech. Three-month agritech accelerator focused on nutrition, animal health, robotics, and AI; provides access to Alltech's global network, mentoring, and pilot opportunities on farms. Scope: International.
Founded 2017. Hybrid accelerator-VC supporting product-led startups in Europe and the Americas.
Weekly community gathering at CIC Warsaw with breakout sessions and office hours for founders, investors, and mentors. This entry represents the March 5th 2026 edition.
Customer service platform for small and midsize businesses combining live chat, AI chatbots, and helpdesk automation. Tidio helps e-commerce teams improve support response times and drive conversion from website traffic.
Sustainable micromobility operator running e-scooters, e-bikes, and shared mopeds in cities.
Historical organizer profile for TNW Conference. The event has been discontinued and is not scheduled to return in 2026.
Historical TNW Conference listing for June 19-20, 2025 in Amsterdam. The conference has been officially discontinued and is not expected to return in 2026.
CEO of Lancerto and active business angel focused on the overlap between traditional retail operations and modern digital commerce. Tomasz frequently mentors D2C founders and contributes as a jury member in startup competitions. His investment interests center on e-commerce, fashion tech, logistics, and tools that improve customer experience or supply-chain performance.
Managing partner at MCI Capital (Internet Ventures), Tomasz is one of the most experienced digital growth investors in Central Europe. His background includes strategy and international operating exposure, and he has led investments across e-commerce, digital health, and online marketplaces. Portfolio and exit references include Frisco.pl, SiDLY, and Morele.net.
Co-founder of Divante and managing partner at Catch the Tornado, Tomasz invests in high-growth software companies shaped by strong product and engineering culture. His strategy centers on composable commerce, open-source infrastructure, and AI-powered products. Notable portfolio examples include Ramp Network, Vue Storefront, and Rigby, with broader exposure to high-value exits in the Polish tech ecosystem.
Co-founder and former CTO of Brainly, Tomasz leverages his edtech and product experience as an angel investor. He has backed several Polish startups (including Allani, Positionly, Investio, and Luna Lang) and continues to support tech education initiatives. Associated startups: Allani, Positionly, Investio, Luna Lang.
Community manager at Polish Angels, Tomasz leads investor education and ecosystem engagement between new angels and experienced operators. He holds a PhD in management and has a background in PR and communications for venture capital organizations. His core focus includes educational content for the Business Angel Revolution course and scaling the reach of the Polish Angels community.
Too Good To Go is a marketplace that helps consumers buy surplus food from restaurants, bakeries, and supermarkets at a discount, reducing food waste. Launched in Denmark in 2015, the app scaled across Europe, North America, and Australia, building a global community that has saved millions of meals. The company combines sustainability impact with a simple consumer pickup model and has become one of the best known Danish climate tech exports. It also runs programs that help businesses prevent waste and educate consumers about food labeling.
Tractive builds GPS tracking and health-monitoring products for dogs and cats.
Tradeshift was founded in Copenhagen in 2010 by veterans of Denmark's e-invoicing infrastructure and set out to modernize global trade workflows. Its cloud platform connects buyers and suppliers for e-invoicing, procurement, and supply chain finance, using open standards and a network model. Tradeshift scaled to a global footprint with headquarters in San Francisco and offices across Europe and Asia, and it achieved unicorn status after major funding rounds. The company is a flagship Danish fintech and B2B SaaS success.
TransferGo is an international money transfer company focused on migrants, serving customers in 160+ countries.
Deep-tech transfer forum connecting research, startups, investors, and public sector partners. Price: about EUR 22 (visitor) to EUR 190 (full networking pass). Ideal for university spin-offs seeking tech transfer partners, grants, and R&D pilots.
Trever provides a digital-asset operating system for financial institutions to trade, settle, and manage cryptocurrencies and tokenized securities. In market positioning it overlaps with infrastructure providers such as Fireblocks and Metaco.
Mobile games company scaling casual puzzle and card titles to millions of players.
Founded in 2007 by Peter Holten Muhlmann, Trustpilot is a Copenhagen-born consumer reviews platform that helps people share feedback about businesses and helps companies respond to and learn from customers. The platform operates a freemium model, pairing public reviews with paid tools for analytics, review invitations, and trust widgets. Trustpilot scaled internationally, opened major offices in London and New York, and went public on the London Stock Exchange in 2021. Today it hosts hundreds of millions of reviews and remains one of Denmark's best known global software successes.
