Top 12 Startup & Tech Events in 2024

Why should I care about these events?

Business is one third about connection. The right connections can give a boost to a startup, help raise funds, or find employees. The question is: where do you make these connections? The easiest option is to attend places specifically for startup founders, venture capitalists, and all kinds of people engaged in the tech industry — startup conferences.

Another part is reserved for knowledge. Technology-oriented events are driven by seasoned speakers who are willing to share their experience and valuable insights. A deep understanding of the sphere you’re working in will prove beneficial while developing your startup. Plus, digital transformation literally forces companies to learn about new technologies and adopt them. 

The final 33.3% is all about skill, and the remaining 0.1% is, of course, luck. Startup conferences may not help you with skill, but luck is something that’s always waiting around the corner. 

Productively attending a couple of meaningful events enhances 66.7% of your business — not bad, huh?

Also, don’t forget that meeting like-minded people can be inspiring. Maybe at one event, there will be your aha-moment, and you will come up with and materialize something that nobody could have imagined before. 

So, here are some of the best tech conferences, so you can plan your 2024 ahead.

North America Events

The US is known for its business-oriented culture, with an emphasis on innovation and efficiency. Silicon Valley, in particular, is a hub of technology and innovation, home to headquarters of many major tech giants and a thriving startup ecosystem. Let’s look at what events they’ll have in North America in 2024.

Startup Grind Global Conference

🔗 Link: startupgrind.tech

📍 Place: Silicon Valley, California, USA

📅 Date: April 23-24

A photo from the Startup Grind conference

SGGC is one of the key tech events, organized annually by a global community of more than 4 million international startups. Startup Grind Global Conference takes place in Silicon Valley and provides its guests with exclusive opportunities to network, pitch their ideas, and win the hearts of tech enthusiasts and investors.

Who’s coming?

Partnered with Dell, American Express, Google Cloud, Samsung and Microsoft, this startup conference attracts high-profile speakers. Visitors gain valuable knowledge from multiple business leaders such as:

• • Lorraine Twohill (Google)
  • Jan Koum (WhatsApp)
  • Sam Altman (Open AI)
  • Eric Yuan (Zoom)
  • Douglas Leone (Sequoia)
  • Dylan Field (Figma)
  • Emily Chang (Bloomberg)

This makes SGGC an amazing opportunity to find out more about the experience of the tech industry’s highfliers. Not to mention hundreds of grassroots entrepreneurs eager to make valuable connections and find business partners.

What’s so special about it?

Hundreds of investors from around the world come together to discover the next best startup. This event puts lesser-known companies into the spotlight. You’ll have a chance to talk to experts tackling the core challenges in startup domains such as marketing, product development and fundraising. 

As an enrolled team, you get a dedicated exhibition booth to spread awareness about your project among numerous visitors. Moreover, you’ll have a Quickfire slot to pitch the product to potential investors. For those who want to get the most out of the event, there is an accelerator. This gives you access to Curated Investor meetings, a slot in the mainstage competition, and much more.

How much does it cost?

A full-access ticket costs $249, but the price will increase as the event date approaches. An investor pass is $599. If you want to enroll in the Startup Exhibition program, the fee is $2,499 — rather hefty, but this is an investment that can bring a lot of benefits, including custom signage and dedicated space for pitching.

TechCrunch Annual Founder Summit

🔗 Link: techcrunch.com

📍 Place: Boston, Massachusetts, USA

📅 Date: April 25

A photo from the TechCrunch Summit

The TechCrunch Annual Founder Summit is also known as the TechCrunch Early Stage Founder Summit. It’s only one day long, but it’s as eventful and lively as possible. At this tech summit, you’ll get actionable advice from top experts, explore the latest trends in the tech industry, and meet aspiring entrepreneurs on similar journeys. 

Who’s coming?

The event aims to create a supportive community of like-minded business people and offers hands-on training with top industry experts. Speakers of the upcoming event are:

• • Tom Blomfield (Y Combinator)
  • Haje Kamps (Kamps Consulting LLC)
  • Emily Knight (The Engine Accelerator)
  • Rebecca Lee Whiting (Epigram Legal P.C.)
  • Rudina Seseri (Glasswing Ventures)

They are ready to share valuable insights on how to select the right startup accelerator or incubator, how to raise money, how to pitch early-stage startups, and more. 

