While the region has already produced standout success stories such as Outfit7, Sportradar, Photomath, Rimac, Infobip, Nordeus, and many more, it remains largely underrepresented on the global innovation map. To address this, PODIM and Silicon Gardens aim to elevate the conference’s global reach, bringing more top-tier investors, spotlighting high-potential scaleups, and fostering stronger ties between startups and leading corporates.

“We’ve believed in the potential of this region for years—now it’s time to showcase it globally,” says Gregor Rebolj, partner at Silicon Gardens. “By stepping into the role of co-organiser, we intend to amplify PODIM’s impact, turning it into a premier platform where the region’s top startups connect with global investors and gain invaluable entrepreneurial insights.”

Rooted in the Region, Ready for the World

This partnership marks the next step in a long-standing collaboration. Matej Rus, Head of Venture Factory and Lead Organiser of PODIM, explains: “Over the past decade, we've built a strong, respected conference with partners across the regional startup ecosystem. But we believe PODIM can go even further, reaching the impact of global events like Slush or Web Summit. Our region is full of entrepreneurial talent; now is the time to come together and unlock international opportunities.”

PODIM remains an open platform supported broadly by the ecosystem and truly mirrors the success and progress of the regional startup community, driven by a dynamic venture capital scene led by prominent investors including South Central Ventures, Fil Rouge Capital, Slovene enterprise fund, VESNA, FeelsGood, SID bank, MGTŠ, SPIRIT Slovenia, Infineon Technologies, Elevator Ventures, and others.

Lessons from regional and global Startup Builders 

One of the most exciting additions to this year's conference is the launch of the Builders Stage—a new program featuring 20 experienced founders and operators from the Adriatic region's leading unicorns and promising soonicorns, including companies like Outfit7, Sportradar, Infobip, Photomath, Microblink, Bird Buddy, and others. These seasoned entrepreneurs will provide practical, behind-the-scenes insights on product scaling, capital raising, international market expansion, and overcoming significant growth challenges.

PODIM showcases top regional talent and features global speakers who’ve built standout companies. Bernhard Niesner (Busuu) will share how he scaled to 100M users and exited for €385M. Elnaz Sarraf (ROYBI) will discuss creating her AI-powered educational robot, and Max Azarov (Novakid) will offer lessons from growing his EdTech startup to $75M ARR. Expect honest, no-fluff insights and real stories from their toughest decisions.

Building the Deep Tech Future of the Adriatic Region

In recent years, PODIM has leaned into deep tech innovation through strong ties with universities, research institutions, and industry. The 2025 edition launches a Deep Tech & Collaborative Innovation track to help turn breakthrough research into market-ready ventures. While the Adriatic region has strong talent and universities, its deep tech potential is still underused. PODIM 2025 addresses this with sessions on funding, university-industry collaboration, and high-trust networking to fast-track science-based commercialisation.

This program addresses one of Europe’s key innovation hurdles: translating top-tier scientific discoveries, especially in AI, biotech, and quantum tech, into real-world impact. It brings together leading experts to share practical strategies and tools for overcoming commercialisation bottlenecks. Participants will gain insights into tailored funding models, scaling innovation through collaboration, and building strategic researcher-investor-corporate networks. Featured speakers include Uli Grabenwarter (EIF), PJ Mistry (Unilever), Roland Waldner (ex-Philips), Naoki Kamimaeda (Global Brain), Angela Ivanova (LAM’ON), and Pedro Costa (Beta-i). The four-hour program covers VC perspectives, public funding, and open innovation practices to power Europe’s science-driven future.

Positioning Alpe Adria and the Western Balkan region on the Global VC Map

The partnership between PODIM and Silicon Gardens sets out to fundamentally elevate the Alps-Adria and Western Balkan regions' visibility among top global venture capital firms. The region is experiencing a remarkable surge, signalling a promising future. A testament to this growth is the selection of 188 startups featured in the PODIM 2025 Startup Catalogue, chosen from over 890 applications. These startups will engage with investors and corporations, seeking partnerships to propel their growth.

Notably, 93% of these startups are in the early stages of development, with 23 companies having already raised over €1 million in funding. The majority operate in sectors such as Business, Productivity & IT (40%), Health & Wellbeing (18%), and Agriculture, Food & Life Science (9%). A significant number are leveraging cutting-edge technologies, with Artificial Intelligence being the most prevalent, mentioned by 107 startups.

“PODIM is more than a conference—it’s becoming the central meeting point for ambitious founders, experienced investors, and innovation-driven corporations,” says Matej Rus. With PODIM 2025, the region is ready to showcase its next generation of innovation and finally take its rightful place on the global VC radar.