Slush

Every year, after the main tasks of the Slush days are done, the core team gathers in a dark corner of Messukeskus to throw a small celebration and say: "We did it". Slush 2025 is over, and somehow, it feels bigger than the sum of its parts. A year of work, thousands of details, and one shared goal: to make this the best experience yet for founders, investors, and builders who believe that entrepreneurship is the way to change the world. From the first spark on Founder Stage to the last handshake in the Meeting Area, we've built this with you in mind. Thank you for being part of it. See you next year 💚 Pre-register for Slush 2026 👉 https://lnkd.in/dkwn523D

The Slush Afterparty is happening right now, and the energy is pure fire. 🔹 Founder Stage is hosting the most energetic performances of the night and is guaranteed to make you forget you’re on a work trip and not a festival. 🔹 Loska, the alter-ego of the Impact Stage is treating us to an epic DJ lineup experience. 🔹 The oh-so-classic Singa Karaoke Party at what you knew as the Builder Stage is already delivering one of the biggest karaoke moments you’ll see this year. Your favorite speakers, your newly-found investors, and your founder peers are all in party mode. Now, that's a night for the books. Photos by Agustin Garagorry (1), Roberto Puentes (2) and Miia Kilpiö (3).

We’re feeling all the feels on Day 2. Slush 2025 has brought together 13,000+ people from over 90 countries. We’ve listened to 250+ stellar speakers across four stages, hosted 25,000+ meetings, and watched the €1M prize land in the hands of the Slush 100 winner, Diffraqtion. But beyond the numbers, it was about the conversations in the halls, the serendipitous encounters, and the ideas that will keep growing long after today. Thank you for bringing your energy to light up Helsinki in one of the darkest months of the year. Still have some left? See you at the Afterparty.

We know you’ve been waiting for this news. From over a thousand applicants in August to one final pitch today, this year’s Slush 100 startup competition finally has its winner. Huge congrats to Diffraqtion 💚 This startup is building the next generation of visual AI hardware and software to make satellites and machines see further and think faster than ever. The team will be taking home the €1M equity funding prize from Cherry Ventures and General Catalyst. We’re excited to follow your journey and cheer on. Photo by Vertti Luoma

In a world full of noise, companies that stand out know how to tell a story. The kind that makes people listen, believe, and care. Musa Tariq, who has shaped brands like Burberry, Apple, Nike, and Airbnb, and is now the Co-founder of Science x Story, sat down with Antoine Nussenbaum, Co-founder and Partner at Felix Capital, to talk about the art of storytelling. They explored how the right story builds trust faster than any ad budget, and how founders who know what they stand for don’t need to shout to be heard. Tune in for the Founder Stage livestream 👉 slush.org/livestream Photos by Erica Dezonne

The Slush 100 Finals are here. You're about to see some of the brightest early-stage startups pitch on the Founder Stage for a chance to win €1M in equity funding from Cherry Ventures and General Catalyst. Tune in to hear the pitches and see the next breakout company announced in real time.

Slush is built for encounters that matter. You’ll find many of them in the booths spread across the venue. At Partner Booths, global tech companies and ecosystem players connect with founders, share new solutions, and explore ways to collaborate. In the Startup Booth area, early-stage teams showcase their ideas, demo their products, and meet investors who can help them grow. So here’s a tip from us: in between the meetings and stage talks, make time to explore the booths, and see where serendipity takes you. Photos by Elina Satova (1), Feodor Chistyakov (2), Neda Aghaei (3, 4)

Slush x RAISE is a competition we host together with RAISE Global to spot the best emerging managers in venture across Europe. This year's edition culminated in us inviting the top 20 selected from hundreds of applications to pitch on stage during Slush, followed by a dinner alongside some of the world’s leading LPs. Congrats to this year’s Slush x RAISE Top 20: 🔹 Anti Ordinary Ventures (Earth) 🔹 Belief Capital 🔹 No Label Ventures 🔹 Chapter One 🔹 Defiant 🔹 ellipsis 🔹 Endurance Ventures 🔹 Equilibrium Ventures 🔹 Florent Venture Partners 🔹 Inflection 🔹 Kembara powered by Mundi Ventures 🔹 Leonis Capital 🔹 NP-Hard Ventures 🔹 rule30 🔹 s16vc - Founders for Founders Fund 🔹 Shine Capital 🔹 Sunshine Lake 🔹 Tapestry VC 🔹 Transition 🔹 Work In Progress Capital We can’t wait to see the companies they’ll bet on, the founders they’ll back, and how far they’ll take the next generation forward 💚 Photos by Andrey Shadrin

Building in Europe can feel like playing on hard mode. 27 markets, countless policies, and one big question: how do we turn these complexities into a home-field advantage? Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy at the European Commission, Andreas Klinger, Investor at PROTOTYPE and EU–INC, and Miki Kuusi, CEO of Deliveroo and Head of DoorDash International, came together on the Founder Stage to tackle exactly that. This was a conversation that surfaced what it really takes for Europe to move from being a place where startups are born to one where they can truly grow through smarter regulation, stronger collaboration, and a shared drive to scale globally. Tune in for the Founder Stage livestream 👉 slush.org/livestream Photos by Vertti Luoma

Some founders build for what’s next on Earth. Others, go above and beyond. Philip Johnston, Co-founder and CEO of Starcloud, took the Startup Stage to explain why putting data centers in space isn’t science fiction but the next big leap for deeptech. He shared how Starcloud became one of the most sought-after early-stage companies this year, with over 200 VCs trying to get into their seed round, eventually bringing in Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Y Combinator , NFX, FUSE, and Soma Capital. Looks like even the sky isn’t the limit. Pop by the Startup Stage to see more early-stage startups like these that are pushing the boundaries of tech. Tune in for the Founder Stage livestream 👉 slush.org/livestream Photo by Monika Hauck