Events

With growth numbers surpassing 3000% over the last four years, a Finnish Nokia spin-off won the 13th Deloitte Technology Fast 50 at Slush 2017. Some new trends had snuck into the yearly list of the Technology Fast 50 that Deloitte and OP Financial Group announced at Slush at the beginning of December. The growth percentage in the top 3 had …

The biggest robotics festival in Europe, Robotex, that took place in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, hosted among other things the first live concert performed exclusively for robots. Robotex 2017, taking place from 24-26 November, was attended by more than 15,000 spectators. The event offered various activities for kids, students, robotics enthusiasts and even grandparents. It also hosted what was believed to …

From extending battery life to make value out of wood waste, ten cleantech startups pitched their ideas to tackle the climate crisis at this year’s Slush. This year’s Slush was all about changemakers and the oncoming sustainable revolution. While a lot of startups attending the two-day conference had the potential of making a change, ten cleantech startups were selected to …

 CSW Arctic // Europe 2018 will take place in the quiet wilderness of two unique Swedish locations deep in the Arctic Circle: Luleå (20-21 March) and Vuollerim (22-24 March). Besides its breathtaking untouched nature, the captivating Northern Lights, traditional teepee dinners, and dog-sledding, Sweden is also recognized as a nation at the forefront of the sharing economy. Next to many …

Augmented Reality (AR) has been around for a long time but is now gathering momentum as smartphone processing power and internet connectivity speeds have increased whilst consumption costs have declined. Major mobile handset manufacturers support Apps with AR functionality and future experiences will be embedded in handsets and available ‘out of the box’. In addition to Apple and their ARKit, …

Now in it’s sixth year, Europe’s largest interdisciplinary festival, Tech Open Air, is uniting the international tech and creative scene in Berlin on July 11-14th after World Tour stops in cities like L.A., Tokyo and Austin, with 20,000 attendees from around the world expected to join.  Tech Open Air (TOA) enters its 6th and largest edition to date with four …

Last weekend, Sweden’s first travel hackathon, Startup Weekend Travel Edition, took place in Stockholm. The event was arranged by the global entrepreneur network, Startup Weekend, with Amadeus as the main sponsor. During 54 intense hours, over 60 participants developed business ideas for the travel industry, while networking with leading decision makers, as well as industry and innovation experts. During the …

Last weeks Arctic 15 three day event succeeded in offering a glimpse into the bright future of the Nordics as hundreds of investors, startups and corporates converged once again in the familiar old industrial complex of Kaapelitehdas the ‘Cable Factory’ in western Helsinki. Arctic 15 has grown steadily since its first event in 2011 and has a strong impact on …

The largest ever European blockchain conference, BlockShow Europe 2017 was held in Alte Kongresshalle, Munich. With 560 attendees, 26 exhibitors, and 26 speakers, and over 60 startups attending. Led by Elizabeth Lumley, the managing director at Rainmaking a thought-leader in fintech, the event covered a number of hot topics ranging from practical application of Blockchain technology to aspects of running …

Evon Söderlund, originally from Malaysia, and her husband Jussi Söderlund founded Huone, the world’s first event hotel, in Finland a couple years ago. Since then they’ve hosted more than 4,000 events for smaller and larger groups in uniquely designed rooms, and won several awards. Now the company is expanding. Evon and her team just opened their hotel in Singapore on …

Do you want to build a successful hackathon team? Meet five Ultrahack teams and learn how it’s done! Hackathons are often considered as a playground for developers, but even the most brilliant execution is not enough: the concept and how you validate your solution are equally important. And without a proper pitch, the judges and investors might not to see the …

For the last few years, the Nordics have tried to gain a foothold at SXSW, the unparalleled tech festival that collectively  brings  over $300 million to the city of Austin, Texas, every March.  Every year, over 80,000 registrants stream into the conference, trade shows, and festivals.  Past keynote speakers have included President Barack Obama, and this year saw Joe Biden, …

Blockchain Oscar is a Startup Competition, which will be held in two rounds. The first one took place online for three days on March 2-4.  These exact startups will join the the second and final round of the competition, which is to be held on the Main Stage of BlockShow Europe 2017 on April, 6. During this part of Blockchain …

In Finland, the sauna is a way of life.  It is not just a place to ease muscle pain after a hard workout, but a place for relaxing, drinking, and even doing business.  That’s why as part of the #nordicmade trip to South By Southwest Interactive, the annual tech festival in Austin, Texas, leading sauna heater manufacturer HARVIA brought a …

It is that time of the year again, we are starting the preparation for Startup Iceland 2017. The theme for this year is Personal Data, Health, Wellness and Technology. I want to bring emphasis to the health, wellness and fitness of the founders, my tribe. I have written about why I believe this is important for founders. I also feel …

This weekend, the Danish entrepreneur prize “Den Gyldne Fugl”, or the Golden Bird, was  awarded at Aarhus University. The winner was RaskRask, a platform for on-demand health-oriented massage, who previously offered on-demand physiotherapy.  The market is always right. That was the reason for the shift in focus that Raskrask.dk performed this year. They pivoted from an on-demand physiotherapy platform to …

ll the regional winners competed Friday in Kuala Lumpur in Global Startup Awards finale. The winner of this year’s co-working space went to Denmark’s Rainmaking Loft, while the host country took the prize as Startup of the Year. Global Startup Awards started in 2012 in Scandinavia as the Nordic Startup Awards – since at that time, they only covered the …

Slush is finished and if you’re anything like most people you felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of possibilities: from exciting startups and world-famous experts, to inspiring talks and promising parties. So where should you focus your time to get the most out of it next time around? Last week I set out to find the best practical advice to …

November weekend in Helsinki for most of us doesn’t sound like the time of our lives – it’s dark, cold and windy in the seaside city. To make matters worse, the Finnish word for November, Marraskuu, by it’s etymological meaning means the month of death, marras origin from the same word family as Latins mors and French’s mort, death – …

Blockchain technology is becoming more and more demanded worldwide, and today we all have a unique opportunity to witness “the biggest innovation after the Internet itself” gaining a growing number of implementations – both within and outside the financial sector. This significant process inevitably goes hand in hand with massive informational support – and, consequently, cross-industry popularization of Blockchain. And …