Startup Events in Helsinki

If you are a startup looking for a co-founder to join your early-stage team, or a talent wanting to join a startup, welcome to Co-Founder Matchmaking event! In this event, startups and talents can meet in a 1:1 settings powered by AI-matchmaking tool. How it works: 1️⃣ Talk to AI matchmaking tool via this link: https://funfox.ai/NH37 for a short conversation (2-3 min). Tell what you're working on, what you're looking for, and who'd be a great match. 2️⃣ Get your matches — AI matchmaking will run, and show you relevant people based on needs and offers. 3️⃣ Book a meeting — Select a time slot to have 1:1 meeting with each person you want to meet. 4️⃣ Show up and meet them — come to the event with great energy to connect with people. Event is organized by Maria 01. Co-founder Matchmaking Helsinki 📅 Tuesday 27 Oct 2026 🕐 17:00 - 19:30 Finland Time (EST) 📍 Maria 01, Lapinlahdenkatu 16, Helsinki 🏠 Building 3, Lars Sonck Spots are limited — register now!

When the emperor got new clothes he exposed himself a bit too much. Data teams are looking change up their tools, workflows and job descriptions due to the rapid changes of AI. Will they end up exposed like the emperor or dressed and prepared for a new era? Join us for an afternoon with experts as we openly discuss the future of data teams and their tools. We discuss how tools like MotherDuck and dltHub are adapting, but also what challenges data analysts and engineers face. Together we will explore the possibilities that AI opens up, the changing requirements for data jobs, and the difficulties organizations face when everyone acts as a data team of one. Agenda 15:00 Networking and light bites 15:30 The Workbench of The Future: How MotherDuck and dltHub support the post-modern data stack. Dumky de Wilde, Developer & Agent Experience Engineer @ MotherDuck Adrian Brudaru, co-founder @ dltHub 16:00 Panel discussion Adrian Brudaru, co-founder @ dltHub Amy Raygada, Head of Data & Al Central Europe @ Thoughtworks Stijn Zanders, Data & IT @ Aiven 17:00 More networking, more bites and exploring the best of the brewhouse: the bar

Communal Reading meetup These regular meetups are low-threshold opportunities to check-in with our lovely community and for newcomers to familiarize themselves with our book club. So feel very welcome too if this is your first time joining the Asian Book Club Helsinki! What do we do 📖 We read together in silence for about an hour. You can read the book we picked for our upcoming Book Discussion or any other (Asian) book you’re reading at the moment. 💬 Before and after our reading hour there is time to connect & chat with each other. The program for this meetup: 16:30-17:00: Arrivals, ordering drinks & treats 17:00-18:00: Communal Reading (in silence) 18:00-18:30: Connect with fellow Asian Book Clubbies About the Asian Book Club Helsinki We are an open, diverse community of (aspiring) readers & lovers of Asian literature. In our book club we read and discuss: books by authors from an Asian background – including diaspora authors from all 5 Asian regions – East, Southeast, South, West, Central contemporary literary fiction (novels, short stories, novellas, biographical fiction) and memoirs Please follow the Asian Book Club Helsinki on Instagram! Support Asian entrepreneurs All Asian Book Club Helsinki meetups are free of charge. But we ask you to support our lovely (Asian) entrepreneurs of the venue by ordering drinks & treats/food from their cafe menu. NOTE: If you can't make it to our meetup, don't forget to cancel your registration to free up space for people on the waitlist! A fee will apply for: late cancellations (within 24 hours prior to meetup): €5 no-shows €10

Ready to talk about your business with confidence and get the legal groundwork sorted too? In this workshop, our expert will walk you through the legal essentials of starting a business, with plenty of room for your own questions in a live Q&A. You'll also get hands-on practice crafting and delivering your elevator pitch, whether it's for a business idea or simply about yourself. Either way, you'll get real time feedback while also learning more about other participants! No polished business idea? No problem, come as you are and leave with a sharper pitch and clearer legal footing. Schedule: 16.30-16.40: Introdution 16.40-17.10: Legal presentation - Mikael Suonio 17.10-17.40: Legal Q&A 17.40-18: Networking 18.00-18.30: Pitching presentation 18.30-19.30: Elevator pitch workshop https://www.thinkcompany.fi/what-we-do/programs/helseed-workshops

Nordic AI Night - Nordic ambition meets the US. What it’s about An evening for globally ambitious people building, funding and scaling AI from the Nordics. Good conversations, wine and pizza, and a few honest stories from founders who are already taking the leap to the US. Who’s organizing Maria 01, Tero Kuittinen, Nordea, Virala and the Finnish American Chamber of Commerce New York (FACC-NY). Who’s welcome AI founders with US ambitions (or already on the way) Investors: VCs, angel investors and family offices Corporate leaders and anyone curious about the Nordic-to-US path Meet the founders Companies like Planet AI, CollectiveCrunch, HI Engine, Inform, Confidential Mind, Verad, Metabite and Zenniz will be in the room. Programme 17:30: Doors open, wine and pizza 18:00: Opening words from Tero Kuittinen, Alexander Ehrnrooth, Vesa Riihimäki, and Elton Kullström 19:00: A few founders share short stories about their journey to the US so far After: open networking When and where Thursday 12 November, doors 17:30 Maria 01, Helsinki

We love meeting founders, partners, and friends face-to-face. These are the events you can find us next.

