Sesame Summit 2026 – application open

Getting Back in the Game

We love that 4YFN 2023 chose “Humanising Tech” as the key focus for this event. How are you planning to inspire creative minds, founders & investors to start making this more of a priority in the year to come?

Humanising Technology, 4YFN 2023 event theme, speaks about startups as a force of disruption. The event will showcase and debate how entrepreneurs and their ecosystems can build a more humane technological playing field to solve society’s current and upcoming challenges. We believe there is a lot to gain by bringing this issue to the forefront of the discussion at 4YFN. In each of our conference sessions we will incorporate this angle, inciting the audience to reflect on how technology benefits or should benefit our society and our planet.

We will have inspirational speakers, like Felix Ohswald from GoStudent and Lady Mariéme Jamme from iamtheCODE, among others, who will share their journey towards making the world a better place using technology.

For those into an even-deeper dive, our “Tech and Planet” programme, with superb partners like UNDP, Red Cross and Social Nest Foundation, aspires to harness the power of digital innovations to tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges. As part of the programme, a full day conference on Monday 27/02 will feature strategic high-level conversations around climate change, impact investing and diversity in technology. This programme also includes networking sessions and investor-startup speed-dating.

One thing we are extremely proud of in this context, is the delegation of the Women Innovators Programme – the mentoring programme we are running in partnership with the UNDP to support women innovators in the Arab region. 14 gifted innovators, working to achieve the UN SDGs through their digital startups, will be at 4YFN to meet their mentors face-to-face for the first time. This is a live example of our year-round commitment to supporting the innovation community in addressing global challenges. By the way! Any Sesamers who want to sign up as mentors – keep an eye on our programme page, the call for mentors for the 3rd edition will be open very soon!

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UNDP Women Innovators Programme at 4YFN Howard Sayer Photography

For those who may not know, the 4YFN Awards is a global startup competition aimed at finding the best digital startups around the globe. Which startups are you most excited to see during the competition this year and are there any soonicorns we should keep an eye out for?

The 4YFN Awards will return in 2023 with an improved format that we are very excited about. For the first time, we’ve announced the Awards Top 50 list – 50 great startups that came on top in our evaluation. While these are all digital companies, they come from across the globe and from some very different sectors.

The vast majority of the Top 50 startups will be at 4YFN taking part in a range of networking activities, bringing them face-to-face with investors and leading corporations. Our audience is invited to hear them pitch at the pitching stage on Monday and Tuesday.

And, of course, the excitement will build up all the way to the grand finale on Wednesday, March 1st at 17h CET when our 5 awards finalists will take the stage to pitch for the win! If you haven’t yet had the chance to meet them, here they are:

  • Aircision (Netherlands) the company that connects more people at the lowest cost per Gbps of any wireless backhaul technology.
  • DeafTawk (Denmark) a mobile application that provides digital sign language interpretation and is available to 466 million deaf communities across the globe.
  • Microverse (USA) an online school for remote software developers where students pay nothing until they land a life-changing job — no matter where they live.
  • Payflow (Spain) is a B2B2C platform that allows employees to access their income on demand. Employees can use the mobile app to instantly receive a fraction of their earned salary, whenever they want or wherever they are.
  • Unmanned life (UK) have developed the leading autonomous robotics orchestration platform, which leverages AI, 5G and Edge Computing to deploy drones & mobile robots powering autonomous applications for Enterprises, Industries, & Smart Cities.
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4YFN 2022 Awards winner: HumanITcare Howard Sayer Photography

For the third consecutive year, the 4YFN Investors Program is back and will be experiencing some major updates for 2023. Can you tell us about some of these changes and how they will improve the investor experience?

Definitely! Our investors club members are telling us they are ready to get back in the game big time and are keen on getting more possibilities within 4YFN to network with one another as well as with relevant startups. We’ve heard them loud and clear. This is why at 4YFN 23, we are significantly stepping up the investors programme, adding spaces and activities for investors.

For example, one new activity we are offering, is the exclusive investors roundtables, giving investors the chance to hold in-depth discussions with other investors and connect around topics that are of interest to the investment community as a whole. In fact, it wasn’t us who created the roundtable agenda, but the VCs themselves who came forward with the topics and speakers for each session.

Another example are the curated speed-dating sessions where we will be connecting investors with relevant startups in areas including Digital Health, EdTech, FinTech, Frontier Tech (Quantum, Web3, advanced materials) and Tech & Planet (social impact and sustainability). In addition, during the 4 days of the event, investors will have a 1-to-1 area available where they can hold meetings with startup founders.

Lastly, we added more speaking and jury opportunities for investors. On top of choosing the 4YFN Awards winner, investors will also be choosing the winners of our new vertical competitions: the pitch battles! We are looking forward to the participation of well-renowned investors such as Anis Uzzaman, Pegasus Tech Ventures, Jim Adler and Toyota Ventures. You can see a full list of investors confirmed for 4YFN here.

