sTARTUp Day 2026 is the largest startup and technology festival in the Baltics, bringing entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, and future-minded people from Estonia and abroad to Tartu on January 28–30, while celebrating its 10th anniversary. This year’s festival revolves around two overarching themes: good life and deep tech, and is aimed both at those who are already boldly active in entrepreneurship and at those who are still considering their first step.
At the festival, discussions explore what a good life means to different people and whether it can be achieved through entrepreneurship. At the same time, Axel Bouchon introduces science-based biomarkers that help us better understand and measure well-being and happiness.
The second major focus is deep tech. sTARTUp Day brings to the stage several founders with a research background, whose stories show that even complex science-based entrepreneurship is possible and that the path from the lab to real-world solutions is not reserved for only a few.
Among the standout speakers is Kyrylo Martyniuk, who shares his experience of leading a defence technology startup from the age of 18 and explains how drone technology and Ukrainian engineering have reshaped manufacturing and security over the past 12 years. Kaspar Tiri speaks candidly about building Ready Player Me and the journey that led to selling the company to Netflix for 72 million dollars, including the failures and long decisions that are usually left untold.
January 28 is dedicated to sTARTUp Day side events, while the main festival days take place on January 29–30.
Side events include Thinking in Billions, which focuses on deep tech and how globally competitive technology companies can grow from small countries, and Investor Day, which brings investors together to share experiences and build meaningful connections. In addition, many professional meet-ups take place during the festival, such as Deep Tech Afternoon, which looks at the development of artificial intelligence and the near future ahead. As every great festival should, sTARTUp Day also includes a party, the sTARTUp Day Song Festival, bringing the community together for a shared stage experience.
The celebration continues after the first main festival day. On the evening of January 29, sTARTUp Night takes place at Club Illusion, with Nordika, NOËP, and DJ Breleri behind the decks. The night brings together festival participants, speakers, and the wider community to wrap up the day and dance into the early morning hours.
The festival also features a dedicated pitching stage. On the first festival day, audiences can hear presentations from the TOP29 startups of sTARTUp Pitching, with the five best teams advancing to the main stage on the following day. Investment opportunities include up to
200,000 euros from an angel syndicate led by EstBAN, up to 200,000 euros in deep tech investment from BSV, and 10,000 euros in equity-free funding from Swedbank, along with additional partner prizes. Throughout the festival, the pitching stage also hosts multiple competitions covering different startup stages and themes. If you want to see which ideas and teams are shaping tomorrow, this is the place to be.
sTARTUp Day 2026 takes place in Tartu on January 28–30 at the Estonian National Museum.