Global trade fair for pipe and tube manufacturing. Price: about EUR 45-70. Strong for industrial IoT, inspection, and quality-control startups.
Twisto is a fintech offering buy-now-pay-later and online payment solutions for consumers and merchants.
UiPath is a public company (NYSE: PATH) founded in Bucharest and now headquartered in New York, with major operations in Romania. The company has evolved from RPA tooling into an AI-powered business automation platform and in 2024 introduced its agentic automation platform to orchestrate AI agents and workflows. UiPath remains one of Europe’s most visible tech alumni stories, combining global scale with Romanian roots.
Week-long fintech program anchored by IFGS. Price varies by event; flagship summit typically about GBP 900+. Best for regulator, bank, and investor access.
Week-long accelerator bootcamp helping Nordic startups enter the UK market.
Underline Ventures is a Romanian early-stage VC that launched in 2020 and focuses on pre-seed and seed investments across Central and Eastern Europe.
Corporate VC arm of UNIQA Insurance active since 2016, investing in strategic areas for the insurer.
Established 2013. Tech-focused VC investing in Italy and Europe with a core focus on digital media, enterprise software, and fintech.
Unity Technologies was founded in Copenhagen in 2004 as a small game studio and evolved into the Unity game engine, a widely used platform for building 2D, 3D, and real time experiences. Unity helped democratize game development with a friendly pricing model, cross platform deployment, and a massive developer ecosystem. The company expanded into industries like automotive, architecture, and simulation, and it went public on the NYSE in 2020. Unity remains one of the most influential Danish founded technology companies in the global developer tools space.
Universal Robots was founded in Odense in 2005 and pioneered collaborative robots that are safe, flexible, and easy to program for small and mid sized manufacturers. The company introduced affordable robotic arms like the UR5 and helped establish the global cobot category. After strong growth, Universal Robots was acquired by Teradyne and continued expanding its product line and ecosystem. It is a cornerstone of Denmark's robotics cluster and a global automation leader.
Uppsala Innovation Centre (UIC) is a leading Swedish incubator and accelerator, consistently ranked among Europe’s top public incubators. Founded in 1999 and located in Uppsala – a city known for its major university and pharma industry cluster – UIC supports startups from idea to growth, with a strong focus on life sciences, medtech, energy, and IT. It is a public-private partnership, co-owned by Uppsala municipality, Uppsala University, SLU (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences), and local industry. UIC offers a suite of programs: a pre-incubation phase for concept validation, a core incubation phase (up to 2 years) for business development and raising seed capital, and a accelerator phase for scaling up and internationalization. Uniquely, UIC doesn’t take equity but charges a modest fee – hence it’s seen as a neutral player with the startup’s interest at heart. Startups benefit from individualized coaching by experienced business advisors, free office and lab space, and connections to Uppsala’s rich network of experts (the city hosts big players like GE Healthcare, Pfizer, etc.). Access to lab facilities is a key advantage for biotech startups – UIC arranges subsidized lab rentals through partnerships with SLU and local science parks. Over 20+ years, UIC has nurtured over 1,000 companies. Alumni include OssDsign (innovative cranial implants, now publicly listed) and ScandiNova (pulsed power systems, a world leader in its niche). The incubator’s portfolio has also seen several acquisitions by international firms. UIC is particularly known for helping research-heavy projects with commercialization – many UIC startups are founded by professors or PhDs aiming to solve real-world problems with their inventions. They also run UIC “Business Lab” and “Startup Bootcamps” for very early-stage teams, including student entrepreneurs. UIC’s impact is evident: Uppsala punches above its weight in innovation metrics, and UIC has been recognized by UBI Global as a top-5 global incubator in 2019. By coupling Uppsala’s academic prowess with professional business guidance, Uppsala Innovation Centre continues to turn ideas “from lab to market,” driving regional growth and bringing science-based innovations to society.
Uteach is an all-in-one e-learning platform built in Yerevan for independent educators, creators, and learning businesses. The product combines course hosting, live lessons, branded school websites, payments, quizzes, and certificates in a single stack so creators can launch and monetize digital academies faster. The company scaled through the 500 Eurasia ecosystem while serving an international user base.
Founded 2009. University-affiliated incubator supporting ICT and biotech startups with a 4-month validation program, follow-on acceleration, labs access, and investor network. Supported 200+ startups including SnappCar. Scope: Regional (Utrecht).
Valar Ventures is a fintech-focused venture firm and an investor in N26, backing the company’s international growth.
Listed investment company focused on fintech in emerging markets.
