sTARTUp Day returns on 28–30 January 2026 in Tartu, Estonia — bringing together over 3000+ startup-minded attendees, including 350+ startups, 200+ investors, and 140 speakers from 50 countries. The festival describes itself as “the most startup-minded business event,” combining a conference format with a lively festival atmosphere.
Program & content
The two-day program covers applied technology, deep-tech, founder experiences, market expansion, sales, marketing, HR, legal, and product execution. The format combines keynotes, fireside chats, case studies, and interviews with operators and ecosystem voices.
More than 40 practical workshops run alongside the stages, offering hands-on sessions in marketing, productivity, compliance, fundraising prep, leadership, and team operations.
Beyond the main venue, the festival includes tours, dedicated meetups, expert roundtables, and company-hosted sessions. The signature evening event, sTARTUp Night, remains the central gathering for attendees and teams.
Speakers
The speaker lineup includes Axel Bouchon (Matter Neuroscience), Dejan Davidovic (Kriptomat), Dmitri Sarle (Mawa Village), Egija Gailuma (Engycell), Ermo Tikk (Creative Destruction Lab), Eva Raigo (Ampler Bikes), Gerri Kodres (Specialist VC), Hanaé Taxis (CERN Venture Connect), Joosep Sibul (BuildwillAI), Kalev Kaarna (Metrosert), Karen Korjus (Closaria), Kaur Kallas (Technology Innovator), Mariliis Beger (Pipedrive), Matisš Kaža (Trickster Pictures), Max Simmonds (nCode – Purple Parrot) и Ott Salmar (Hykell), among others.
Matchmaking & meetings
Networking is one of the core parts of the festival. Participants use Brella to filter attendees, schedule meetings, and coordinate time slots based on interests, skills, tech stack, industry focus, or investment criteria.
Investors and executives receive early access to the platform. At the previous edition, Brella enabled 1910 meetings and nearly 4000 chat conversations.
Demo area
The demo hall is divided into structured zones:
- Startup Street for early- and growth-stage companies
- sTARTUp Tartu for local ecosystem participants
- Partner Land for corporates, accelerators, and ecosystem organizations
Booths are pre-built, include basic equipment, and all exhibitors go through relevance filtering.
For founders
Startups attend for visibility, pitching, and early meetings with investors or partners.
The event hosts a multi-stage pitching competition with a prize pool that includes:
- €200K EstBAN angel syndicate
- €200K BSV deep-tech investment
- €10K equity-free award from Swedbank
- legal support from Sorainen and TRINITI
- AWS credits via Spendbase
- mentorship from Values360Ventures
Applications are assessed using the KTH Innovation Readiness Level™ across six dimensions before teams advance into TOP30.
For investors
Investors gain access to more than 300 startups, early access to Brella, curated matches, private investor gatherings, and a dedicated Investor Day on January 28 at the Estonian National Museum. Additional benefits include a VIP lounge, access to startup databases, and an investor-only track.
More info: startupday.ee