What’s so special about it?

The event helps entrepreneurs to take the next step towards growing their business. The summit offers small group sessions, roundtables, and workshops where you can learn best practices from subject-matter experts. If you don’t know how to monetize your product or aren’t sure where to find the resources, you’ll be welcomed at TechCrunch Early Stage in Boston.

How much does it cost?

To enter the summit, a founder will pay $149, while an investor — $349. For students who want to immerse themselves in the tech industry, the ticket price is only $99. However, these are the prices as of December 2023. They are likely to go up.

World Summit AI Americas

🔗 Link: americas.worldsummit.ai

📍 Place: Montréal, Canada

📅 Date: April 24-25

A photo from the World Summit AI Americas

A two-day event dedicated to the hottest topics in the flourishing AI ecosystem. World Summit AI Americas fosters collaboration between scientists, aspiring entrepreneurs, developers, and investors. As Forbes has put it, this event is “a global force for good, focusing the attention of the data science and business communities on how our most cutting edge tools can deliver a brighter future for us all.” 

Who’s coming?

At the summit, you’ll see the biggest global thought-leaders in AI, technology, healthcare, and ethics. Most of them are closely tied to:

• • Google
  • NASA
  • Apple
  • IBM
  • Université de Montréal
  • HSBC
  • Facebook
  • Amazon

The list goes on. You’ll meet venture and angel investors, Big Tech companies and technology providers, consultants and budding entrepreneurs — all of them wanting to help startups find their footing.

What’s so special about it?

The main question of the event: who’s shaping the future of AI? At the summit, you’ll find out who the innovators, decision-makers, and the most promising industry players are. Moreover, you’ll learn about multimodality, human-centered AI, cybersecurity, quantum computing, and more from the top speakers. 

The World Summit AI Americas is expected to feature a diverse range of activities, including keynote presentations, panel discussions, and networking opportunities. Here’s the list of things you can do at this conference: 

• • Pitch your startup idea
  • Take part in The Accelerator
  • Explore investment opportunities
  • Learn about the relevant AI challenges in a thrilling environment
  • Discuss various solutions
  • Discover the latest trends
  • Mingle with a big-name crowd
  • Gain the knowledge and inspiration necessary to launch tomorrow’s biggest product
  • Find partners and investors and socialize with the biggest names in AI

How much does it cost?

If you want to take part in the event, be ready to pay $375 for Expo Only and $600 for Expo and Content. A VIP package costs $975, and consultants or vendors/technology providers pay $1200. The mentioned prices do not include local taxes. The prices will be increasing over the course of the year. If you want to take part in the startup contest, there’s still time to fill in an application.

Northern Europe Events

In the US, business culture is often characterized by ambition and a focus on results and productivity. In contrast, Northern European business culture tends to be more collaborative and consensus-oriented. Let’s look at Europe and find out what business events are being prepared here in 2024.

Slush

🔗 Link: slush.org

📍 Place: Helsinki, Finland

📅 Date: November 20–21

A photo from the Slush event

Europe’s leading tech conference that aims to boost and support the global startup scene, and, in Slush’s own words, is “the most founder-oriented event on Earth.” Slush is a non-profit organization that hosts the world’s leading startup event and largest gathering of venture capitalists. It can also boast of being fully carbon-negative.

Who’s coming?

Some impressive statistics for the Slush 2023 event: 13,000 attendees, 5,000 startup founders, 3,000 investors, and 300 media representatives. The list of the previous year’s speakers includes:

• • Former Prime Minister of Finland
  • Co-founder of Discord
  • Chief corporate advisor of Stripe
  • Co-founder of DoorDash
  • Co-founder of Supercell
  • CEO of Miro
  • Partner at Sequoia Capital

If that’s not enough, the jewel in Slush’s crown are Europe’s biggest venture capital groups. World-class funds Accel, General Catalyst, Lightspeed Venture Partners, NEA, and Northzone came together to invest €1,000,000 in the best early-stage startup at Slush 2023. And the upcoming event will be just as favorable for those looking for investments.

