The conference brought researchers, founders and investors to Sofia to explore how scientific breakthroughs can become businesses with international reach
Invest Sofia took part in the fifth Spinoff Europa Conference with an exhibition stand and a speaker contribution. Held on 11–12 June 2026 at TECH ARENA, Technical University of Sofia, the event brought together more than 400 participants from Europe’s research, entrepreneurial and investment communities under the theme “Building Europe’s Innovation Powerhouse”.
Speaking at the conference, Invest Sofia’s Viktor Goussev shared the city’s experience in attracting investment and creating the conditions for innovative businesses to grow. He highlighted the role cities play in supporting technology and entrepreneurship, and the importance of collaboration between public institutions, businesses and academia.
At the agency’s stand, Matey Minev and Dimitar Galchev introduced visitors to Invest Sofia’s business and investor support services. Discussions explored opportunities to develop research projects, launch startups and establish technology businesses in the Bulgarian capital.
Spinoff Europa Conference focuses on technology transfer: bringing research and scientific expertise into practical use through new products, services and commercial applications. Research-based spinouts play an important role in this process, building businesses around discoveries and technologies developed within research organisations.
The conference’s value lies in bringing together the people needed to make that transition possible: researchers with promising technologies, entrepreneurs with commercial expertise, investors and industry partners. These connections can help research teams secure funding, test their solutions in real-world settings and find partners to bring them to market.
The programme featured panel discussions, B2B meetings, technology demonstrations and dedicated sessions on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, personalised medicine and clean technologies. It also included the Spinoff of the Year awards.
For Sofia, events of this kind offer an opportunity to connect the city’s scientific and technological strengths with international businesses and investors. Invest Sofia’s participation highlighted the support and opportunities available in the capital for the next stage of that journey: turning research into a viable business with room to grow internationally.
