Slush 2026, one of the world’s most important startup and venture capital conferences, takes place in Helsinki on 18–19 November. Latvia will be represented by a delegation of 20 startups formed by the Riga Investment and Tourism Agency (RITA) together with the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA). In Helsinki, the companies will meet international investors, partners and customers.
Slush is one of Europe’s largest gatherings of venture capital. This year, more than 12,000 participants are expected at Messukeskus, the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre, and 76% of them are startups or investors. Taking part in the conference has a measurable impact: a 2026 study by Slush and the data platform Dealroom, which compared more than 2,000 European startups that attended Slush with almost 230,000 similar companies, shows that after the conference these startups are 3.5 times more likely to raise venture capital.
The Latvian delegation is growing together with the ecosystem: Latvia was represented at Slush by 12 startups in 2024 and by 14 in 2025, and this year by 20 startups as well as three investors. Investment figures confirm this growth – in 2025, Latvian startups raised a total of EUR 78 million, almost five times more than the year before.
This year’s delegation includes companies working in artificial intelligence and software, fintech, healthtech, deep tech, climate and dual-use technologies – from nano-coatings that make green energy more affordable to a sepsis diagnostics device and training environments for drone operators. Some of the companies have already gained international recognition: Yena is backed by 500 Global, while Naco Technologies was named among the 100 most promising science-based startups at the Hello Tomorrow Global Summit 2026 and won its Energy category.
On 19 November, from 14:00 to 16:00, LIAA and RITA, with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Latvia in Finland, will host Latvia’s official side event Investor Happy Hour with Latvian startup ecosystem at Messukeskus (room Siipii 6). This year the format has changed: while last year 14 startups gave short pitches to investors, this time there will be no pitch sessions. The event will be dedicated entirely to face-to-face conversations, so that international investors can get to know all 20 delegation companies, investors and representatives of the Latvian startup ecosystem in an informal setting.
“Slush is where European startups meet the investors who can take them to the next stage of growth. The fact that 20 Latvian teams are heading to Helsinki this year – from green energy to healthcare and defence technologies – shows that our ecosystem is becoming broader and more mature. For Riga, this means new jobs, talent and international visibility. Our goal is to put Riga on investors’ agenda after Slush,”
says RITA Director Fredis Bikovs.
“Based on our experience of organising Slush side events in previous years, and after consulting participants of earlier delegations, we decided to change the format this year from startup pitches to a networking event. Slush week in Helsinki is packed with events, and investors move from one event to the next and from one pitch session to another – the new format gives Latvian companies the opportunity to meet them. This event will be a chance to meet, start conversations and build contacts and relationships that may lead to investment in Latvian startups in the future,”
says Ieva Felman, Senior Project Manager for Startups at RITA and Head of the Delegation.
In total, the delegation companies plan to raise more than EUR 37 million in investment, or EUR 1.87 million each on average – a sign that strong early-stage companies ready for serious conversations with investors are heading to Helsinki. Delegation participants receive support for travel and accommodation costs for one co-founder per company, Slush 2026 tickets and a place at Latvia’s official side event.
Representing Latvia at Slush 2026:
- Naco Technologies – makes green energy more affordable with high-performance nano-coatings produced by proprietary high-speed coating technology;
- Profymarket – AI agent for construction procurement;
- Crystals Growing – European producer of strategic CdTe and CdZnTe semiconductor crystals, using proprietary crystal growth technology for advanced laser, medical, defence and sensor applications;
- Yena – people data layer for hiring teams;
- Fintelligence – AI-powered risk intelligence platform that automates due diligence by analysing publicly available information to identify compliance, financial crime and reputational risks;
- EMPYRIO – empowering sewage sludge management in small cities worldwide;
- Nodu – licensed, API-first payment infrastructure company giving fintechs and payment service providers (PSPs) stablecoin-to-fiat payment rails – local currencies, stablecoin in/out and local onboarding – through a single API, built for global cross-border reach;
- nordfen – builds sovereign simulation and readiness infrastructure that turns real-world geodata into physics-accurate training environments, closing the operator gap for drones today and autonomous systems tomorrow;
- Tailwind – simple and easy cash flow forecasting;
- CROWDABLE – AI-native ambassador management platform that helps companies turn happy customers into a distribution channel;
- Piespēle – where sport comes together – venues, coaches and players in one app;
- inGain – AI-driven lending operations platform;
- Grocero – gives FMCG companies near real-time market intelligence by combining retail pricing and promotion data with consumer purchase-intent data;
- Adsmom – analyses 1.8 billion competitor ads from Meta, TikTok, Google and LinkedIn and generates actionable insights to build better campaigns;
- CAIA Care – builds infrastructure for personalised and continuous care at scale;
- Sepsiscan – software-powered, multi-modal imaging device for microcirculation monitoring and sepsis diagnostics;
- Amorphous – platform for health data structuring and analysis built by Oxford scientists, which the company describes as the world’s most advanced;
- Pythia Intelligence – strategic foresight for business decisions under uncertainty;
- SelfSIA – automates bookkeeping for small businesses in the EU, reducing time spent by 94%;
- InPass – develops IoT solutions for workforce and production efficiency and contributes to MUPSIS, a smart inspection system for detecting defects in wooden utility poles.