Slush: dates, who attends, and how founders get in
“Slush brings together a curated crowd of top-tier founders, operators, backers, and media in Helsinki to fuel bold new ventures.”
- Next edition
- Nov 18–19, 2026 · Slush 2026 source
- Where
- Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre (Messukeskus), Helsinki, Finland source
- Format
- hybrid · 2 days for the main event (2025 and 2026)
- Tickets
- Slush 2025: 375.00€–1,095.00€. Slush 2026: 345€–1,195€ (Early Bird low end to highest listed ticket price). source
- Startup pass
- Slush 2025: 375.00€ Early Bird / 395.00€ regular. Slush 2026: 345€ Early Bird / 395€ displayed standard price. source
- Slush 100
- Slush 2025: €1,000,000 equity investment from Cherry Ventures and General Catalyst. Slush 2026: €500,000, equity-free, with 0% equity. source
- Cadence
- Annual, in November; the completed 2025 event was November 19–20, and Slush 2026 is announced for November 18–19.
GeneralistAIHealth & biotechFintechDeeptechGamingEdtechClimateSeedSeries AFoundersInvestorsCorporatesResearchersPressPolicy & governmentPartners
Next edition
| Dates | Nov 18–19, 2026 source |
|---|---|
| Edition | Slush 2026 |
| Venue | Helsinki Expo and Convention Center (Messukeskus), Helsinki, Finland source |
| Timezone | Europe/Helsinki |
| Tickets | platform.slush.org source |
Ticket tiers as published
| Tier | Price | Includes | Edition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Startup source | 375.00€ Early Bird / 395.00€ regular (2025) | Two-day access, Meeting Tool with pre-bookable tables, Activity Tool, mentoring, Investor Office Hours, stage talks, Founders Day and startup-only side events, Afterparty, and lunch. | Slush 2025 |
| Startup source | 345€ Early Bird / 395€ standard (2026) | Two-day access, Meeting Tool and Meeting Area, mentoring and Investor Office Hours, Day 0 for Founders and startup-only side events, and Afterparty. | Slush 2026 |
| Investor source | 1095€ Early Bird / 1195€ standard (2026) | Two-day access, Meeting Tool and Meeting Area, Investor Day and investor-only side events, and Afterparty. | Slush 2026 |
| Ecosystem source | 1195€ (2026) | Two-day access, Meeting Tool and Meeting Area, Slush Week side events, and Afterparty. The official homepage marks this category sold out. | Slush 2026 |
| Thursday source | 595€ (2026) | Access on Day 2, Meeting Tool and Meeting Area, Slush Week side events, and Afterparty. | Slush 2026 |
How founders get in
Slush describes its founder experience as a curated mix of one-to-one meetings, candid stage content, closed-door sessions and informal encounters. Its startup programme adds founder networking, investor office hours, mentoring and opportunities to pitch or showcase a product. The organiser says the goal is practical company-building value and more time for founders to focus on building.
- For Slush 2026, create a company profile on the Slush Platform and submit the Startup Pass application.
- Wait for Slush to review the company profile. The organiser says review takes two working days; access to purchase is granted if the startup meets the requirements.
- After approval, buy a Startup Pass for each person attending. The organiser says each team member needs their own ticket.
- Complete your personal and company profiles in the Meeting Tool, then search for attendees and book meetings. Register separately for capacity-limited Day 0 for Founders activities on the Slush Platform.
