[비즈한국] Last week, Helsinki, Finland, hosted 'Slush,' one of the top three startup festivals in Europe. The harsh Finnish winter at the northernmost point of Europe is pitch-black even by 4 p.m. What can you possibly do during long, cold, dark, and gloomy winter days? It's the perfect time to immerse yourself in something. The fact that Linux was born from a student at the Helsinki University of Technology, and that the game industry has flourished in Finland to the point of having around 250 game studios, may both be due to these harshly "good" conditions.
This year marked the 16th anniversary of Slush. Slush 2024 brought together over 13,000 attendees, 3,300 VCs and investors, and 5,500 startup founders. In particular, AI, health-tech, and sustainability emerged as key topics of discussion.
Dramatically, the first heavy snow of the season fell in Helsinki on November 20th, the day Slush began, covering the streets in white. On streets made slushy and messy by the mix of dirt and snow, people truly lived up to the name 'Slush' while discussing innovation throughout the night.
Notable European Startups at Slush
The event showcased a wide array of innovative solutions utilizing AI and health-tech. Austria-based Arterioscope presented technology for the early diagnosis of cardiovascular disease. As a spin-off from the University of Graz, Arterioscope attracted significant attention as a solution perfectly aligned with the recent "AI-based diagnostics" trend. Notably, it reached the Top 20 in the 'Slush 100' competition, earning a spot on the main stage semifinals to present before global investors.
The German biotech company Senara GmbH announced its sustainable dairy production technology. It distinguishes itself by producing dairy products through cell-based extraction, allowing for animal-friendly milk production. This technology significantly reduces environmental impact compared to traditional farming methods while ensuring economic viability. Senara also made it to the Slush 100 semifinals, introducing its solution for a "sustainable future of dairy" to the audience. Senara is supported by the EU Innovation Fund.
SLY, a technology company operating in Italy and the U.S., introduced wildfire and gas leak detection technology using solar-powered sensors. Through its proprietary sensors and algorithms, SLY detects abnormal situations like wildfires and gas leaks with over 98% accuracy.
There were several other startups that received an enthusiastic response on the Slush 100 stage. London-based ContentRadar showcased an AI-powered content management platform that automates marketing processes. Brussels-based Miners AI presented a solution that effectively analyzes geological data via AI to predict mineral systems and explore for minerals on a data-driven basis. A key feature is its ability to support the use of environmentally responsible data in the mineral exploration industry.
Health-tech 'OASYS NOW' Wins Slush 100
The Slush 100 pitching competition is one of the core events of Slush. Startups compete for a prize of 1 million euros (approx. 1.463 billion KRW). This year's competition was sponsored by the U.S. VC General Catalyst and the Berlin-based VC Cherry Ventures.
General Catalyst has invested in over 700 companies worldwide and has produced famous startups like Airbnb, Stripe, Snap, and Deliveroo. Although it is a U.S. VC, it operates in diverse regions such as Europe, India, Israel, and Latin America, with offices in major cities including Cambridge, New York, San Francisco, London, and Berlin. Recently, it acquired the German venture capital firm La Famiglia to strengthen its position in the European market.
Cherry Ventures is a VC founded by former entrepreneurs from Zalando, Spotify, and Uber. It has offices in Berlin, London, and Stockholm, and is currently working with over 100 portfolio companies. A defining characteristic is that they leverage their direct founding experience to provide mentoring, networking, and coaching to their portfolio companies.
The 2024 Slush 100 winner was the Netherlands-based health-tech startup OASYS NOW. The company developed an AI-driven clinical trial patient recruitment platform that helps match patients with hospitals and medical staff quickly. Its main products are the GRIP app and the ELaiGIBLE platform. The GRIP app is designed to allow users to directly manage their own health data and explore relevant clinical trial information. The ELaiGIBLE platform allows medical staff to easily match clinical trial databases with patient data, shortening a process that previously took months down to just a few minutes.
Because it deals with health data, OASYS NOW pays special attention to data security. It is characterized by its adherence to the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and its prioritization of transparency in data usage. It empowers data owners to utilize their own information proactively and independently, such as by allowing users to choose how their data is used.
Canada-based Mohana took second place, presenting personalized nutritional solutions for women's hormonal health. Third place went to Ireland’s Dev Ally, which developed accessibility management software. As the 'European Accessibility Act' has been enacted since 2019 to make digital goods and services easily accessible to people with disabilities, the key focus is helping companies comply with this legislation.
Slush Did Its Thing
The heavy snow that fell on the first day of Slush soon turned to rain, creating a gray landscape. However, perhaps thanks to the name 'Slush,' people were excited despite the soon-to-be-slushy and messy surroundings. There was much talk about how students in 2008, wondering how to spend a winter that felt not like a romantic season but like a long, dark tunnel, had created Slush.
Aaltoes (Aalto Entrepreneurship Society), a core part of the Finnish startup ecosystem, spearheaded Slush. Aaltoes is a non-profit organization led by students at Aalto University in Helsinki, founded in 2008. The organization's goal is to vitalize startup culture through various projects and programs. Aaltoes enriches the startup ecosystem by running programs like 'Summer of Startups' and the co-working space 'Startup Sauna.' Slush is the startup event created by this student organization.
Slush has now become an important event where not only Finnish students but also global investors, startups, and various people from all over the world gather to discuss the startup ecosystem. It is a meeting place where diverse ecosystems from various continents, including Korea, India, the U.S., Canada, and Australia, interact beyond Europe. What should you do during a cold, pitch-black winter? "Let's lie in our rooms and start a business" was their beginning. Even if the white snow quickly turns to muddy water, that is no problem; the spirit of Slush was that I would take the path to solve my own problems. That is why you should visit Slush in the unremarkable month of November.
The author, Lee Eun-seo, majored in law in South Korea and studied theater in Berlin. Based in Berlin, a city of art and a European startup hub, she leads 123factory, growing alongside the city and connecting the startup ecosystems of Korea and Germany.