There are some great speakers lined up for this year. Which speakers are you most looking forward to hosting?

We always try to bring into the 4YFN conference a good mix of unicorn founders, inspirational innovators, experienced industry leaders and tech visionaries.

For example, Dominic Williams, Founder and Chief Scientist at DFINITY, will be giving a keynote on “Internet Computer: blockchain singularity”. Dominic leads a pioneering project developing disruptive blockchain and crypto concepts. It’ll be a real treat to have him share his vision with us on stage at 4YFN.

Another must-attend session with great speakers is “Driving Growth Worldwide: Secrets from Global Leaders” where we will be hearing from Anna Schlegel, VP Global at Procore Technologies, and Michelle Klein VP Global Business Marketing at Meta. Both are exceptionally successful business leaders who will be sharing their experience and invaluable advice with our audience.

One thing we recommend to anyone at 4YFN is to use our conference to “break silos” – attend at least one conference session on a topic you’re not too knowledgeable about and with speakers who are not directly from your field. You are bound to discover new things, as well as make some great connections. Have a look at our full list of speakers here.

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Howard Sayer Photography

In 2022 MWC and 4YFN attendees were required to wear a mask and respect social distancing practices. This event this year will finally be mask-free. Tell us what that means for the dynamics we can expect, are networking activities finally back?

We are definitely excited towards a mask-free event! Networking activities were always a key pillar at 4YFN, but the reality was that COVID practices limited how much we could do on that front. Now, we can finally go back to hosting 1-to-1 meeting areas and programmes, indoor and outdoor networking cocktails and our famous 4YFN happy hours, where all our attendees are invited to wrap up a long day with a beer and some great networking.

Check out our full networking agenda here


Speaking of Sesamers not only can you check out who else is planning to be in Barcelona for #4YFN23 but you can also sign up for your free Sesamers profile to start booking meetings with them in just 2 clicks!

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Fundraising 4 hours ago

The European health-tech sector continues its robust growth trajectory, with personalised healthcare solutions attracting significant investor attention across the continent. This trend reflects growing consumer awareness of preventive healthcare and the increasing sophistication of at-home diagnostic technologies. Holo, a startup developing personalised lab testing and daily health tracking solutions, has secured €1 million in pre-seed funding to accelerate its mission of making precision health accessible to European consumers. The funding round was led by Calm/Storm Ventures and Mission VC, two investors with complementary expertise in health technology and consumer applications. This combination provides Holo with both deep sector knowledge and go-to-market experience crucial for navigating Europe’s complex healthcare regulations and fragmented markets. Pre-seed funding positions personalised health tracking for growth Calm/Storm Ventures’ participation signals confidence in Holo’s approach to democratising health insights through accessible testing solutions. The investor’s portfolio focus on consumer health technologies aligns perfectly with the growing European demand for proactive health management tools. Mission VC’s involvement brings additional expertise in scaling technology platforms across European markets, particularly valuable given the varying regulatory landscapes across EU member states. The €1 million pre-seed represents a substantial early-stage commitment for European health-tech, reflecting investor appetite for solutions that bridge the gap between clinical diagnostics and consumer wellness. Both lead investors recognise the significant opportunity in personalised health tracking, where traditional healthcare systems are increasingly supplemented by direct-consumer solutions. “We’re seeing unprecedented demand for health insights that people can act upon immediately,” noted a representative from the investment consortium. “Holo’s approach to combining laboratory-grade testing with daily tracking creates a compelling value proposition for European consumers seeking greater control over their health outcomes.” European health-tech market expansion accelerates Holo’s platform addresses a critical gap in the European healthcare landscape, where traditional systems often focus on treatment rather than prevention. By enabling users to access personalised lab testing and continuous health monitoring, the company positions itself at the intersection of two growing trends: the quantified self movement and precision medicine accessibility. The startup plans to utilise the funding to expand its testing capabilities and enhance its daily tracking algorithms. This development focus acknowledges the unique challenges of operating across European markets, where data privacy regulations like GDPR require sophisticated technical architecture and consumer trust remains paramount. Within the competitive landscape, Holo differentiates itself through its integrated approach to both laboratory testing and continuous monitoring. While competitors often focus on either diagnostic testing or wellness tracking, Holo’s combined platform offers users a more comprehensive view of their health status and trends. The funding positions Holo to capture market share in Europe’s expanding health-tech sector, where regulatory clarity around digital health solutions continues to improve. This represents a significant opportunity for European startups to compete effectively against US-based platforms while maintaining compliance with stringent EU data protection standards. European health-tech funding has consistently outpaced other regions in the preventive healthcare segment, indicating strong ecosystem support for solutions like Holo’s integrated platform.

