If innovation hubs across Europe were able to combine forces and eliminate the barriers between them, the joint ecosystem power would multiply the existing opportunities for scaling and acceleration. According to the marketing consultancy agency Bridge In, with time, the ecosystems of Western and Eastern Europe diverged to develop their own strengths, dynamics, and funding models without creating many intersection points – the Western region built itself a reputation in top-level research and tech development, while the Eastern region specializes in the development of SaaS, data and analytics solutions. Moreover, as Eastern startup scenes are often recognized for their innovation capacities and the Western ecosystems are known for their wide investment capacities, it makes even greater sense why Europe needs innovation bridges. And it is not only about having the right infrastructure – it is more about developing networking opportunities.
Starting on April 27th, ViennaUP’21, the two-week long series of online events organized by and for the builders of the CEE ecosystem, will facilitate the creation of cross-country regional connections and match-making. With over 100 registered investors (and many trendy startups), the online mega event offers great value to all involved in the European investment and venture capital ecosystem as it bridges the gap between Western and Central, and Eastern Europe, and provides insight into the latest developments in the VC and tech scenes in the region. But what else is out there for investors and community-builders?
Take a journey into the future of resilient investing
For the institutional and corporate investors, business angels, and VCs who are interested to find out the latest trends and opportunities in the Austrian tech ecosystem and what are the main market challenges for technology investment in and from Austria, the Investor’s Summit will offer not only an overview but also an opportunity for investors to arrange 1:1 meetings with tech-founders. Representatives from the European venture capital, corporate and private equity scene will have the chance to participate in 5 focus sessions, which will explore in detail what is the latest market observations in Deep Tech (from Quantum Computing, AI, and Machine Learning to Hardware & Deep Tech), Fintech and Legaltech and will outline the key differences between investing in Austria and the CEE. Other focus sessions will take a deep dive in what is the paradigm shift in investment when it comes to social and climate impact, what makes the digital health and biotech markets attractive, and which market factors enable companies to scale big and fast.
To recognize the game-changing power of female investors, the Investors Summit will also feature a session dedicated to the female angel and VC investors in Europe that will include opportunities for networking and insight exchanges.
The Investors Summit will finish strong with the largest pitch competition in the world that gathers early-stage founders from across 50 countries – the Startup World Cup, to showcase some of the most innovative startups in the fields of digital health and biotech, future of work, edutech, security and big data, and social and climate impact. The VC community of Europe will catch a glimpse into the developments in the different startup hubs in Austria and could take the opportunity to connect to founders who have completed their MVPs and are now on the lookout for investments. Among the startups that will pitch during the Startup World Cup will be the DNA synthesizer biotech startup Kilobaser, the fintech NodeVenture, the AI startup for humanitarian early action Perigee, as well as the audio-based learning & collaboration tool Audvice.
Co-investing and networking through the comfort of the office
Austrian VCs and angel investors will be looking for follow-up investments for some of their best portfolio startups during the virtual GIN Co-investment Pitch and participating representatives from the European VC and angel investors community will have a chance to find potential co-investing partners and expand their portfolios. Investors will meet in 1:1s to discuss opportunities and get to know all the key players in the Austrian startup and VC ecosystem. General Partners from PE and VC funds, private equity investors, business angels, and family investing forms can meet at the 01100 Virtual DACH Conference to network and increase the visibility of their brands to maximize their reputation as industry experts. Utilizing the full potential that virtual event platform offer, the 01100 Virtual DACH Conference of ViennaUP’21 will allow attending investors to prearrange meetings between each other, send direct messages to all participants, and use LinkedIn to grow their network, as well as send meeting invitations to people they’d like to start live or chat conversation.