What’s so special about it?

The sheer amount of venture capital the startup conference manages to miraculously gather under one roof. Last year, 3,000 investors joined the event, with the total volume of assets clocking at an astounding $3 trillion. It’s hard to find another place so ripe with networking opportunities — with just the right handshake, you can ensure the prosperous future of your startup.

Throughout Slush Week, you have a chance to participate in any of hundreds of Side Events, ranging from founder-investor networking to underground parties. There’s also an important concept of Mentoring Chambers, which many regard as the most valuable part of the whole experience. Here, startup founders get the chance to participate in private mentoring sessions with experienced consultants and business owners.  

How much does it cost?

You can pre-register for Slush 2024 at the conference’s official website. As of December 2023, the admission fee is unknown, but you can sign up for the newsletter and be the first to find out.

Latitude59

🔗 Link: latitude59.ee

📍 Place: Tallinn, Estonia 

📅 Date: May 22-24

A photo from the Latitude59 event

Latitude59 is one of Estonia’s best tech events that manages to capture both the intimate atmosphere of a tight-knit startup community and the vibrant hustle of a global hub. This prominent conference brings together budding entrepreneurs, investors, and industry pioneers in the technology ecosystem. The event encourages everyone interested to “come join the unicorns of the North”.

Who’s coming?

This startup conference is about speeches, pitches, and wooing the investors. There you can meet some of the region’s brightest minds and the most committed tech enthusiasts. In the past, the startup conference united multiple world-famous people, such as:

• • The President of Estonia
  • Timmu Tõke (Ready Player Me)
  • Valter Võhma (TRINITI)

And the companies willing to show their innovation and capabilities:

• • Pulstech
  • HEVI Optronics
  • SensusQ
  • Threod Systems 
  • Nordic Armory

What’s so special about it?

Early-stage startups can showcase their products and services to 3,000 visitors from 60 countries and meet over 500 investors. For startups, the event is a fundraising heaven — almost as many investors as startups gather in one place to find each other. For both parties, the event opens up wide investment opportunities. More than that, you can win the €1 million prize fund of L59 Pitch Competition. If you seek partnerships, you can present your brand and stand out among early adopters and those making an impact on the global tech scene.  

Latitude59 2024 is going to be the place where the tools, talents, and know-how of the tech startup community are gathered to solve the challenges facing the world today. For starters, L59 is cozy, hip, and very futuristic. Also, it doesn’t shy away from weighty topics such as global warming or energy shortages. It allows the participants to unite and come up with creative solutions to the world’s most pressing issues.

How much does it cost?

Super early-bird tickets for guests cost $207, for startups — $153. The price is likely to increase as the event approaches. Tickets for investors and angel investors cost $273 and $230, accordingly. You can buy tickets on the official website of the conference.

TechChill

🔗 Link: techchill.co

📍 Place: Riga, Latvia

📅 Date: May 17-19

A photo from the TechChill 2023 conference

TechChill is a three-day tech and startup event, which bridges the gaps in knowledge, skills, and network. Held in the Baltics, the event gathers thousands of top regional and global business leaders and hundreds of investors to connect, share experiences, and just chill. The 2024 agenda focuses on three topics: frontier technologies, startup foundation, and the new rules. 

Who’s coming?

Last year, TechChill became a meeting place for 2,300 attendees, 310 startups, 230 investors, and 60 media representatives. Previous speakers at TechChill Riga include:

• • Andrius Bičeika (Revolut)
  • Andreas Helbig (Atomic)
  • Isabel Naidoo (Wise)
  • Horia Niculescu (Google) 
  • Andrea Zitna (Speedinvest)
  • Ragnar Sass (Salto X)
  • Heidi Lindvall (Blue Dot)

What’s so special about it?

TechChill is an entrepreneurial event created to help startups succeed on a global scale and bring together international industry experts. During the event, you can:

• • Take part in multiple side-activities such as Investor Day, Media Tour, Demo Day, Workshops, and Founders Mixer
  • Get the most out of your investment opportunities
  • Take the chance to have your own stage time and win a €10,000 prize
  • Listen to inspirational talks and practice-oriented lectures
  • Showcase your product in front of potential investors at the Startup Expo
  • Become a part of a strong startup community and help build an even stronger ecosystem

How much does it cost?