Founded 2012. Boutique VC and advisory firm managing venture funds focused on DACH tech startups.
Global summit organizer focused on investor-founder matchmaking and early-stage capital access.
Program specializing in spinning up companies from technical and scientific projects, pairing scientists with business co-founders and providing lab access and early funding. Support: venture building, seed capital via grants or partnered funds, and corporate connections. Scope: Regional (Porto).
Venture Catalysts is an innovative venture studio and venture builder program based in Porto, Portugal, specializing in spinning up companies from scientific research and technical projects. Founded around 2015 (with roots as a university initiative), Venture Catalysts takes a hands-on approach to pair scientists and engineers with business co-founders to create startups in fields like medtech, cleantech, and AI. The program identifies promising technologies (often from local universities like University of Porto or from labs across Portugal) and provides a structured process to form a company, develop an MVP, and obtain early funding. Each year, it selects a batch of projects and offers resources such as lab access, initial capital (seed grants or investment from partnered funds), and a network of corporate partners for pilots. A distinctive feature is how it integrates venture building with funding: Venture Catalysts can provide seed capital through grants or its partnered VC funds (often up to €200k), and also connects teams with larger investors for follow-ons. The studio’s track record includes helping create SWORD Health (digital physiotherapy startup that became a unicorn) and AddVolt (electric truck battery solution acquired by Daimler). These successes highlight the model’s efficacy – both companies started as technical projects in Portugal and through Venture Catalysts’ support, gained product-market fit and international traction. The venture studio is backed by both private and public stakeholders (it has worked with Portugal’s innovation agency and corporates like EDP in energy tech). Located in Porto’s up-and-coming innovation district, Venture Catalysts has contributed to making Porto a deep-tech startup hub beyond the usual Lisbon scene. The program puts heavy emphasis on team formation – often recruiting experienced entrepreneurs or MBAs to join scientific founders as CEOs or business leads, ensuring startups have both technical depth and commercial acumen. With a regional focus, it has kept many high-tech startups in Northern Portugal, strengthening the local ecosystem. In summary, Venture Catalysts serves as a venture co-founder for scientists – turning lab breakthroughs into viable companies by providing the missing pieces (business talent, early capital, industry links). Its portfolio’s achievements, like SWORD Health’s growth, demonstrate the powerful potential of the venture studio model in catalyzing innovation.
Launched 2020. Early-stage accelerator with mentoring track, ecosystem access, and coworking space in central Vienna; culminates in a Demo Day with a EUR 250K pitch prize. Scope: Local (Vienna).
Established 2016. 100-day accelerator for web and software startups with intensive coaching, mentoring, and free workspace. Focus on B2B software with SaaS and fintech alumni. Support: mentorship, coworking, investor connections. Scope: Regional (Northern Germany).
Veriff provides AI-powered online identity verification to help businesses prevent fraud and meet compliance needs.
Verkor is the industrial champion of the French "Battery Valley" and one of Europe's most important energy manufacturing plays. While many battery startups emphasize chemistry R&D, Verkor's differentiator is execution at scale. Its gigafactory in Dunkirk, which began commissioning in late 2025, is designed to reach 16 GWh of annual capacity—enough to power roughly 300,000 electric vehicles. The facility is among the most advanced battery plants in Europe, built to supply automotive OEMs with locally produced, low-carbon cells. The year 2026 is Verkor's start-of-production milestone. Its cells are the core of the new Alpine A390 and other Renault Group EV programs, giving the company a high-profile anchor customer and a direct path to volume demand. Verkor positions itself around "low-carbon performance" by combining France's low-emission nuclear grid with a highly digitized Industry 4.0 production system that reduces scrap rates and energy intensity. The company argues that its batteries carry a materially smaller carbon footprint than cells manufactured in coal-heavy regions, which is increasingly important as automakers track embedded emissions across supply chains. Beyond production, Verkor is investing in future chemistry and process innovation. The Verkor Innovation Centre (VIC) in Grenoble is expanding its work on next-generation chemistries, including sodium-ion cells that reduce reliance on lithium and cobalt. This R&D focus strengthens supply-chain resilience and creates optionality for lower-cost, lower-risk storage solutions as electric mobility scales. Verkor's roadmap also includes tighter integration between materials sourcing, cell design, and recycling, positioning it to meet Europe's stringent regulatory requirements on battery sustainability and traceability. Verkor is backed by a mix of strategic and infrastructure capital. Macquarie Asset Management and Meridiam provide long-term project finance muscle, Renault Group anchors demand and industrial validation, EQT Ventures provides growth capital, and Sibanye-Stillwater supports raw material security. It was co-founded and supported early by EIT InnoEnergy and has strong operational ties to Schneider Electric, which helped design its digital factory systems. With support from the Macron administration and the European Investment Bank, Verkor has become a poster child for European industrial sovereignty. In 2026, it stands as proof that Europe can manufacture critical clean-tech hardware at global scale—and do it with a lower-carbon footprint.
