Slush 2025: UK Engagement at Europe’s Principal Venture Forum
Slush has become one of the most influential conferences in the European venture capital calendar. In November, Helsinki brings together around 13,000 attendees at the main event and thousands more across large fringe programmes, creating a concentrated environment for discussions on capital, technology and policy. Its scale, combined with strong participation from leading global funds, makes it a useful point in the year to assess sentiment across the ecosystem. For the BVCA, the event provides an important opportunity to support members, strengthen international connections and understand where UK and European venture is heading.
UK House
A notable development this year for us was the establishment of the first UK House at Slush, delivered through a partnership between the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and the BVCA. The initiative aimed to provide UK investors and founders with a clear base within the wider programme and to deepen engagement with Nordic markets.
Through our Director of External Affairs Karim Palant, the BVCA contributed to the panel “Europe’s Tech Gateway: The UK’s Strategic Crossroads”, which considered how the UK can maintain its position as Europe’s leading tech and venture capital hub while navigating alignment with the United States, the European Union and other partners on AI, defence and net zero priorities. These themes are increasingly relevant for BVCA members as technology and regulation become more globally interconnected.
Alongside the panel, the BVCA convened an investor lunch bringing together UK funds, LPs and DBT officials, and attended a reception hosted by the British Ambassador. Taken together, these engagements helped reinforce the UK’s visibility at Slush and supported members in building new relationships across the region.
Key Themes
The wider conference programme reflected a more disciplined and strategically focused investment environment. Sessions on AI commercialisation, industrial technologies, life sciences developments, capital efficiency and global expansion provided insight into where investors are concentrating attention. These themes reflected the most prevalent discussions our industry has had through the year and mirrored key elements of the UK government’s Modern Industrial Strategy which set out the domestic growth agenda across these issues. It was positive to see strong representation from UK companies on stage, which highlighted continued depth in areas such as frontier AI and advanced mobility.
State of European Tech 2025
The State of European Tech 2025 report, launched during the week, noted early signs of stabilisation in later stage financing and a maturing pipeline of European technology companies. For the UK, the findings align with long standing strengths in research, scale up capability and international capital attraction, all of which remain central to BVCA advocacy.
For the BVCA and its members, Slush 2025 demonstrated the value of continued UK engagement in key European markets. The event offered useful insights into investor sentiment, showcased UK innovation and reinforced the importance of international connectivity as the ecosystem enters its next phase.
Authored by Baderin Tejuoso,
Senior Venture Capital Executive, BVCA
