What’s UpNext: From Slush to 2026
A look back at Slush, the standout founders shaping What’s UpNext, and how we’re gearing up for a bigger, more global 2026.
Welcome to What’s UpNext, your weekly recap spotlighting the founders, stories, and signals shaping what’s coming next in global tech.
We’re closing out an incredible run across Europe — from Web Summit in Lisbon to the final stop of the year at Slush in Helsinki. It’s been a season of sharp pitches, real conversations, and founders building with conviction.
This issue pulls together the moments and insights from the road as we wrap 2025 and shift our focus toward a bigger, more global 2026.
Thanks for being here, here we goooo!
Event Recap
Slush (Helsinki, Finland)
Last week in Helsinki, Slush brought together founders, operators, investors, students, and ecosystem leaders from every corner of the world — all gathered to build, connect, and push the frontier forward.
The atmosphere this year was classic Slush: dark, electric, fast, and focused. The conversations felt sharper. The dealmaking felt real. And the momentum across the floor showed why Slush remains the benchmark for what a modern startup event can be.
At the centre of it all was Slush 100. Out of thousands of applicants, only a handful reached the final stage — and they showed up. Diffraqtion took the top prize with one of the cleanest, most compelling pitches of the year, with equally strong showings from the rest of the finalists pushing deep tech, climate, and AI infrastructure forward.
We followed the action from the floor to the finals, captured the stories behind the standout founders, and mapped the signals pointing to what’s coming next in European and global tech.
Check out our full recap and standout founder list below.
Edwin J. Frondozo
Flashpoint POV
Founder Spotlight
Through our collaboration with Flashpoint Global, we’re diving deeper into the human side of innovation — the beliefs, tensions, and turning points that shape how founders see the world they’re creating.
Every spotlight explores a founder’s point of view — not just what they’re building, but why it matters, and how their story might redefine what comes next.
Latest Features
Dr. Paul Newton
Dr. Paul Newton
Dr. Paul Newton
What's UpNext?
Slush wrapped, we’re back home — and now the real work begins. With U.S. Thanksgiving this week, we’re sending appreciation to everyone celebrating and everyone who’s been part of this season’s momentum. Grateful, truly.
This window is giving us what every founder craves: focus. We’re taking everything we picked up on the road — from Lisbon’s PITCH finals to the energy in Helsinki — and channeling it straight into the 2026 UpNext World Tour. More cities. More stages. More chances to spotlight founders who are building with conviction.
We’re also in the studio editing our Slush PopUps, clearing the backlog, and lining up deeper features on the breakout startups we met this season. If you’ve crossed paths with us these last few months, chances are your story is coming up next.
2026 is going to be bigger. Louder. More global. And we’re opening the doors now. If you're a founder looking to share your story with the world — or an ecosystem ready to put your rising stars on the map — there’s room on this tour.
Let’s build the next wave together.
UpNext Global Partners
This year’s tour was powered by a small group of partners who believed early — Flashpoint Global, Siift.ai, LCube Studios, Allium IP, Slingshot Telecom, Empact Ventures, and Gowling WLG. We’re deeply grateful for their support and collaboration throughout the season.
Now we’re scaling.
As we build the 2026 UpNext World Tour, we’re opening the doors to a new wave of partners who want to support founders on the global stage. Three tracks, built for impact:
- Capital Partners — get in front of the next wave of breakout startups
- Growth Partners — align your expertise with founders who are actually building
- Ecosystem Partners — elevate your top startups and connect them to global opportunities
If you want to reach founders globally and be part of the movement shaping What’s UpNext, we’re taking on new partners now.
Let's chat about partnering with UpNext →
Final Thought
Why Helsinki Helped Me See 20x Further
Slush has a way of sharpening things. Maybe it’s the darkness. Maybe it’s the pace. Maybe it’s the founders who show up ready to build, not posture. Whatever it is, something about Helsinki always helps me see further — and this year, that clarity hit differently.
Watching Diffraqtion win the Slush 100 wasn’t just a highlight, it was a reminder. Great founders don’t wait for permission. They operate with conviction. They communicate with precision. And they build in a way that makes the future feel obvious once you hear it.
That’s the power of POV.
It’s what separates noise from signal — especially now, when AI has flattened every lane of creation, communication, and storytelling. The founders who stand out aren’t just pitching products. They’re narrating the world they’re building toward. They’re giving people a way to believe with them.
This whole season — Vancouver, Toronto, Dubai, Lisbon, Helsinki — reinforced that message. POV isn’t a luxury. It’s the new requirement. And the founders who embrace it are the ones who will shape the next decade.
As we move into planning the 2026 UpNext World Tour, that’s what I’m carrying with me: clarity, momentum, and a wider horizon than before. Over the next few weeks, I’ll unpack more of the lessons, shifts, and signals that surfaced at Slush — and what they mean for the builders pushing things forward.
Gratefully,
Edwin
Read more reflections like this on Future POV, my personal Substack on clarity, conviction, and building movements that last.