An attendee can pay $141 for full access to the event. However, if you want to pitch your startup, your expo package will cost $767. For startups, an entrance fee is $86 for solo entrepreneurs and $64 for startups in a bundle. Tickets for investors are $283, and for angel investors — $218.

Western Europe Events

In Western Europe, there are several notable tech events and conferences for startups, businesspeople, and institutions aimed at accelerating innovation and creating lasting relationships. Let’s examine this part of the EU.

Tech.eu Summit

🔗 Link: tech.eu

📍 Place: London, UK

📅 Date: May 16-17

A photo from the Tech.eu Summit

A two-day summit that brings together the best minds in European tech. The previous year’s event revolved around sustainable growth and shaping the best possible future for European innovation ecosystems. The program for 2024 is yet to be announced.

Who’s coming?

The event brings together over 1,000 aspiring entrepreneurs, investors, thought-leaders, policymakers, academics, and journalists. In short, everyone who has influence in the world of tech. People gather to help take the startup innovation ecosystems to the next level. Main partners include European Innovation Council, Google, Nasdaq, Isomer Capital, and Colendi. The list of last year’s speakers includes:

• • Alexander De Croo (Prime Minister of Belgium)
  • Ali Niknam (bunq)
  • Bao-Y Van Cong (Target Global)
  • Chris Wade (Isomer capital)
  • Dan Hynes (Atomico)
  • David Heinemeier Hansson (Basecamp & HEY)

What’s so special about it?

Tech.eu will not only give you a chance to share and gain knowledge, make valuable connections, and get inspired, it will also provide an opportunity to learn more about sustainable development. All the information is given in short, 20-minute speeches — a format that prevents things from getting boring but allows speakers to sufficiently cover the topic.

Some of the key themes covered during the last summit include:

• • Fintech
  • Healthtech
  • SaaS (Software as a Service)
  • Deeptech
  • Mobility

How much does it cost?

Super early-bird tickets cost $380, and the price is bound to increase over time. It may well surpass the $600 mark, so w recommend not putting off buying a ticket, get yours as soon as you get the chance. A VIP pass to this tech summit, which offers many extra benefits, costs $2,850 — a lot, but it has its advantages.

4YFN (4 Years From Now)

🔗 Link: 4yfn.com

📍 Place: Barcelona, Spain

📅 Date: February 26-29

A photo from the 4YFN event

4 Years From Now is one of the world’s largest and most influential startup events. It brings together all the players needed for a successful digital startup, including entrepreneurs, investors, accelerators, and decision-makers. For the most active participants, there’s the 4YFN Awards, a global competition to discover the best digital startups on the planet and for the planet.

Who’s coming?

Did you expect the top event to be attended by experts from the most hotly debated industries? You were not mistaken. The keynote speakers are:

• • Carolina Aguilar (IN BRAIN Neuroelectronics)
  • Kamran Elahian (Global Innovation Catalyst)
  • Nigel Toon (Graphcore)
  • Sir Martin Sorrell (S4 Capital)
  • Sarah Bisbe (Aily Lab)
  • Hendrik Brandis (Earlybird Venture Capital)
  • Gregorio Ameyugo (CEA)
  • Chema Alonso (Telefonica)

What’s so special about it?

4YFN is the event partner of MWC Barcelona. The event not only welcomes world-class investors and corporate innovators, but also puts startups on the radar of some of the most influential decision-makers. You can get noticed by the leaders in the communications ecosystem, such as CEOs of cutting-edge technology companies. All of this helps new business ventures gain the wings they need for the launch.

The topics of the event, specified in the agenda for 2024, are: Green Tech, AI, sustainability, blockchain & crypto, digital identity, metaverse, and more.

How much does it cost?

4 Years From Now is the most expensive event on our list. The discovery exhibition pass costs $965, while the leader’s conference pass — $2,410. If you would like to join the party as a VIP, your ticket will cost you $5,370.

