Slush 2026

Slush 2026 runs 18–19 November 2026 at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre (Messukeskus), Messuaukio 1, Helsinki, Finland, with a Day 0 programme on 17 November. It is organised by a core team of students and recent graduates and is deliberately not a trade show: Slush reports that around 76% of its 12,000-plus attendees are either startups or investors, drawn from more than 70 countries and over 50 sectors, with more than 80% of startups coming from Europe. The 2025 edition, themed 'Ground State', drew roughly 13,000 people — about 5,000 founders and operators, 3,000 investors and 300 media — with delegates representing more than $4 trillion in assets under management, and generated over 20,000 scheduled one-to-one meetings through Slush's own matchmaking platform. AI ran through nearly every 2025 pitch deck alongside deeptech, climate, fintech, healthtech and gaming. Accel partner Zhenya Loginov described it as 'suitably small' and 'well curated' against the sprawling, low-signal events elsewhere on the circuit.

Date

November 18–19, 2026

Location

Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre (Messukeskus), Finland

Format

In-Person

Event Type

Conference

Status

Upcoming

Expected Attendance

12,000+

Pricing

Paid

Organizer

Slush

Added

Jun 24, 2026

Updated

Aug 7, 2026

• ✓Startup founders and co-founders
• ✓Venture capital and growth investors
• ✓Corporate venture and M&A leads
• ✓Angel investors and solo GPs
• ✓Limited partners
• ✓Corporate innovation and partnership leaders
• ✓Tech journalists

For a corporate development, CVC or innovation leader, Slush is a two-day scan of what European early-stage capital is actually funding, at a density no roadshow matches: about 3,000 investors and 5,000-plus founders in one hall with a matchmaking tool that reliably books double-digit meetings. You leave with a concrete read on which AI categories investors now treat as commercially ready — developer tooling and customer support were the 2025 consensus — versus which they consider overfunded, plus a working shortlist of acquisition and partnership targets across deeptech, climate and fintech.

• ✓Two-day stage programme with 200+ speakers on company building
• ✓Investor Day and investor-only sessions for pass holders
• ✓Slush Platform matchmaking: meeting scheduler, activity directory, indoor mapping and calendar sync
• ✓Day 0 programme on 17 November for accepted startups
• ✓600+ side events across Helsinki during Slush Week
• ✓Founder mentoring sessions included with the Startup pass
• ✓The Slush Afterparty, included in Startup, Investor and Thursday passes

• ★Attendee mix is the product: roughly 76% of the room is a startup or an investor, against the sponsor-heavy composition of most tech conferences of this size
• ★Investors at the 2025 edition represented more than $4 trillion in assets under management across ~3,000–3,500 attending investors
• ★Slush runs its own matchmaking platform — meeting scheduler, activity directory, team collaboration, calendar sync and indoor mapping — which produced 20,000+ one-to-ones over two days in 2025
• ★Organised by a volunteer team of students and recent graduates supported by ~1,800 volunteers, not a commercial events business
• ★Startup and Investor passes are application-gated and reviewed, which is what keeps the ratio intact
• ★600+ side events across Slush Week make the city, not just the venue, the programme

Startup pass €395 (two-day access, meeting tool, mentoring, Day 0 events and afterparty); Investor pass €1,195 (two-day access, Investor Day, investor-only events, afterparty), with a €100 discount for solo GPs and angel investors; Thursday pass €595 for Day 2 only; Ecosystem pass €1,195, sold out for 2026. Media passes are free but competitively vetted for accredited journalists. Startup and Investor passes require an application through the Slush Platform, reviewed within about two working days, before tickets can be bought.

When is Slush 2026?

Slush 2026 takes place November 18–19, 2026 in Helsinki, Finland.

Where is Slush 2026 held?

Slush 2026 is held in Helsinki, Finland. The event format is in-person.

How much does Slush 2026 cost?

Slush 2026 is paid. Startup pass €395 (two-day access, meeting tool, mentoring, Day 0 events and afterparty); Investor pass €1,195 (two-day access, Investor Day, investor-only events, afterparty), with a €100 discount for solo GPs and angel investors; Thursday pass €595 for Day 2 only; Ecosystem pass €1,195, sold out for 2026. Media passes are free but competitively vetted for accredited journalists. Startup and Investor passes require an application through the Slush Platform, reviewed within about two working days, before tickets can be bought.

Who should attend Slush 2026?

Slush 2026 is aimed at Startup founders and co-founders, Venture capital and growth investors, Corporate venture and M&A leads, Angel investors and solo GPs, Limited partners, Corporate innovation and partnership leaders, Tech journalists.

What topics does Slush 2026 cover?

Slush 2026 covers AI and Foundation Models, Venture Capital and Fundraising, Deeptech, Climate Tech, Fintech, Healthtech and Medtech, SaaS, Company Building and Scaling.

This page was written from 3 sources, 1 on domains other than slush.org.

1. 1.slush.org — slush.orgvendor
2. 2.slush.org — faqvendor
3. 3.monocle.com — investment trends from slush 2025