| Startup programme | Slush 2026: apply through the Slush Platform using a company profile; after approval, purchase the Startup Pass. The 2025 ticket page also advertised a Startup ticket. source |
|---|---|
| Startup price | Slush 2025: 375.00€ Early Bird / 395.00€ regular. Slush 2026: 345€ Early Bird / 395€ displayed standard price. source |
| Includes | Slush 2026: two-day access, Meeting Tool and Meeting Area, mentoring and Investor Office Hours, Day 0 for Founders and startup-only side events, and the Afterparty. The 2025 Startup ticket also listed the Meeting Tool, mentoring, Investor Office Hours, Founders Day and startup-only side events, Afterparty, and lunch. |
| Eligibility | Slush 2026: young, tech-driven companies aiming for rapid growth with a scalable business model; founded in 2016 or later, no more than 10 years old, and not exited. Agencies and consultancies are excluded. The application must be approved. |
| Founder discounts | Slush says it offers no discounts outside ticket campaigns. The published Early Bird prices are listed under Startup Pass and ticket tiers; no additional founder-specific discount was identified. |
| Scholarships / free passes | Slush 2026's Slush 20U20 programme offers flights, accommodation and access for 20 nominated young outliers; it is a targeted nomination programme, not a general founder pass waiver. The organiser also offers free Media Passes for eligible press and recommends volunteering to students. No general founder scholarship or free Startup Pass was identified. |
| Exhibiting | Slush 2026 Startup Booths: €1,500 for one day or €3,000 for two days for a 5 m² space. Startups at Series A or earlier could apply; the organiser's page says applications are closed. |
| Sponsoring | The official site lists Main, Key, Supporting, Ecosystem and Production Partner categories, but no sponsorship prices are published on the consulted page. |
| Investor pass | Register an investor company profile on the Slush Platform and apply. After approval, purchase the pass while tickets remain available; the organiser estimates application review at two working days. source |
| Investor eligibility | Individuals and companies investing in high-growth technology startups or venture-capital funds, including VCs, CVCs, angels, LPs and M&A investors. Investor application approval is required. |
| Press | Slush offers a free Media Pass for journalists and editorial press. Availability is limited; it prioritises outlets with a strong following and journalists with a track record in startups, technology or venture capital. Freelancers, podcasters, bloggers and other independent creators may apply, with relevance reviewed. Applications are through the Slush Platform; PR and non-editorial media staff are directed to other passes. |
| Application required | No, tickets are purchased |
Slush 100
| Prize | Slush 2025: €1,000,000 equity investment from Cherry Ventures and General Catalyst. Slush 2026: €500,000, equity-free, with 0% equity. source |
|---|---|
| Format | Slush 100. Slush 2026: formal applications lead to a Top 100; a one-minute video pitch selects 20 semifinalists, who pitch on the Startup Stage; three finalists compete in the final. Slush 2025: the top three appeared live on the Founder Stage. |
Winners
- Diffraqtion (2025) — €1,000,000 equity investment from Cherry Ventures and General Catalyst source
Meeting investors there
Founders complete their Slush Platform profiles, use the Meeting Tool to find attendees and request meetings, and can register for Investor Office Hours. The organiser describes the Meeting Area as reserved for pre-booked meetings; Day 0 and other founder activities provide additional networking formats. source
| Investors attending | 3,500 investors (2025) source |
|---|---|
| Matchmaking | Slush Meeting Tool, accessed through the Slush Platform. source |
| Formats | Slush 2026: pre-booked 25-minute one-to-one meetings in the Meeting Area through the Meeting Tool. · Slush 2026: VC-hosted, 75-minute Investor Office Hours for ticket holders; registration is through the Slush Platform. · Slush 2026: speakers host 30–45-minute Q&A mentoring sessions for founders. |
| Meetings arranged | 25,000+ meetings during Slush (2025) source |
Investor firms the organiser lists (2025 completed-edition outcomes and investor-firm list; 2026 next-announced-edition speakers and partner announcements)
20VC500 GlobalAccela16zAtomicoBacked VCBalderton CapitalBenchmarkBessemer Venture PartnersBlueYard CapitalbyFoundersCherry VenturesConcept VenturesCreandumDawn CapitalDIG VenturesEarlybirdEQT VenturesEurazeoFelix CapitalGeneral CatalystGP BullhoundHeadlineHeartcore CapitalHighland EuropeHoxton VenturesHummingbird VenturesHV CapitalICONIQ CapitalIdentity.vcIllusianIndex VenturesInventureIVPKhosla VenturesKinnevikKleiner PerkinsKvantedLakestarLightrockLightspeed Venture PartnersLocalGlobeMaki.vcMolten VenturesNAPNEANGP CapitalNode.vcNorthzoneOpenOceanPale Blue DotPassion CapitalPlayfairPluralRedpointSapphire VenturesScale Venture PartnersSeedcampSequoiaSingularSoftBank GroupSpark CapitalSpeedinvestTransitionUnion Square VenturesUVC PartnersVisionaries ClubVoima Ventures
The full investor list is available to registered attendees; see the official investor page.
Before you go: the hub's cold email to VCs playbook covers the pre-event outreach that fills a meeting calendar, and Causo matches your stage and thesis to the funds in its database so you know who to ask for a meeting.