London Tech Week

🔗 Link: londontechweek.com

📍 Place: London, UK

📅 Date: June 10-14

A photo from London Tech Week

London Tech Week is a festival that has established itself as the pinnacle of European tech events. LTW fosters vital conversations about innovation, diversity, and digital transformation. The scale of this festival becomes apparent when you take a look at the list of supporters: Channel 4, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta — some of the biggest names in the industry, and more.

Who’s coming?

In 2023, London Tech Week attracted a whopping 45,000 participants, who came to listen to more than 350 speakers. Attendees had the chance of learning valuable insights from the likes of:

• • Mayor of London
  • Deputy Mayor of London
  • CEO of IBM UK & Ireland
  • CEO of HSBC Innovation Banking UK
  • Founder of Toyota Ventures

This year’s lineup is yet to be revealed, but there is every reason to believe that it’s going to be even more spectacular.

What’s so special about it?

It’s massive, and there are plenty of things to do. So many of them, in fact, that the event managers even had to split the event into areas so that everybody would have enough space. In 2024, London Tech Week is going to be big, with double the space, double the opportunity and double the impact.

As a founder, you’ll be especially interested in the so-called Start-up Zone that encompasses the Start-up Networking Hub, Start-up Marketplace, Investor Lounge, Innovation Hubs, and Start-up Masterclasses.

How much does it cost?

And now onto the most surprising part: attending LTW is actually free. You can get your Campus Pass on its website. If you’d like to exhibit a product, get in touch with the organizers via the Register Your Interest button.

Southern Europe

The last block in our review of startup and tech events that allow budding entrepreneurs to connect with industry leaders — startup events in Southern Europe. Let’s see what will happen at Southern Europe’s events in 2024.

We Make Future

🔗 Link: wemakefuture.it 

📍 Place: Rimini, Italy

📅 Date: June 13-15

A photo from the We Make Future event 2023

We Make Future (WMF) is an international trade fair and festival focused on tech and digital innovation. The last festival featured 10 pavilions and over 670 exhibitors. Multiple top-notch experts covered topics such as AI, deep tech, aerospace, cryptocurrency, big data, VR/AR, robotics, cybersecurity, and more. WMF also aims to contribute to the EU’s Digital Decade targets by increasing the digital skills of the population.

Who’s coming?

The previous event attracted over 60,000 attendees, including more than 2,000 startups and investors, as well as over 1,000 speakers, 670 sponsors, and 150 creators. If the numbers don’t tell you much, here are some key names that attendees saw at the last conference:

• • Sir Tim Berners-Lee
  • Rika Nakazawa (Americas NTT)
  • Monica Orsino (Microsoft)
  • Francesco Ubertini (CINECA President)
  • Antonio Zoccoli (INFN President)
  • Manuel Castells (sociologist, the USC)
  • Jerry Kaplan (AI expert, Stanford University)

The WMF is so cutting-edge that it’s not just the people who came to the event, humanoid Robot Sophia, the first android in history to be granted citizen status, was one of the key speakers at the event. Just for that, you should get a ticket.

What’s so special about it?

At WMF, you can present your startups to VCs, angel investors, and incubators in the Startup District, the expo area dedicated to startups, innovative SMEs, and international delegations. In addition to the expo area, the event offers B2B meetings with investors, multiple stages dedicated to startups, and networking events.

From AI in robotics to e-commerce — choose any sector or topic you like and find partners and collaborators that will help your business to grow. Students under the age of 22 have even more chances to become visible on the startup scene: every year, WMF organizes the Startup Competition Young, a competition aimed at promoting entrepreneurial culture among younger people.

How much does it cost?

For a ticket with full access to WMF, a visitor pays $108. However, if you want to attend two events — WMF & AI Festival — you will pay $218. On top of that, you have to pay VAT (value-added tax). If you want to book a stand and pitch your startup, fill in the form, and you’ll get a customized offer.

Digital Enterprise Show

🔗 Link: des-show.com

📍 Place: Malaga, Spain

📅 Date: June 11-13

A photo from Digital Enterprise Show (DES)

Digital Enterprise Show — another top-notch tech conference held in Spain on an annual basis. Partnered with Globant, IBM, Intel, Oracle, and Telefónica. Digital Enterprise Show primarily targets late-stage businesses that have already established themselves in the market. Early-stage startups, however, can still benefit greatly from visiting this event: a wide array of speakers coupled with excellent networking opportunities make DES a good place to gain valuable insights.