Founded 2007. VC bridging Milan and southern Italy with funds spanning early-stage and growth in media, fintech, and industrial tech.
Luxury fashion resale platform with strong operations and authentication teams in Spain.
Decentralized city-wide startup festival across 50+ partner events with 10,000+ attendees. Tracks include social impact, smart city, life sciences, creative tech, and women-in-tech programming.
Vilnius Tech Park is a startup campus in Vilnius located in the restored Sapiegos military hospital complex. It hosts coworking, labs, and community events for tech startups and is supported by the City of Vilnius as a flagship innovation site.
Vinted is Europe’s largest marketplace for second-hand fashion and one of Lithuania’s biggest tech success stories. In 2024 the company reported EUR 813m in revenue and EUR 76.7m net profit, underlining a profitable recommerce model at scale. Beyond the core marketplace, Vinted has expanded into logistics through Vinted Go and payments via Vinted Pay. The company has also grown through targeted acquisitions, including Trendsales in Denmark (2024) and luxury resale marketplace Rebelle (2022). With its mission to make second-hand the first choice, Vinted sits at the intersection of circular economy, logistics, and consumer marketplaces.
Organizer of VivaTech, Paris's flagship innovation and startup conference connecting founders, corporates, and investors.
Europe's largest startup and technology event at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, marking its 10th anniversary in 2026. Core value for founders is open-innovation deal flow with corporates and investors. Startup Challenge applications typically run on rolling tracks and often close in late March to early April 2026 depending on partner challenge.
Natural and organic personal care fair running alongside BIOFACH. Price: included with BIOFACH ticket (about EUR 32-74). The Breeze show spotlights newcomers and niche beauty brands.
Challenge-based corporate innovation tracks connected to VivaTech 2026. Deadlines are rolling and usually close between late March and early April 2026 depending on partner challenge. Selected startups can receive exhibition visibility, pilot opportunities, and enterprise integration support.
Vivino is a Copenhagen founded wine discovery app that lets consumers scan labels and access crowd sourced ratings, tasting notes, and pricing. Founded in 2010 by Heini Zachariassen and Theis Sondergaard, Vivino built the largest wine data community and later expanded into a full marketplace where users can buy wines directly. The company has grown to tens of millions of users and has raised significant venture funding to expand internationally. Vivino is a standout Danish consumer tech company that blended mobile, computer vision, and commerce.
Largest Vue.js conference with senior frontend engineers and tool makers. Price: about EUR 350-500. Strong for frontend tooling, UI libraries, and developer productivity startups.
Established 2002 by Jane Walerud. Family-run deep-tech angel fund and hands-on accelerator for planet-positive startups; invests up to EUR 1M and often provides interim operational support. 10+ exits including Volumental. Scope: National.
City of Warsaw acceleration initiative connecting startups with municipal companies for pilot implementations, especially in sustainability and urban innovation. Participants receive mentoring and can compete for demo-day prizes.
Established in 1993, WEG invests evergreen capital in growth-stage B2B technology firms. Typical focus areas include Industry 4.0, smart manufacturing, cleantech, and cybersecurity with long-term value creation priorities.
Monthly JavaScript meetup with high-quality technical talks on React, Node.js, and web performance. Strong recruiting and community presence.
Cleantech spinout from Warsaw University of Technology building autonomous floating WaterStation units for inland water monitoring. The platform combines disposable electrochemical sensors with forecasting models to detect and predict ecological threats.
Founded 2011. Telefonica's open innovation hub connecting startups to telecom, IoT, and cybersecurity opportunities; typically invests around EUR 150K for equity and provides partnerships. Supports 500+ startups across 10 countries; notable alum Carto. Scope: International.