Are you building startup communities? Are you investing in startups? Are you running startup programs? Are you on a mission to help startups grow? If the answer is yes, then this is the right event for you! Maria 01 — one of Europe’s leading startup communities — is excited to host our annual Global Startup Ecosystem Mixer on 17 November (Day 0 of Slush). We’re bringing together peers from across the startup landscape: VCs, seed funds, startup hubs, accelerators, incubators, and tech event organisers to strengthen ties, share ideas, and expand our networks of trusted ecosystem leaders. Last year, we brought together nearly 200 guests from 35 countries, representing over 150 key ecosystem organisations. What to expect: It’s the perfect opportunity to learn, share, and spark new ecosystem partnerships. Whether you’re expanding an existing network or building one from scratch, this is your moment to start creating meaningful connections with like-minded peers. This event is all about high-quality networking in an intimate setting. Every guest has been carefully selected, and we’re excited to connect you with peers from Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Denmark, Germany, France, Iceland, Norway, the UK, Japan, Singapore, and beyond.

Hosted by Slam Dunk Labs 100 new founders or 100 new companies? Governments, studios and investors all expect a wave of new companies. But who will actually build them? Does AI create 100 new founders, or do the existing founders simply build 100 more companies? During Slush Week, Slam Dunk Labs puts that question on the table. The evening is built around a live debate: Singapore, Korea, India and the EU all have a stake in the answer, and their voices will be in the room alongside Helsinki's. Who should apply? Builders with an idea, or the itch to build. There is more than one way to start a company. Come and see ours, and bring your idea. Angels and VCs. Meet founders at the very earliest stage, and see a model that turns validated ideas into investable companies. Ecosystem builders and operators who want to be part of it. Details Tuesday 17 November, official part is from 17:00 til 21:00 + afterparty🪩, Day Zero of Slush Week @ Antilooppi POOL Verk, Kalasatama, Helsinki Food and drinks served Invite-only. Request a spot below and who invited you, we will approve guests personally. The programme and speakers will be announced soon, with voices from our partners and many others. --- What is Slam Dunk Labs? Slam Dunk Labs is a venture studio. We bring ambitious builders under one roof to validate, build and commercialise ideas fast. In ten months we have validated 30+ ideas and launched three spin-outs: Agentio, Puoti and BiLD. More will follow by the end of the year. What makes the studio model different? Build before you become a founder. We give builders an environment to focus on the work, not on running a company. We help you build. We don't just advise, we build alongside you. Funding when you need it. Some companies become profitable one-person businesses, and others need seed capital. For those that do, we open the door to investors through our large network of closely involved seasoned entrepreneurs.

The night it all begins. Thousands of founders. Investors from around the world. A calendar full of side events. Where the hell should you be on Day 0? We’ve got a pretty good answer. On November 17, Epicenter Helsinki brings together hundreds of founders, investors and ecosystem leaders from across the Nordics, Europe and beyond for one massive night to kick off Slush 2026. Who’s in the room? Founders building their first company and entrepreneurs who’ve already scaled internationally. Angels, VCs and the people behind startup communities across Europe. Visiting trade delegations, chambers of commerce and city representatives helping companies find their way into new markets. The people building, backing and connecting the next wave of European companies, alongside an international crowd arriving in Helsinki for Slush. We spend the year connecting entrepreneurs and building communities across Helsinki, Stockholm, Oslo and Amsterdam. For one night, we’re bringing those networks together. The introduction you’ve been trying to get might be a conversation away. And we know how to host them. Expect food, drinks, great music and a crowd worth spending the evening with. Clear your evening. You won’t want to leave early. If you’re raising your next round, scouting an investment or figuring out your next market, there will be plenty to talk about. You might also find your best conversation happens when you stop checking who’s on your meeting list. Slush officially starts on November 18. By then, you’ll already have people to find again. This is how Slush week begins. November 17, 2026 | 18:30–23:30 Helsinki time Epicenter Helsinki | Mikonkatu 9 Limited capacity. Registration required.

Elva and Rippling are opening Slush Day 1 with a breakfast for the people building the teams behind the world's fastest-growing companies. On stage, founders and operators of iconic companies who have experienced hyperscale first-hand will dig into: What it takes to build and scale a hypergrowth company in the age of AI How to win the best talent from anywhere in a competitive market How AI is changing the way we hire Expect real stories from inside these companies, and practical advice you can take straight back to your team. Details Date: Wednesday 18 November, Slush Day 1 Location: Slush Partner Side Event Wing Please note that a Slush ticket is not required to attend. Agenda 08:15 - doors open, breakfast and coffee 08:55 - opening words from Rippling 09:00 - panel: Global Hiring in the Age of AI 09:30 - mingling Speakers Johannes Reck, Co-founder & CEO at GetYourGuide: Since 2009, Johannes has led GetYourGuide's growth into the leading global online booking platform for unique travel experiences, with more than 33M experiences booked, profitability reached and over €1bn in revenue in 2025. He leads a team of more than 1,000 people from the company's Berlin headquarters. Victoria Weller, Operations at ElevenLabs: Based in London, Victoria leads hiring, people, customer support and company operations at ElevenLabs. She joined in May 2023, when the company had just 10 employees. It has since grown to over 800 and was most recently valued at $22bn. David Paffenholz, Co-founder & CEO at Juicebox: David leads Juicebox (PeopleGPT), the Sequoia-backed AI recruiting platform trusted by more than 5,000 customers. He has worked closely with founders, AI labs and high-growth companies to design modern hiring systems and win competitive talent markets. Moderated by Antonia Eneh, Co-founder & CEO at Elva: the AI-native immigration and relocation company making cross-border moves effortless. Antonia works with companies across Europe to help them hire the best people from anyw