Who’s coming?

There will be many business leaders from the industry’s flagship companies, as well as policy makers and other prominent figures. For example, last year the event gathered 17,000+ c-level executives. At the heart of DES lies the Digital Business World Congress, which annually unites some legendary names under the same roof. Past speakers include:

• • Barack Obama
  • Pédro Sanchez
  • Héctor Gómez
  • Albert Triola (Oracle)
  • María Jesús Almazor (Telefónica Tech)
  • Shelly Palmer (Metacademy)
  • Ben Hammersley (Wired)

That’s not to mention dozens of companies — both international industry pioneers (like IBM) and local darlings (like TheCUBE) — showing their latest achievements in stands all across the show.

What’s so special about it?

Here, founders can educate themselves about virtually anything tech-related:

• • No-code solutions
  • Generative AI
  • Cloud technologies
  • Quantum computing
  • Web 3.0
  • Industrial automation

Whatever your area of interest, you have every chance of deepening your knowledge and coming home with some useful takeaways about the current issues in the field. Plus, there are also all the traditional perks of massive tech conferences:

• • Great networking and investment opportunities
  • Loads of inspiration
  • The chance to see some cutting-edge developments and explore latest trends

How much does it cost?

A business pass that gives access to the Exhibition Area, Tech Series, España Pyme Digital, and Digital Demos, costs $98. A premium VIP pass will cost $740 for 3 days and $440 for 1 day. For the honor guests, a pass is $1645.

EU-Startups Summit

🔗 Link: eu-startups.com

📍 Place: Malta

📅 Date: May 9-10

A photo of the prize winners at the EU-Startups Summit 2023

The EU-Startups Summit is Europe’s top event created by professionals to support SME initiatives. It offers an exhibition hall, educational talks, fireside chats, inspiring speakers, and a pitch competition featuring some of Europe’s most promising seed-stage startups. Just to show how technology-forward everything is — networking takes place not only in-person, but also through a special app developed for the event participants. 

Who’s coming?

The EU-Startups Summit 2024 is set to host over 2,000 in-person attendees, including startup founders, tech professionals, companies, business angels, venture capitalists, media representatives, and investors from all across Europe. In 2023, the summit hosted roughly 80 speakers, including unicorn founders, CEOs, and the world’s most successful investors:

• • Mike Butcher (TechCrunch)
  • Alexandre Prot (Qonto)
  • Michael Cassau (Grover)
  • Erika De Santi (WeRoad)
  • Daniel Gebler (Picnic)
  • Ben Younkam (Village Capital)

What’s so special about it?

The exhibition hall of next year’s EU-Startups Summit will feature around 50 innovative companies with a dedicated exhibition stand. A total of 2,000 exhibitors will represent around 1,200 different companies, and you will be able to interact with them in person or via a dedicated networking app. There’s also a big pitch competition with 15 of Europe’s most exciting early-stage startups.

In 2023, experts, industry pioneers, and unicorn CEOs talked about the following topics:

• • Early entrepreneurial failures
  • Circular economy & sustainable businesses
  • Pitching your startup
  • Managing startup finances and alternative funding sources
  • Best practices from concept to unicorn
  • New EU policies, initiatives, and funding opportunities for startups

As of December 2023, the next year’s agenda is still being prepared, but we are looking forward to the same practice-oriented and useful speeches on the topic of business development and growth as last year. 

How much does it cost?

Compared to other major tech events, ticket prices are affordable, starting at $185 for students and up to $658 for representatives of large corporations and service providers.

Cool, but is it worth it?

The admission fee to many of these startup conferences may seem a little hefty for entrepreneurs who are only at the beginning of their journey and don’t have many resources to spare.

Still, we think that it’s worth the money because the new connections and opportunities the events open up can greatly benefit your business in the long run. Think of the money you’ll have to spend as an investment: it’ll set you back a bit, but you’ll forget about it as soon as you see the first returns. Just be active and don’t waste any opportunity to talk to investors and other stakeholders. After all, these events are first and foremost giant playgrounds for networking — everything else is just a bonus.

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