Fundraising 6 hours ago

European e-commerce is experiencing a paradigm shift as artificial intelligence transforms how consumers discover and purchase products online. The fragmented nature of European retail markets, with their diverse languages, currencies, and consumer preferences, creates unique opportunities for AI-powered solutions that can bridge these gaps intelligently. Paris-based Dialog has secured €3.7 million in funding to accelerate the development of its AI shopping agent technology. The round was led by Galion.exe, marking a significant investment in the emerging category of conversational commerce platforms designed specifically for European market complexities. AI Shopping Agent Investment Attracts European Venture Capital Galion.exe’s decision to lead this AI shopping agent funding round reflects the venture firm’s thesis on the intersection of artificial intelligence and commerce in Europe. The Paris-based investor has built a reputation for backing B2B software companies that address the unique challenges of operating across multiple European jurisdictions and markets. Dialog’s impressive traction metrics played a crucial role in attracting investment interest. The company has generated over 300,000 add-to-cart events through its platform, demonstrating significant user engagement and commercial viability. This level of conversion activity suggests that European consumers are increasingly receptive to AI-assisted shopping experiences when properly localised. “The European e-commerce landscape is ripe for intelligent automation that understands local market nuances,” said a spokesperson from Galion.exe. “Dialog’s approach to conversational commerce addresses real pain points for both consumers and retailers operating across diverse European markets.” Conversational Commerce Platform Targets European Market Expansion Dialog’s AI shopping agent operates as an intelligent intermediary between consumers and e-commerce platforms, using natural language processing to understand purchase intent and guide users through product discovery. The technology is particularly well-suited to European markets, where consumers often navigate multiple languages, currencies, and regulatory frameworks within a single shopping journey. The €3.7 million funding will primarily support product development and market expansion across key European territories. Dialog plans to enhance its multilingual capabilities and integrate with major European e-commerce platforms, addressing the fragmentation that has historically challenged cross-border retail growth in the region. Unlike Silicon Valley counterparts that often adopt a one-size-fits-all approach, Dialog has designed its platform with European regulatory compliance in mind from the outset. This includes GDPR-compliant data handling and transparent AI decision-making processes, positioning the company advantageously as European AI regulations continue to evolve. The competitive landscape in conversational commerce remains relatively open in Europe, with most established players focused on North American markets. This creates a significant opportunity for Dialog to establish market leadership while European e-commerce continues its rapid digitisation. Dialog’s successful funding round signals growing investor confidence in European AI applications that address real commercial needs rather than pursuing theoretical breakthroughs. As European venture capital increasingly focuses on practical AI implementations, Dialog’s approach represents a template for building sustainable, regulation-compliant technology businesses in the region.

event management funding
Fundraising 8 hours ago

Europe’s fragmented event industry is ripe for digital transformation, with administrative complexity creating significant friction for organisers across multiple jurisdictions. Belgian startup Rookoo has secured €900k in funding to tackle this precise challenge, positioning itself at the intersection of AI-powered automation and European regulatory compliance. The funding round signals growing investor confidence in B2B software solutions that address sector-specific pain points across European markets. Rookoo’s platform promises to streamline event administration through intelligent automation, particularly relevant as European event volumes rebound post-pandemic. Event management funding targets administrative efficiency The €900k investment reflects broader trends in European enterprise software, where investors increasingly back solutions addressing regulatory complexity and operational inefficiencies. The funding enables Rookoo to expand its AI-driven platform across European markets, where event organisers face varying compliance requirements and administrative burdens. Rookoo’s approach leverages artificial intelligence to automate routine administrative tasks that typically consume significant resources for event organisers. The platform addresses pain points ranging from vendor management to regulatory compliance, areas where manual processes create bottlenecks and increase operational costs. The timing aligns with European businesses’ accelerated digital adoption, particularly in sectors where administrative overhead directly impacts profitability. Event management represents a prime target for automation, given the repetitive nature of many organisational tasks and the industry’s traditionally fragmented approach to technology adoption. Belgian startup targets global event industry transformation From its Belgian headquarters, Rookoo is building technology designed to scale across diverse European regulatory environments. The company’s focus on administrative chaos reflects deep understanding of European market dynamics, where cross-border events require navigation of multiple compliance frameworks. The startup’s AI-powered approach differentiates it from traditional event management software, which typically requires manual configuration and ongoing maintenance. Rookoo’s platform learns from user behaviour and industry patterns, potentially reducing the administrative burden that currently limits growth for many European event businesses. Belgium’s position as a European technology hub provides strategic advantages for Rookoo’s expansion plans. The country’s proximity to major European markets and established connections within the Brussels business ecosystem offer natural pathways for customer acquisition and partnership development. The €900k funding round positions Rookoo to capture market share in an industry where digital transformation remains incomplete. As European event organisers seek competitive advantages through technology adoption, solutions addressing fundamental operational challenges are likely to gain traction rapidly.

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