European Startup Conference 2026 | Puglia Orizzonti 2026 | Taranto, Puglia
About this event
Join hundreds of European Founders and VCs, for two days of startup-to-investor networking and world-class insights.
The European Startup Conference 2026 is a free ticket event taking place in Taranto, Puglia, Italy. It features a unique two-day format: the first day takes place in Taranto City and focuses on panel discussions, while the second day moves to the beach and centres around roundtable sessions.
This event is a part of Puglia Orizzonti 2026.
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Agenda for Taranto City Day (July 9th at University of Bari - Taranto Campus)
09:30 AM - 10:30 AM: Networking & Registration
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM: Introductory Speech
- Eugenio Di Sciascio, Regional Minister for Economic Development, Regione Puglia
11****:00 AM - 12:00 PM:**** Italian Scaleup & Investor Panel Discussion, including 15 minutes of Q&A
Topic: The Funding Playbook: Positioning Your Early-Stage Startup for European VC.
- Dom Ventimiglia, Principal, Squadra Ventures
- Emilia Garito, Chairwoman, Deep Ocean Capital
- Annamaria Tartaglia, Executive Director, Angels4Women
- Mike Melby, Co-Founder, Fitlab; Co-Owner, Cesena Football Club
- Matteo Pertosa, CEO & Founder, ANGEL4FUTURE, MATIPAY, VAIMOO
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM****:**** Soonicorn & Unicorn Panel Discussion, including 15 minutes of Q&A
Topic: The First 1,000 Days: How Europe's Unicorns Scaled from Seed to Global Champions.
- Dmitry Gurski, Co-Founder & CEO, Flo Health (Unicorn)
- Razvan Ranca, Co-Founder & CTO, Tractable (Unicorn)
- Philipp Nieland, Co-Founder, PPRO (Unicorn)
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM****:**** Networking & Light Lunch
2****:00 PM - 3:00 PM:**** VC Discussion, including 15 minutes of Q&A
Beyond the Hype: Where VCs are Deploying Capital in 2026
- Sara Polatti, Managing Director, CC & Soci
- Ken Horenstein, General Partner, Pack Ventures
- Patrick Polak, Managing Partner, Newion Partners
- Massimiliano Picciani, Head of Innovation & Funding, Bpifrance
- Neal Dempsey, Managing General Partner at Bay Partners
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Startup Pitches
Selected from 1,000+ applications, 10 high-potential, early-stage Italian AI startup founders will take the stage for a pitch session, standing before a panel of "Sharks" to defend their tech and prove their scale. This event follows the success of The London AI Startup Conference 2025, which Startup Network Europe hosted at Google London in December 2025.
Judges:
- Carl Hartlein, Investor & Advisor, Profondo Capital
- Domenico Nesci, Managing Director, Deep Ocean Capital
- Madeleine Gummer von Mohl, Co-Founder & CEO, betahaus; Partner, XTR Capital
- Josh Pan, Venture Partner, OSR Holdings; Chief Corporate Development Officer, Landmark BioVentures
4:00 PM - 8:00 PM: Networking & Party
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Agenda for Beach Day (July 10th at Torretta Mare Beach)
12:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Beachside Networking & Hangout
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM****:**** Roundtable Talks at Torretta Mare Beach
- Dr. Florian Steiner, Claude AI Consultant & Trainer
- Darinka Burovska, Transformation Coach & Product Management Consultant
- Diego Gaspar, Founder, Inn Remote
- Giorgio Ciron, Director, InnovUp
- Luca Pignatti, Managing Partner, Profondo Capital
- Marco D’Angelo, CEO, beeco; Venture Partner, ToSeed & Partners; Executive Managing Director, X Combinator
- Rob Cox, Visiting Professor, Luiss Guido Carli University; Formerly Co-Founder & Global Editor of Reuters Breakingviews
- Vin Miceli, Founder, verb
- Luisa Torsi, Professor, Università degli Studi di Bari
- Max Brigida, Founder, La Tech Made in Italy
5:30 PM - 6:00 PM: Keynote Speech
- Gianna Elisa Berlingerio, Head of Economic Development, Regione Puglia
6:00 PM - 10:00 PM: DJ Techno Party
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Part of The European Startup Week 2026
This two-day conference happens alongside a seven-day event called The European Startup Week 2026. Please note that there is a ticket fee for people who want to take part in the seven-day programme, which includes activities such as a dolphin-watching boat trip, day trip to Polignano a Mare, and evening meetups.
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About the Hosts
- Startup Network Europe is an Irish company that has hosted 280+ Startup, Mid-Market, and Corporate Events around Europe, since 2021.
- Feedel Ventures is a global innovation hub and startup studio based in Puglia. Since 2020, they have built and scaled a portfolio of 20+ disruptive digital ventures across Tech, Web3, and Lifestyle. Specialising in corporate venture building, Feedel secures vital funding and drives high-impact business development to connect Italian innovation with European capital.
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About the Partners
Our confirmed event partners include:
Government Partner:
University Partner:
Ecosystem Partners:
- Italian Tech Alliance - Italy’s VC Association
- InnovUp - Italy’s Startup Association
- BINP- Boosting Innovation in Poliba
- Fondazione Taranto 25
- Angels4Women
- Angels4Impact
VC Partners:
Hospitality & Experience Partners:
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By signing up for this event, registrants agree to allow Startup Network Europe and the event co-hosts and sponsors to contact them regarding their registration and attendance at the event. The data that is collected will also be shared by Startup Network Europe and the event co-hosts and sponsors for post-event follow-up communications, such as new event announcements, newsletter updates, and sales & marketing outreach.
Source: eventbrite