Two days, thousands of founders and investors, and countless opportunities for new business relationships: Slush in Helsinki is among the most important meeting places in the European startup scene. In 2026, Munich Startup will be there once again, bringing four selected Munich startups to Finland.
Helmit, Zählerfreunde, Curly, and Rnhale successfully applied to Munich Startup and are now part of the Startup Champs delegation. Each of the four companies will receive a ticket to Slush, can use the joint Munich Startup exhibition booth, and will have the opportunity to pitch their business ideas to an international audience.
A special highlight awaits away from the main conference action: at the Munich Haus side event on November 18, 2026, the four startups will pitch to a selected, curated audience. Here, it is not about gathering as many contacts as possible, but about making the right ones: investors, potential partners, and decision-makers who can enable the next step in growth.
Helmit: “Collecting Business Cards Isn’t Enough”
For Helmit, Slush is primarily an opportunity to drive international expansion forward. The Munich-based startup develops solutions to protect children from cyberbullying and cyber-grooming. According to its own figures, Helmit already protects more than 10,000 families. Now, the company aims to continue growing.
“At Slush, we meet investors and partners in two days that we would otherwise have to travel across Europe for six months to see. The next step is to bring Helmit into every family, and for that, we need the right partners and the right capital,”
explains Leonardo Benini, co-founder of Helmit.
The fact that Helmit was selected by Munich Startup also holds personal significance for the founding team. Alexander Wolters and Leonardo Benini have known each other since kindergarten, studied at the Technical University of Munich, and founded their company in the Bavarian state capital.
“Munich is our home. The fact that Munich Startup is taking us along shows that online child safety is seen as a genuine tech topic and not just a niche.”
Their expectations for Helsinki are correspondingly concrete:
“We’ll fly home satisfied if follow-up meetings with investors are in the calendar and we’ve found at least one partner who brings Helmit to families we can’t reach on our own. Collecting business cards simply isn’t enough.”
Zählerfreunde: In Search of Investors and New Perspectives
For Munich-based energy startup Zählerfreunde, international networking is also the main focus, as CEO and co-founder Tobias Keussen explains:
“This is our first time at Slush, and we’re looking forward to connecting with the international startup scene. We want to meet potential investors, make contacts, and explore possible collaborations. Especially for us as an energy startup, it’s exciting to meet people who are tackling similar challenges from a different perspective.”
Being selected by Munich Startup is also recognition of the company’s development to date.
“As a Munich startup, we’re naturally very pleased about this. Munich has a large and strong startup scene – the fact that we get to be there as one of four companies is great recognition for our team and what we’re building with Zählerfreunde.”
In doing so, Zählerfreunde is focusing on tangible results rather than casual networking. At least one serious contact with potential investors and a promising exchange with a prospective customer or cooperation partner would be considered a success for the team.
Beyond that, the startup is particularly keen to explore the Nordic startup ecosystem. How do founders in Scandinavia build their companies? What approaches do they take? And what insights can be transferred to its own business model? Zählerfreunde hopes to find answers to these questions in Helsinki as well.
Four Startups, One International Stage
With Curly and Rnhale, two more innovative startups round out the Munich quartet. Curly uses artificial intelligence to revolutionize customer research: The AI conducts automated voice interviews and evaluates the findings, enabling companies to understand their target audiences faster and better. Biotech startup Rnhale, on the other hand, is developing novel RNA therapeutics for severe lung diseases such as asthma and COPD. The key differentiator: the active ingredients are designed to be inhaled directly into the lungs as a dry powder.
For all four startups, participating opens up multiple opportunities: With the joint booth at Slush, Munich Startup creates a central touchpoint right in the thick of the international conference. The pitches at Munich Haus complement this presence with a more exclusive setting, enabling targeted connections with key players.
Munich Haus Brings Munich and Helsinki Together
With Munich Haus, Munich Startup is creating a meeting place for the international startup community away from the trade fair floor as well. The event brings the Munich ecosystem together with founders, investors, and innovation drivers from Helsinki and beyond.
If you want to attend the Munich Haus side event, click here.
The focus is on personal encounters, new collaborations, and connecting two strong startup hubs. For Helmit, Zählerfreunde, Curly, and Rnhale, Munich Haus thus serves as an additional stage where an initial pitch could potentially lead to the next financing round, a strategic partnership, or new market access.