Wayve is the UK's flagship autonomous driving startup and a differentiated answer to Waymo. While many competitors depend on heavy lidar stacks and pre-mapped environments, Wayve pioneered end-to-end deep learning for driving. Its "AV2.0" approach trains a single model to perceive and drive directly from camera inputs, enabling generalized behavior in new cities without expensive high-definition maps. This learning-based philosophy positions Wayve as a software company that can scale autonomy across geographies more rapidly than hardware-heavy rivals. The period from 2025 to 2026 has been transformative. After a blockbuster $1B Series C in 2024, Wayve entered advanced talks for a further $2B round in late 2025, with SoftBank and Microsoft reportedly doubling down. That capital is fueling the rollout of the Gen 3 AI Driver, built on Nvidia's THOR compute platform and designed to handle long-tail edge cases. The system can reason about ambiguous road behavior in ways that rule-based stacks struggle with, such as anticipating risky cyclists or interpreting human gestures at crossings. By 2026, Wayve is no longer just a research lab. It has launched commercial pilot programs in London and Munich with grocery delivery fleets, working with partners like Ocado and Asda. The company's strategy is firmly B2B: licensing its Driver software to automotive OEMs and fleet operators who want Level 3/4 autonomy without spending billions to build a full stack in-house. This positions Wayve as a middleware layer for autonomy rather than a consumer-facing brand, and it aligns with the industry's shift toward autonomous logistics and commercial fleets. Wayve's origin story is closely tied to Entrepreneur First, where co-founders Alex Kendall and Amar Shah met and launched the company. Its headquarters in London's King's Cross Knowledge Quarter keeps it adjacent to DeepMind, the Crick Institute, and a dense cluster of AI talent. The investor list reflects both strategic and financial backing: SoftBank led the Series C, Microsoft provides cloud infrastructure via Azure, Nvidia is a strategic hardware investor, and Uber is a partner for potential robotaxi deployment. Early deep-tech support came from Eclipse Ventures. In 2026, Wayve represents Europe's most credible attempt to build generalized, map-light autonomy at scale.
Organizer of WeAreDevelopers World Congress, one of Europe's largest software engineering and developer conferences.
Europe's largest developer conference at Messe Berlin, with software engineering, architecture, and platform scaling tracks. High-leverage venue for DevTools and API startups and for founder-led engineering recruitment.
Global conference organizer behind Web Summit, one of Europe's largest annual tech gatherings in Lisbon.
Major global tech conference with one of the largest French national pavilions and a dedicated French Tech lounge.
Low-code enterprise automation platform used to build and run business process applications across large organizations.
Hybrid VC fund and tech innovation hub founded in 2016 running accelerator programs at The Factory and investing in early-stage digital and fintech startups. Support: equity investment, mentorship from in-house experts, workspace access. Scope: National.
Founded 2016. Hybrid VC fund and tech innovation hub running the Factory accelerator; focuses on martech, fintech, and ecommerce infrastructure with ~60 investments. Provides equity investment, mentorship, and workspace in Stockholm. Scope: National.
Managing partner at Orbit Capital and former managing partner at McKinsey in Poland, Wiktor provides high-level strategic support to growth-stage companies. His investment and board activity emphasizes global scaling, commercial discipline, and founder support beyond capital. Notable involvements include Tidio (board member), Packhelp (board observer), and a broader portfolio of high-growth scaleups.
Business Angel of the Year 2022 and co-founder of Netguru, Wiktor became a prolific startup investor after scaling one of Europe’s best-known digital consultancies. Through Supercharge Capital, he focuses on global SaaS and e-commerce enablement companies. Notable portfolio examples include Tidio, Packhelp, and Customly.
Founded 2001. Multi-sector accelerator helping early-stage tech startups reach first customers and EUR 1M ARR within 3 years. KPI-driven programs, zero-equity loans, and coaching; portfolio has 50+ exits. Scope: Regional (Ile-de-France).
Flagship wind energy conference with an Innovation Park for startups. Price: about EUR 900-1200. Strong for grid integration, offshore wind, and drone inspection startups.
Partner trade fair to Tube covering wire and cable manufacturing. Price: about EUR 45-70. Key for smart cabling and energy transmission startups.
Founder of WP2 Investments, Wojciech is an active angel focused on the green transition and fintech-enabled business models. He is known for combining capital with hands-on operational mentorship. Notable portfolio examples include Sunroof and Ecobean.
A prominent Polish business leader (ex-CEO of ITI Group and mBank), Wojtek pivoted to fintech entrepreneurship and angel investing. As CEO of blockchain fintech Billon Group, he personally invested in Billon and other tech ventures. He was honored as Business Angel of the Year in 2018 for his consistent support of startups. His angel investments include Billon (DLT payments), Quedex (crypto exchange), and AdEmotion (AI marketing). Associated startups: Billon Group, Quedex, AdEmotion.
