Events

Estonian travel startup Guide.me recently competed in the Welcome Challenge, a tourism-focused pitching competition in the country of Georgia. The rapid growth in tourism activities in Georgia is a major reason why investors sees Georgia as “currently underserved” by Nordic startups. Which industry employs one in ten people globally and accounts for ten percent of the world’s GDP? Hint: It’s the …

Today, companies are obliged to reuse and recycle both from political frameworks and from consumer demands. How does one turn obligations into opportunities? The  Green Alley Award was created specifically to honor the startups in the circular economy that turn waste into a resource and are not afraid to make money and scale. Because it is through scaling the solutions …

These days, everyone is involved in tech – whether you’re building it, using it or actively avoiding it. Regardless of personal opinions, robotics and AI are revolutionizing all aspects of life from communication and transportation to health services and the military (just to name a few). The future is only what we make it, which is why the Robotex International …

Arctic15, the most effective matchmaking startup event in the Nordics and Baltics, has announced its new Funding Program. The program takes over the classic pitching competition to focus on connecting early-stage startups and angel investors across the region. The Funding Program was created in collaboration with business angels networks FiBAN and NordicBAN. The goal of the Funding Program is to …

Every year, EIT Climate-KIC hosts the Climate Impact Battle at Slush. 30 pre-selected startups pitch the first day of the event. Only six makes it to the final on the last day of Slush. This year, the six finalists challenged climate change from a broad spectrum of solutions ranging from tiny insects to large-scale construction. Irish company Hexafly takes low-value …

Industrial inspections are a risky job.  To inspect overhead power lines, for example, a person usually has to climb up a high tension wire, deal with wind and weather conditions, and on top of that, perform a detailed inspection.  Droneplan, a startup based in Latvia, is creating intelligent flight planning software to enable drones to perform autonomous inspection. Droneplan started …

The startup company Meet Frank is expanding its new recruitment app concept to the Nordic countries and other European markets. The service has become a major recruiter for top talent in Finland and Estonia’s tech job markets within a few months of launch.  At Slush 2017, one in four attendees signed up for Meet Frank. Meet Frank is a mobile-based …

The European Innovation Week is a joint initiative from the European Union institutions, which will feature a series of seminars for the whole week, starting today. Aside the 9th European Innovation Summit , Knowledge4Innovation , a non profit platform for innovation, has organized the first European Startup Convention at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. This coming Tuesday 28th November …

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, …