Who speaks (2025 completed-edition outcomes and investor-firm list; 2026 next-announced-edition speakers and partner announcements)
- David Silver, Founder & CEO · Ineffable Intelligence
- Jessica Livingston, Co-founder · Y Combinator
- Erik Bernhardsson, Co-founder & CEO · Modal
- Alexander Stubb, President of the Republic of Finland · Republic of Finland
- Richard Socher, Co-founder & CEO, Managing Partner · Recursive, You.com, AIX Ventures
- Dr. Elina Berglund Scherwitzl, Co-founder & CEO · Natural Cycles
- Matthew Prince, Co-founder & CEO · Cloudflare
- Parag Agrawal, Co-founder & CEO · Parallel Web Systems
- Andrea "Annie" Kritcher, Co-founder & Chief Scientist · Inertia Enterprises
- Rafal Modrzewski, Co-founder & CEO · ICEYE
- Jack Zhang, Co-Founder & CEO · Airwallex
- Benedetto Vigna, CEO · FERRARI
- Emily Yuan, Co-founder & COO · Corgi
- Grant LaFontaine, Co-founder & CEO · Whatnot
- Jean-Charles Samuelian-Werve, Co-founder & CEO · Alan
- Christopher Pedregal, CEO & Co-Founder · Granola
- Renen Hallak, Founder & CEO · VAST Data
- Baiju Bhatt, Founder & CEO · Cowboy Space Corporation
- Anton Osika, Co-Founder & CEO · Lovable
- Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation · European Commission
- Grant Lee, Co-Founder & CEO · Gamma
- David Kirtley, Co-founder & CEO · Helion
- Shardul Shah, Partner · Index Ventures
- Hélène Huby, Founder & CEO · The Exploration Company
Full lineup: official speakers page.
Notable past speakers
- Anton Osika, Founder & CEO · Lovable (2025)
- Arthur Mensch, Co-founder & CEO · Mistral (2025)
- Cal Henderson, Co-founder & CTO · Slack (2025)
- Chris Malachowsky, Co-founder · NVIDIA (2025)
- Christian Hecker, Co-founder & CEO · Trade Republic (2025)
- Christopher Sacca, Founder & Managing Director · Lowercarbon Capital (2025)
- Claire Hughes Johnson, Chief Corporate Advisor · Stripe (2025)
- Divesh Makan, Founding Partner · ICONIQ (2025)
- Doug Leone, Managing Partner · Sequoia (2025)
- Dylan Field, Founder & CEO · Figma (2025)
- Eric Glyman, Co-founder & CEO · Ramp (2025)
- Ev Williams, Co-founder · Twitter, Medium (2025)
- Fabian Hedin, Co-founder · Lovable (2025)
- Gabe Pereyra, Co-founder & President · Harvey (2025)
- Harry Stebbings, Founder · 20VC (2025)
- Hélène Huby, Founder & CEO · The Exploration Company (2025)
- Hemant Taneja, CEO · General Catalyst (2025)
- Ilkka Paananen, Co-founder & CEO · Supercell (2025)
- Jan Oberhauser, Founder & CEO · n8n (2025)
- Jeannette zu Fürstenberg, Managing Director & Head of Europe · General Catalyst (2025)
- Justin Kan, Co-founder · Twitch (2025)
- Luciana Lixandru, General Partner · Sequoia (2025)
- Lucy Liu, Co-founder & President · Airwallex (2025)
- Markus Villig, Founder & CEO · Bolt (2025)
- Mati Staniszewski, Co-founder & CEO · Elevenlabs (2025)
Sponsors and partners
Main Partner (2025) 1
Main Partner (2026) 1
Key Partner (2026) 7
Full list: official partners page.
Startups there
Alumni the organiser highlights
- Oura (2017) — Slush Startup Stage alum; Slush says it later grew into a global success story. source
- Bolt (2017) — Slush Startup Stage alum; Slush says it later grew into a global success story. source
- Lovable (2024) — Slush Startup Stage alum; Slush says it later grew into a global success story. source
- Legora (2024) — Slush Startup Stage alum; Slush says it later grew into a global success story. source
Programme
| Tracks | Slush 2025: Founder Stage, the stage streamed by the organiser. · Slush 2026: Startup Stage, for early-stage founders from Seed to Series A, with 10 minutes to pitch, demo or both. · Slush 2026: the Slush 100 final is presented on the Founder Stage. · Slush 2026: the event materials also name the Impact Stage and Builder Stage; the startup programme includes Science to Scale for researchers and spinouts. source |
|---|---|
| Side events | Slush 2025: the organiser advertised 600+ side events across Helsinki, including life-science, fintech and impact, deep-tech, gaming, climate and AI events. Slush 2026: the published founder programme includes Day 0 activities such as Hardware Foundry, Founder Dawn, sauna and ice-dipping, 360° Pitching and the Founders Party, alongside Investor Office Hours and other side events. |
| Awards | The published startup competition is Slush 100. In 2025, Diffraqtion won an equity investment of €1,000,000 from Cherry Ventures and General Catalyst. For 2026, the advertised prize is €500,000 equity-free. No separate general awards programme was identified on the official pages consulted. |
| Call for speakers | Slush 2026's speaker page says the stage programme is full and it is no longer seeking speakers. No open call deadline or application process is published there. |
| Volunteering | Slush recommends volunteering as a route for students. Its volunteer page lists volunteer and volunteer-lead applications and roles including activities, production, marketing, startup, investor, partnership, finance, and analytics. The cited pages do not specify volunteer compensation or guarantee a free attendee pass. source |
| Official app | My Slush |
Past editions, as published
| Edition | Dates | Attendees | Investors | Startups | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 source | Nov 19–20, 2025 | 13,000+ attendees (2025) | — | Slush 100 winner: Diffraqtion; €1,000,000 investment (2025) | recap · video · photos |
| 2024 source | — | — | — | — | photos |
| 2023 source | — | — | — | — | photos |
Cities: Helsinki (2025 completed edition; 2026 announced)
Who attends
| Breakdown | 70% of Slush 2025 attendees were startups or investors (2025) source |
|---|---|
| Geography | Attendees from more than 90 countries (2025) source |
| Roles | Founders, Investors, Corporates, Researchers, Press, Policy & government, Partners |
| Stages | Seed, Series A |
Official links and socials
Travel & apps
Prepare for it
- How to cold email VCs — book the meetings before you land.