Woltair is a digital marketplace and installation platform for heat pumps and solar systems. It streamlines the complex process of finding qualified contractors, securing subsidies, and completing installations. By 2026, the company is a notable Czech green-tech player pushing heat pump adoption across Central Europe. Its operational advantage is a software-driven workflow layered on top of local installer networks.
CEE-focused networking summit in Warsaw with 2,000+ in-person attendees and hybrid participation. Core value is high-volume matchmaking through pre-scheduled 15-minute investor-founder meetings.
Flagship antibody-drug conjugate summit for biopharma leaders, investors, and biotech startups.
Large-scale AI conference at the Palais des Festivals with 10,000+ attendees, 320 speakers, and 220+ exhibitors expected for 2026. Program tracks include AI for Business, AI Governance, and Health AI, making it a high-value venue for founders seeking enterprise pilots and investor visibility.
Organizer of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos.
Global gathering of business, government, and tech leaders focused on economic and innovation agendas.
Executive-level forum for global retail leadership. Price: about GBP 2500+. Strong for retail tech scaleups seeking strategic partnerships.
Conference-led event on energy efficiency and renewables with 600+ experts from 60 countries. Price: about EUR 390 for full conference, with student discounts. Strong for policy-focused green tech founders.
French VC with offices in Paris, Berlin, and Munich focused on deep tech and impact, active across the Franco-German corridor.
YES!Delft is a renowned tech incubator in the Netherlands, focused on turning university research and technical inventions into successful startups. Founded in 2005 by Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) – one of Europe’s top engineering schools – YES!Delft has grown into a deep-tech startup ecosystem supporting hardware and high-tech software ventures. The incubator offers a 3-4 month validation program for idea-stage teams, longer-term incubation for growth-stage startups, access to specialized labs and maker spaces, and connections to TU Delft’s extensive research facilities. Over the past 20 years, YES!Delft has incubated nearly 500 startups, collectively valued at over €1.2B. Notable alumni include Ampelmann (offshore access systems, now a global marine company) and E-nevia (electric mobility). The sectors span AI, robotics, medtech, aerospace, clean energy, and more – reflecting Delft’s engineering strengths. The incubator actively leverages partnerships: it works with corporates like KLM (aviation) and NS (railways) for pilot opportunities, and with government initiatives for grants. Startups at YES!Delft benefit from an entrepreneur-centric approach; the incubator was twice ranked a global top 5 university incubator by UBI Index. It offers an in-house venture fund (UNIIQ) that provides proof-of-concept funding (~€100k) to the most promising teams, bridging the gap to seed rounds. YES!Delft’s campus in Delft has co-working, an auditorium for events, and proximity to cutting-edge labs (e.g., quantum computing labs at QuTech). It has expanded with satellite branches in Rotterdam (focused on port and logistics tech) and The Hague (focused on AI and security) to tap regional industries. The name YES stands for “Young Entrepreneurs Society,” underscoring its community vibe: seasoned mentors, many of whom are TU Delft alumni entrepreneurs, guide newcomers. With continued support from TU Delft and the city, YES!Delft is a cornerstone of the Dutch innovation ecosystem – ensuring that inventions from classrooms and labs (like next-gen drones, solar cars, or medical devices) find their way to market via robust startups.
A Swiss-born star designer and entrepreneur, Yves has invested as an angel in design-forward Polish startups. For instance, he joined the funding round of Tylko, a Warsaw-based custom furniture startup, lending his design credibility. His interest in Poland highlights its creative tech talent. Associated startups: Tylko (parametric furniture), and potentially other design/IoT ventures.
Zendesk was founded in Copenhagen in 2007 by Mikkel Svane, Morten Primdahl, and Alexander Aghassipour to make customer support software simpler and more usable. The company built a cloud helpdesk that unified email, chat, voice, and social support, then expanded rapidly after relocating headquarters to San Francisco while keeping Danish roots. Zendesk went public in 2014 and later returned to private ownership in 2022, but it continues to shape the global customer experience software market and remains a landmark Danish founded SaaS company.
Impact investor and founder of the Humanites Institute, Zofia is a leading advocate of human-centric technology and responsible innovation. A former C-level executive in large financial organizations (including PZU and Link4), she supports startups and boards at the intersection of business performance and social impact. Her focus areas include fintech, medtech, and social impact, complemented by board service at major public companies and active mentorship.