Among the most prominent guests was the well-known Czech artist and influencer YEMI, who spoke not only about his preparations for a potential journey to space, but also about supporting young and promising entrepreneurs and artists through his Moonshot platform.
A key topic of discussion was the “28th regime” and the enhancement of support for early-stage entrepreneurs in the EU, with speakers including Ines Magrico of the European Startup Nations Alliance, Jaroslav Ton of Malcom Finance, and Vít Horký of Czech Founders.
Additionally, Veronika Šedajová, CTO and co-founder of the startup Atomiver, Lola Onipko, co-founder of Invest-In-Bravery, or Tony Hasek, CEO of Goldilock, discussed the pace of defense technology implementation with a representative of the Ukrainian army, who had come directly from the front lines.
“Czech Startup Week proves that the Czech startup scene can unite, present a common front, and has the ambition to lead Europe toward greater competitiveness and technological progress. I’m especially pleased to see more people from the public, research, and corporate sectors joining the startup and investment community. That’s how true innovation is born,” said Ivo Denemark, Director of the Startup and Investment Division at CzechInvest.
A major part of this year’s program was dedicated to startups and the successes of the Technology Incubation project. The largest domestic initiative for supporting innovative young companies by CzechInvest has now achieved its goal of supporting 250 new technological products and services. The program recently announced an extension, which will allow more founders from across the Czech Republic to join the incubation this autumn.
During a panel on Technology Incubation, Kateřina Rundová of CzechInvest and Martin Švolba from the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic discussed the benefits and opportunities of this important initiative, alongside leading figures from the Czech startup scene — Martin Jiránek of the Czech Startup Association, Vojtěch Roček of Presto Tech Horizons, and Tom Cironis of Startup Kitchen. The latter two agreed that DeepTech could be the key to placing Czechia among the world’s leading startup nations.
As part of the Technology Incubation showcase, a Technology Incubation #Demoday competition was held, featuring 18 ambitious startups from progressive fields such as artificial intelligence, sustainable innovation, mobility, and the creative industries, competing for investor attention and the title of overall winner. The victor was Scicake, whose Fonafix system provides efficient diagnosis and therapy for speech disorders using artificial intelligence.
The topic of the “28th regime” resonated throughout the day, as it aims to enable startups and fast-growing companies to operate across the European Union under a single set of rules. “For companies seeking to expand into new markets or attract foreign investment, the issue of a unified market and harmonized corporate legislation is crucial. I’m very pleased that one of the key initiators and ambassadors of EU.Inc, which advocates for this simplification, is Vojtěch Horna from the renowned Index Ventures fund,” explained Barbora Werdmölder, Director of the nonprofit Czech Founders.
Another core theme of Tech Happy Hours was SpaceTech, one of the fastest-growing technology sectors today. Keynote speakers included space architect Tomáš Rousek from London’s XTend Design studio and ESERO space education expert Jan Spratek. The ESA BIC Launchpad session delved deeper into the work of startups supported by ESA BIC Czech Republic, an incubator that financially supports young companies in developing technologies, finding investors, and bringing innovative solutions to market.
“Since 2016, we have supported over 60 companies. Our data shows that for every euro invested through ESA BIC, more than ten euros come from private investors. This clearly demonstrates the quality and importance of the entire incubation program for the future of the Czech space industry,” said Michal Kuneš, Program Manager of ESA BIC Czech Republic.
The Czech Startup Week initiative, whose flagship events include Tech Happy Hours and the Engaged Investments Conference, brings together all key events of the Czech startup ecosystem into a single week, showcasing the very best of what drives innovation today.
