Our team hosted about 30 investors from across Europe for a uniquely Nordic startup event experience during the Aalto Startup Center Demo Day 2026 in Espoo, Finland, on 3–4 March. Each spring, some of the most promising Espoo-based deep tech startups are on show at Demo Day. This year, around 100 ambitious companies and research-to-business projects showcased at the event held at A Grid, Finland's top deep tech startup hub.
Investor event, with a uniquely Nordic twist
On the night before Demo Day, we invited our investor guests for an evening of ice swimming, sauna, and an intimate dinner at a nearby beach club. The ice, snow, and sleet of Finnish early spring provided a perfect backdrop to the invigorating cold plunge the investors bravely took in the freezing sea. Listening to a talk by the expert and wellness coach, Leigh Ewin, on the health benefits of ice swimming may have softened the sting of the cold for our fearless guests.
The ice swimming set the tone for an enjoyable, relaxed evening for the group. After all, there are few better ways for people to break the ice in a group than actually to plunge through it together.
"The atmosphere was warm and cosy. The event also showed that we really need more of this kind of pan-European collaboration and VC networking to make cross-investing easier in Europe. In addition to meeting all the great early-stage deep tech startups at Demo Day, it was great to see our international guests and local VCs actively networking," says Ossi Ritvos, Senior Business Advisor.
Finland's no. 1 deep tech community on show at Aalto Startup Center Demo Day
According to a new Finnish study of early-stage startups, Espoo is the most deep tech-oriented, international, and competitive startup city in Finland. That is what the investors got to explore during the second day of the event at Demo Day. In addition to meeting the startups, Demo Day provides the perfect setting to get to know the people in Espoo's tightly-knit innovation community.
Our business advisors also provided matchmaking services to the investors before Demo Day and throughout the day to make their visit to Espoo even more successful.
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