The EU-Startups Summit 2026 is heading back to Malta on 7-8 May, and if Europe's startup scene had a heartbeat, this would be where you'd go to hear it. We are going, and we think you should too. Here is everything you need to know before you book your ticket.
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The EU-Startups Summit is the flagship annual conference from EU-Startups.com, and for the 2026 edition, it is touching down at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta, Malta. A UNESCO World Heritage Site that somehow makes every panel feel a little more significant. Doors open at 9am, the programme kicks off at 10am, and both evenings close with a networking party on the MCC's rooftop terrace overlooking the Grand Harbour, the kind of backdrop that makes even the most oversubscribed calendar invite feel worth accepting.
Once again, Malta punches well above its weight as a tech hub across iGaming, AI, fintech, and sustainable innovation. Add a pro-business environment, a growing digital nomad scene, and close to 300 days of sunshine per year, and it is easy to see why the summit keeps coming back.
An 80-speaker lineup sounds like a lot until you start looking at who is actually on it. The EU-Startups Summit 2026 brings real industry leaders with real track records onto the stage, and a few names in particular stand out.
Joaquín Cuenca Abela is the co-founder and CEO of Freepik, the creative platform with over 900,000 subscribers and more than 250 million assets, bootstrapped to a $300 million valuation. His keynote, "When execution is worthless, vision is everything: how to start a business in the age of infinite AI," is the kind of title that makes you want to sit in the front row.
Then there is Wouter Durville, founder and CEO of TestGorilla, the HR tech scale-up that has raised over €70 million and is actively dismantling the traditional hiring process. His keynote: "Hiring for the AI Era: Why the CV is Dead and AI-Fluency is King."
Also confirmed are Conor Moynagh, the Head of VC at HubSpot for Startups, and Natalia Shahmetova, CEO of Woofz, the PetTech scale-up with a global community of dog owners. Beyond the headliners, expect panels on AI and venture capital, fireside chats, and workshops built for people who come prepared.
Two full days. Nine-to-six on stage. Evening events on both nights.
Day one covers keynotes, the pitch competition's opening rounds, panel discussions on AI and scaling strategy, and 75 exhibition booths to explore at your own pace. Day two shifts into investor speed dating, the pitch final, topic-focused networking sessions, and closing panels. Both nights end with a rooftop party overlooking the harbour, which is as good as it sounds.
Running underneath it all is a dedicated networking app and a curated matchmaking area. With approximately 2,500 attendees expected, the infrastructure is designed to make the event's scale feel manageable rather than overwhelming.
Over 1,600 startups applied to compete this year. Fifteen made it through. They pitch live on the main stage in front of well-known investors, with the winner taking home a package worth over €1 million, including up to €434,000 in funding from Malta Venture Capital and Techstars, up to €100,000 in cloud credits from IONOS, a $24,000 Draper University scholarship, and an exhibition table at the 2027 summit.
Even if you are just in the audience, this session is not one to skip.
The event expects more than 1,200 founders, up to 300 investors, and a broad mix of corporates, accelerators, and agencies. Attendees collectively log over 8,500 one-to-one meetings across the two days.
Early-stage founder? This is a good place to understand what is possible and find people further along the path. Post-Series A? You are here to raise, find partners, and sharpen your thinking against genuinely sharp minds. Agency or consultant? There is a room full of ambitious people who are going to need exactly what you offer. Investor? You already know why you are coming.
The summit does not have a wrong type of attendee. Come curious, come prepared.
Tickets are available now on the official Eventbrite ticketing page. At checkout, use the code below for 20% off:
Code: MPIFY20
That is our exclusive promo code. Use it. Tell a friend to use it. No catch.
Valletta fills up fast in May, so sort accommodation early. The EU-Startups team has also arranged hotel deals for attendees. So, keep an eye on the summit page for details.
A friendly tip: Download Google Maps offline before you land. Those limestone streets are gorgeous and genuinely disorienting in equal measure.
MPiFY is a Malta-based digital and creative agency, and the EU-Startups Summit is our home ground. We believe the strongest brands are built where strategy, creativity, and technology meet, and this summit is exactly the kind of room where that conversation happens.
If you are scaling a startup and need a creative partner who cares about quality, UX, and execution, we would love to meet you. Our work spans web design and development, branding and visual identity, web hosting, app development, and digital marketing across industries. Full picture here.
Find us at the summit. Neon yellow gorilla. 🦍
The official programme ends at 6pm. Valletta absolutely does not.
It is a compact city where you can walk from the closing panel to a rooftop bar to a dinner table in ten minutes, which after a full day of pitches and handshakes is a genuine luxury. For dinner, book a table at AKI Malta, a Michelin-recommended Japanese restaurant and lounge bar in the heart of Valletta (full disclosure: we designed their digital presence, and we stand by every pixel). The bar is built for the kind of conversation that continues long after the bill arrives.
Beyond AKI, there are harbour-view rooftops, MUZA's garden for a quieter wind-down, and a short taxi to Sliema or St Julian's for something livelier. The conversations over a cold Cisk at the end of a summit day are sometimes the best ones.
The summit wraps on 8 May. What you do in the 48 hours after matters enormously.
A stack of business cards does nothing on its own. The difference between a contact and a collaboration is usually one well-timed, specific message that references a real conversation and proposes something concrete. Send that note within 48 hours. Connect on LinkedIn while the context is still fresh. Share your takeaways on social media, tag the people you met, and tag us too! We are @mpify_ on X and @mpify on Instagram. Schedule a follow-up call before you even leave the island if you can.
The EU-Startups Summit is where introductions happen. Everything after that is up to you.
On 7–8 May at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta, Malta. Doors open at 9am, programme starts at 10am.
Approximately 2,500 attendees, including more than 1,200 founders and up to 300 investors.
Use promo code MPIFY20 at checkout on the official Eventbrite page for 20% off.
Over €1 million, including funding, cloud credits, a Draper University scholarship, and an exhibition spot at the 2027 summit.
Founders at all stages, investors, corporates, accelerators, agencies, also anyone curious about where European tech is heading.
Yes, digital creative agency MPiFY will attend the EU-Startups Summit 2026. Come find the neon yellow gorilla. 🦍
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