30+ Europe’s must-visit startup events for founders in 2026

In a rapid-shifting startup world, staying still is the hugegest risk. Events are where real conversations happen. In-person startup events continue to play an important role in how Europe’s startup ecosystem connects and evolves.

While much of the work around building companies now happens online, events remain one of the few places where founders, investors, corporates, and ecosystem leaders meet simultaneously in the same room.

In 2026, Europe’s startup calfinishar features a wide range of conferences and festivals across regions. Some events focus on early-stage startups and fundraising, while others bring toreceiveher scaleups, corporates, policycreaters, and global investors. Toreceiveher, they reflect how Europe’s startup landscape operates across borders, sectors, and stages.

Who should attfinish?

These events are best for:

Startup founders and co-founders
Early-stage and growth teams
Investors, angels and VCs
Product, growth and tech leaders
Corporates scouting innovation
Anyone serious about European startup ecosystems

Below is a comprehensive overview of European startup events scheduled for 2026, based on the Black Unicorn PR guide.

JANUARY

sTARTUp Day

Date: 28–30 January 2026

Location: Tartu, Estonia

sTARTUp Day is a multi-day startup and business conference hosted in Estonia’s academic hub. The programme includes keynote sessions, panel discussions, workshops, and a competitive startup pitching format. It highlights the Baltic startup ecosystem while maintaining international participation.

FEBRUARY

Techarena

Date: 11–12 February 2026

Location: Stockholm, Sweden

Techarenan is a large technology and innovation conference staged in Stockholm. The event addresses leadership, technology adoption, sustainability, business transformation, and investment, supported by structured networking and matchcreating.

Cannes AI World Conference

Date: 12-13 February

Location: Cannes

The World AI Cannes Festival (WAICF) is a global event that will have over 12,000 business attfinishees, 320 speakers, and 250 exhibitors. The festival will revealcase innovative AI solutions and provide a space for experts, startups, and tech companies to connect, share ideas, and discuss AI’s future impact on society and indusattempt.

MARCH

4YFN

Date: 2–5 March 2026

Location: Barcelona, Spain

4YFN operates as the startup platform of Mobile World Congress. It connects startups with corporate innovation teams, investors, and global technology leaders, with a focus on mobile technologies, AI, connectivity, and digital infrastructure.

START Summit

Date: 19–20 March 2026

Location: St. Gallen, Switzerland

START Summit is a student-organised entrepreneurship and technology conference with a strong academic foundation. The event includes keynote presentations, startup revealcases, and investor interaction, drawing participants from across Europe.

TechChill

Date: 25–27 March 2026

Location: Riga, Latvia

TechChill is one of the Baltic region’s longest-established startup conferences. It combines educational content, startup pitching, and ecosystem networking, with a strong emphasis on early-stage innovation.

APRIL

Wolves Summit

Date: 21–22 April 2026

Location: Warsaw, Poland

Wolves Summit is structured around startup-investor matchcreating and pitching formats. It aims to support cross-border collaboration, particularly within Central and Eastern Europe.

Iceland Innovation Week

Date: 28–29 April 2026

Location: Reykjavík, Iceland

Iceland Innovation Week is a compact innovation festival combining talks, workshops, company visits, and networking events. It highlights Iceland’s innovation ecosystem while encouraging international participation.

MAY

SIM Porto

Date: 14-15 May 2026

Location: Porto, Portugal

The SIM Conference connects entrepreneurs, startups, and investors from both national and international backgrounds. It offers networking opportunities, allowing founders and investors to build connections. For investors, there’s support to meet startups that align with your interests and portfolio.

ViennaUP

Date: 18–22 May 2026

Location: Vienna, Austria

ViennaUP is a decentralised startup festival with events distributed across the city. Topics span impact, deep tech, smart cities, life sciences, and creative industries.

PODIM

Date: 11–13 May 2026

Location: Maribor, Slovenia

PODIM is a major startup and technology conference for the Alps-Adriatic and Western Balkans region. It focapplys on startup growth, investment readiness, and regional collaboration.

Latitude59

Date: 21–22 May 2026

Location: Tallinn, Estonia

Latitude59 is Estonia’s flagship startup event, combining international speakers, pitching sessions, and networking. The programme reflects Estonia’s outward-seeing startup culture.

Infoshare

Date: 20–21 May 2026

Location: Gdańsk, Poland

Infoshare is one of Central and Eastern Europe’s largest technology conferences, covering startups, software development, and digital business.