- The 12-slide seed deck — what to have ready when a partner says "send me the deck".
- Pitch Deck Roaster — a slide-by-slide pass before you submit to Slush 100.
- Accelerator deadlines — the application windows that open around the event.
Sources
Every fact above was read from one of these official pages on Oct 7, 2026:
- apps.apple.com/us/app/my-slush/id6470715859
- photos.slush.org
- photos.slush.org/index.php?/category/3
- platform.slush.org/public/slush26/manage
- platform.slush.org/public/slush26/tickets/shop
- play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.slush.companion
- slush.org
- slush.org/about-us
- slush.org/audience/investors/investors
- slush.org/audience/media
- slush.org/audience/partners
- slush.org/audience/past-speakers
- slush.org/audience/speakers
- slush.org/audience/startups/slush100
- slush.org/audience/startups/startups
- slush.org/audience/volunteers
- slush.org/faq
- slush.org/guide-to-helsinki
- slush.org/meetings-info
- slush.org/newsroom
- slush.org/newsroom/nordea-at-slush-2025
- slush.org/newsroom/speaker-launch-2025
- slush.org/speakers
- slush.org/vcs-at-slush-2025
- facebook.com/SlushHQ
- facebook.com/SlushHQ/posts/were-feeling-all-the-feels-on-day-2slush-2025-has-brought-together-13000-people-/1359357022207884
- flickr.com/photos/slushmedia/albums
- instagram.com/p/DZ9hmndiJ1N
- instagram.com/p/DaADyZ8l33z
- instagram.com/p/Dds41gtFx0d
- instagram.com/slushhq
- linkedin.com/company/slush
- threads.com/@slushhq
- tiktok.com/@slush_hq
- youtube.com/c/slush
- youtube.com/watch?v=-LEvPZE46S8
- x.com/SlushHQ
Slush: frequently asked
When is Slush 2026?
Slush 2026 runs Nov 18–19, 2026 at Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre (Messukeskus), Helsinki, according to the organiser's published dates.
How much does Slush cost?
Published ticket prices run Slush 2025: 375.00€–1,095.00€. Slush 2026: 345€–1,195€ (Early Bird low end to highest listed ticket price).. Startups: Slush 2026: apply through the Slush Platform using a company profile; after approval, purchase the Startup Pass. The 2025 ticket page also advertised a Startup ticket. (Slush 2025: 375.00€ Early Bird / 395.00€ regular. Slush 2026: 345€ Early Bird / 395€ displayed standard price.).
How do startups get into Slush?
Slush 2026: apply through the Slush Platform using a company profile; after approval, purchase the Startup Pass. The 2025 ticket page also advertised a Startup ticket. Eligibility as published: Slush 2026: young, tech-driven companies aiming for rapid growth with a scalable business model; founded in 2016 or later, no more than 10 years old, and not exited. Agencies and consultancies are excluded. The application must be approved.
How many investors attend Slush?
The organiser reports 3,500 investors investors for the 2025 edition. Founders complete their Slush Platform profiles, use the Meeting Tool to find attendees and request meetings, and can register for Investor Office Hours. The organiser describes the Meeting Area as reserved for pre-booked meetings; Day 0 and other founder activities provide additional networking formats.
What is Slush 100?
Slush's pitch competition. Prize as published: Slush 2025: €1,000,000 equity investment from Cherry Ventures and General Catalyst. Slush 2026: €500,000, equity-free, with 0% equity..
How big is Slush?
13,000+ attendees attendees (2025), 6,000 startup founders and operators startups, from More than 90 countries countries, per the organiser.