The thirteenth edition of Startup OLÉ takes place from October 13 to 15 in Salamanca with over 4,000 attendees, 550 speakers, and 520 tech companies. The event includes an international competition whose final in San Francisco awards a prize of one million dollars.
Startup OLÉ 2026 has surpassed its own figures in its thirteenth edition. The CEO of the event, Emilio Corchado, has confirmed that the meeting gathers over 4,000 attendees, 550 speakers, more than 520 tech companies, and around 150 round tables between October 13 and 15 at the Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones de Castilla y León and the University of Salamanca, according to ecosistemastartup.com.
The organization initially expected more than 5,000 attendees, around 800 international speakers, and representatives from over 500 companies from more than 40 countries. The Mexican media outlet El Congresista reported 200 investors present, also from 40 countries.
The program is spread over three days. On October 13, the focus was on investment, business acceleration, and knowledge transfer. The October 14 saw the official inauguration, the Official Bell Ringing of BME, and the panel “Entrepreneurship to Transform: Lessons from Great Founders,” featuring Jere Erkko (Angry Birds), Vincent Rosso (BlaBlaCar Spain), Rodrigo del Prado (BQ), and Carlos Moro (Bodegas Familiares Matarromera). That same day, the pitch competition and meetings with international investors took place. October 15 focuses on business innovation, social impact, inclusion, female leadership, and territorial development.
Among the confirmed speakers are Kwamara Thompson (Thompson Education Consulting), Vicente Milanes (Renault Group), Octaviana Marincas (Ministry of Economy, Digitalization, Entrepreneurship, and Tourism of Romania), and David González (European Investment Fund).
The Junta de Extremadura participates as an invited autonomous community with 14 Extremaduran companies with their own stand, double that of the previous edition, and will host next year's Top101 Awards of Enisa gala.
One of the central attractions is the international startup competition linked to the Startup World Cup of Pegasus Tech Ventures. The winner of the regional phase secures a spot in the Grand Final in San Francisco and competes for an investment prize of US$1M, as well as access to Startup OLÉ Miami 2027 and Startup OLÉ Marbella 2027.
According to the statement from Pegasus Tech Ventures released by Business Wire, the Grand Final 2026 will take place from November 4 to 6 at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square, with 200 regional champions from six continents competing for the same US$1M. The firm manages over 40 funds and more than US$2,000M in assets, and has invested in over 300 startups. Among the judges of the event are representatives from Khosla Ventures, Samsung Ventures, and Norwest Venture Partners, and among the speakers are Marc Tarpenning (co-founder of Tesla) and Will Grannis (CTO of Google Cloud).
The global circuit has been in motion for months: the regional final of Southeast Asia took place on August 28 and was won by MUI-Robotics, according to Techsauce; the Pune (India) regional final was won by Gyrodrive Machineries, according to the Ahmedabad Mirror. Salamanca is another piece of that network.
The thematic axes of this edition are artificial intelligence, dual technologies, cybersecurity, digital health, sustainability, biotechnology, and deep tech. They are joined by blocks on female leadership, inclusion and disability, youth entrepreneurship, European funding, and rural development. The conferences and the tech fair are free to enter with prior registration.
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