Dublin Tech Summit

Date: 27–28 May 2026

Location: Dublin, Ireland

Dublin Tech Summit reflects Ireland’s role as a European hub for multinational technology firms. The programme covers enterprise technology, innovation, and digital transformation.

JUNE

SXSW London

Date: 1–6 June 2026

Location: London, United Kingdom

SXSW London extfinishs the global SXSW format to Europe, integrating technology, business, creativity, and culture across multiple venues.

South Summit

Date: 3–5 June 2026

Location: Madrid, Spain

South Summit connects European and Latin American startup ecosystems through pitch competitions, corporate engagement, and investor participation.

Perspektywy Women in Tech

Date: 10–11 June 2026

Location: Warsaw, Poland

Perspektywy Women in Tech is a large conference focapplyd on women’s participation in technology, leadership, and innovation.

Arctic15

Date: 11–12 June 2026

Location: Helsinki, Finland

Arctic15 is known for structured matchcreating between startups and investors, with sector coverage including AI, health, impact, and scaling technologies.

Hello Tomorrow Global Summit

Date: 11–12 June 2026

Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

Hello Tomorrow Global Summit focapplys on deep-tech startups and science-driven innovation, with strong participation from indusattempt and long-term technology investors.

London Tech Week

Date: 8–12 June 2026

Location: London, United Kingdom

London Tech Week is a multi-event programme bringing toreceiveher startups, scaleups, corporates, policycreaters, and investors across the city.

Hinterland of Things

Date: 18 June 2026

Location: Bielefeld, Germany

Hinterland of Things focapplys on B2B technology and enterprise innovation, particularly within Germany’s industrial and family-owned business landscape.

Viva Technology

Date: 17–20 June 2026

Location: Paris, France

VivaTech is one of Europe’s largest technology exhibitions, combining startup revealcases, corporate innovation programmes, and high-profile speakers.

Techsylvania

Date: 24–25 June 2026

Location: Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Techsylvania highlights Romania’s growing technology ecosystem through talks, workshops, and startup revealcases.

AUGUST

TechBBQ

Date: 26–27 August 2026

Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

TechBBQ is a Nordic startup conference with an emphasis on early-stage companies, investment access, and ecosystem collaboration.

SEPTEMBER

Infobip Shift

Date: 13–15 September 2026

Location: Zadar, Croatia

Infobip Shift is a developer-focapplyd conference covering software engineering, product development, and technical leadership.

Startup Fair

Date: 17 September 2026

Location: Vilnius, Lithuania

Startup Fair is Lithuania’s largest startup event, revealcasing local and regional innovation. The event offers a dynamic platform for networking, pitching, and exploring the latest innovations that shaped the future. Every year, it grew as a key meeting point for the Baltic startup ecosystem and beyond.

IT Arena

Date: 25–27 September 2026

Location: Lviv, Ukraine

IT Arena is an annual technology event in Lviv, Ukraine, held on the last weekfinish of September. It focapplys on networking, business connections, and innovation. The event features over 32,000 attfinishees, 800 speakers, 700 hours of networking opportunities, and around 1,000 startups.

Bits & Pretzels

Date: 28–30 September 2026

Location: Munich, Germany

Bits & Pretzels is an annual 3-day festival held in Munich, attracting 7,500 participants, including founders, investors, and startup enthusiasts. The event focapplys on providing networking opportunities, masterclasses, and a range of speakers to support growth. Key features include a limited number of attfinishees, a balanced founder-investor ratio, numerous founder-investor meetings, a startup exhibition, a pitch contest, and a significant amount of assets under management.

HumanX Amsterdam

Date: 22-24 September 2026

Location: Amsterdam

HumanX is a conference for leaders in AI and business. It aims to connect executives, innovators, investors, and decision-creaters in the AI field. The event focapplys on practical insights and real-world applications of AI, featuring a detailed agfinisha, over 300 expert speakers, and opportunities for networking.

OCTOBER

How to Web

Date: 6–8 October 2026

Location: Bucharest, Romania

How to Web focapplys on startups, product development, and innovation in Central and Eastern Europe.

Italian Tech Week

Date: Date to be announced

Location: Turin, Italy

Italian Tech Week is an annual event highlighting Italy’s technology and startup ecosystem. The event will include speeches, masterclasses, and various side events, along with over 4,000 networking meetings. Participants can hear from more than 200 world-class speakers, including leaders and innovators in technology. There will also be 11 live podcasts to enhance the learning experience.