On April 20-21, 2023, we hosted our annual EU-Startups Summit in sunny Barcelona – and it was an incredible two days! From a buzzing exhibition hall, a chatter-filled networking space to insightful keynotes and exciting pitches, this year’s Summit brought plenty of opportunities to learn, get inspired and connect with new and familiar faces. In total we gathered slightly over 2,000 founders, startup enthusiasts and investors during the 2-day event.
For the pitch competition, which can only be described as electrifying, we had 14 finalists (from a massive 1,300 applicants!) battle it out on the main stage. The Swiss startup Zario took the crown of Pitch Champion 2023!
With regards to networking, we had plenty of space for our attendees to get chatting in our dedicated networking area, and we also had a networking after-party which was sponsored by reesmarxGLOBAL. But that’s not all. This year, we also had a dedicated networking app so our attendees could swipe and match on the most relevant contacts. Our EU-Startups Networking app saw 8,200 connections being made, with around 17k messages sent by our participants on the platform!
We also had a busy exhibition hall, which was a popular space for our attendees to find out more about exciting new startups and innovations. Our exhibition hall hosted about 50 businesses on both days of the event – ranging from startups to enterprises to accelerator programmes. The full list of exhibitors can be found here.
Thank you all for coming and to keep celebrating these two exciting days of this year’s EU-Startups Summit, we gathered together over 350 of the best pictures from both days of the event. Here they are:
Thank you all for joining us! We look forward to connecting again next year (in Malta), and of course, staying in touch in the meantime 
Our Event Sponsors
Silicon Castles is a Tech Company Builder and Strategic Business Accelerator for technology, intellectual property and licensing businesses, located in Salzburg, Austria. The focus is on European Diamonds: technology startups with a unique business idea, scalable technology and outstanding intellectual property. Silicon Castles also organizes the Startup Executive Academy (SEA), an international Go-to-Market program for founders and executives of early-stage startups, taking place annually since 2017.
Vanta is the easy way to achieve compliance certifications such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, and more. Over 4000 fast-growing companies trust Vanta to automate their security monitoring and get ready for compliance audits in weeks instead of months. Simply connect your tools to Vanta, fix the gaps on your customised dashboard, and then work with a Vanta-trained auditor to complete your certification. And for a limited time, EU-Startups readers and attendees of the EU-Startups Summit will get $1,000 off Vanta. Just go to vanta.com/eustartups to get started.
EPAM is the foremost global digital transformation services provider – leading the industry in digital and physical product development and digital platform engineering services. Through its innovative strategy; integrated advisory, consulting, and design capabilities; and unique ‘Engineering DNA,’ EPAM’s globally deployed hybrid teams help make the future real for clients and communities around the world by powering better enterprise, education and health platforms that connect people, optimize experiences, and improve people’s lives.
Airwallex is a global payments and financial platform for modern businesses. It removes the unnecessary friction and cost inherent in the traditional financial system to help entrepreneurs achieve their global ambitions. Leading companies around the world trust Airwallex to manage everything from payments, treasury, and spend to embedded finance — all in one single platform. With an international footprint across the Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America, Airwallex connects entrepreneurs, business builders and creators with opportunities in every corner of the world, and empowers them to grow without borders.
Italdesign is a state-of-the-art customer-centric, method-based company serving both traditional OEMs and newcomers in mobility, product and transportation design worldwide. It’s capable of influencing market changes with innovative designs and technologies and serves as a hub able to interconnect different sectors and expertise and integrate advanced technologies and services thanks to its technical and strategic partnerships. The 1000+ Italdesign professionals are providing an integrated set of methods, techniques and tooling aiming to the industrialization of new products, while providing services for every phase, from the initial idea to series production, including the turnkey process.
ACCIÓ – Catalonia Trade & Investment is the Catalan Government’s agency that works to attract foreign investment to Catalonia, promoting the region as attractive, innovative and competitive business location for startups. Check out their offerings and the Catalonia Startup Directory.
