The Business of Tomorrow

VC & Open Innovation Fest

The event dedicated to investors and tech-driven VCs

17 · 18 · 19 JUNE 2026 / BOLOGNAFIERE
    NUMBERS OF VC & OPEN INNOVATION FEST 2025
  • +72.8B

    Total Participation in Deals
  • 17.000

    Fundings Rounds
  • 1.500B

    Investment Portfolio
  • 304B

    AUM

Open Innovation - VC & Stakeholder - B2B Meetings

With 70,000 attendees from 90 countries, more than 3,000 startups and open innovation stakeholders, B2B meetings, and over 700 exhibitors in 2025 alone, WMF - We Make Future is the certified International Trade Fair of reference for the global innovation ecosystem.

Within it, numerous events are held each year, designed to foster moments of meeting and accelerate business opportunities, bringing together key international stakeholders.

The goal is to build a collaborative ecosystem to increase the positive impact - on society and the environment - of initiatives born to respond locally to global challenges.

The next edition, scheduled from June 17th to 19th, 2026, will again be held in Bologna, an internationally hyper-connected city, thus bringing business and networking dynamics to a level of excellence.

With over $304 billion in Assets Under Management, $1,500 billion in Total Portfolio Value, and 17,000 investment rounds managed in 2025, the VC & Open Innovation Fest emerges as the flagship event for VC, CVC, corporates, startups, SMEs, accelerators, incubators, and all key players in the Open Innovation landscape.

Participating in the VC & Open Innovation Fest will allow you to bring your company to the center of global innovation and immerse yourself in an environment designed to enable connections between stakeholders and innovative entities from all over the world to shape the Business of Tomorrow.

The VCs and Open Innovation Stakeholder of the 2025 edition

Michiel Scheffer
Claire Zhang
Scott Yusuke Sugino
Gunay Kazimzade
Alex Golod
Blanca Ribas Plombo
Enrico Cereda
Lukasz Waskiewicz
Federico Menna
Leonard Burger
Marco Trombetti
Alicia Hanf
Negar Mokarram Dorri
Pavel Ezekiev
Xinru Liu
Virginia Tosti
Francesca Rossi
Anastasios Avranas
Francesco Cerruti
Giorgio Ciron
Francesco Cracolici
Marco D'Angelo
Gianluca Galliani
Sonia Palomo
Albert Morro
Max Gurvits
Luca Iaia
Bohdan Kozachuk
Todor Mladenov
Giovanni Strocchi
Francesco Terraneo
Garima Ujjainia
Jonathan Speed
Vijay Sivaram
Mike Sigal
Anagh Singh
Rafal Roszak
Carlo Rivis
Priyanka Ravala
Hadeel Reyad
John Ramey
Ramanan Ramanathan
Dan Radomski
Grace Park
Tomasz Poninski
Aymen Mohib
Taylor McPartland
Annagiulia Marcandella
Amit Jain
Manu Iyer
Monica Gupta
Gema Gerelsaikhan
Dominik Dlugosz
Anirudh Damani
Florin Catalin
Imtiyaz Basharat
Anvar Asanov
Ottavio Campigli
Leonardo Giagnoni
Peter Kruger
Stefano Martini
Dereck Ofosu
Gabriele Ronchini
Noa Segre
Emanuele Torlonia

With the support of:

The main opportunities reserved for investors

B2B, B2C, B2G
B2B, B2C, B2G

At WMF, thousands of meetings take place every day between innovative companies, Business Angels, Corporates, Venture Capital, and delegations of international investors engaged in the world of open innovation. Organize your meetings if you don't want to miss the unique opportunity to connect with key players in the global innovation ecosystem. Join us and become part of a global community.

Startup District
Startup District

We can help you design a space in the Exhibition Area entirely dedicated to a delegation of startups from your portfolio, to exponentially increase the number of meetings, exchanges, and collaborations.

Your Event
Your Event

Do you want to organize a branded event within the World Startup Fest (vertical calls, hackathons, competitions, training and dissemination events, or networking and B2B meetings)? Among the brands that have organized their events at WMF: MiC, GoDaddy, Sole24Ore, Mediaset, Zendesk, Salesforce, European Parliament, EURid, Oplon.

Call for Investors
Call for Investors

The opportunity for investors, VCs, Corporate Open Innovation Arms, and investment funds to access the WMF Community, the International Fair on Technological and Digital Innovation, and connect with thousands of international startups within the WMF ecosystem. You can be part of the Jury of thematic initiatives and award prizes to international startups that present the progress of their projects at WMF every year.

Open Innovation & International Ecosystem Stage
Open Innovation & International Ecosystem Stage

The best entrepreneurs, investors, and innovation leaders gather at WMF every year to participate in panels and round-table discussions to explore the keys to success of different international ecosystems, the latest investment trends, open innovation strategies, and the peculiarities of local entrepreneurial ecosystems. It's a unique opportunity for quality networking and to activate strategic collaborations with key players in the industry. Join us to build the future of innovation.

Impact to Business Stage
Impact to Business Stage

The search for a sustainable development model has become the main objective and driving force for most organizations and institutions worldwide.

On this stage, we compare business models, policies, and experiences characterized by their ambition and commitment to contribute to positive change in social or environmental areas.

Networking Activities

Networking moments are the beating heart of the event, offering opportunities to create meaningful connections. The main initiatives you can participate in are
Innovation Night
Innovation Night

The event to share innovative ideas and have fun creating new relationships. The perfect opportunity for informal networking and to enjoy a stimulating and festive atmosphere.

Investors Night
Investors Night

An exclusive evening for investors from the WMF international network, who will have the chance to meet, share insights, and explore synergies in a completely informal and private environment.

Speed Meeting
Speed Meeting

The innovative formula for quick and direct meetings, ideal for startups seeking funding, investors looking for promising projects, or who want to expand their network.

Job Placement
Job Placement

The recruitment service for Digital Professions, to facilitate the meeting between job supply and demand! A unique opportunity to find professional profiles suitable for your company.

Are you a founder?

Join the international community of WMF
Within the WMF - International Fair and Festival on Technological and Digital Innovation - the 2024 edition of the World Startup Fest will take place: the international event of reference for innovative SMEs, startups, scaleups, and investors.
Call Startup AI 4 Future
Call Startup AI 4 Future

The competition dedicated to AI applications that define the present and future of the sector, positively impacting the environment and society.

Global Impact Challenge
Global Impact Challenge

A competition dedicated to startups that will have the opportunity to showcase on the Mainstage how innovative solutions can contribute to changing the world we live in.

WMF Global Startup Program
WMF Global Startup Program

An exclusive visibility opportunity for startups selected among the best internationally. Join the global community of founders who are building a shared innovation ecosystem.

Discover all the opportunities of the World Startup Fest

Would you like to participate at the VC & Open Innovation Fest?

Fill out the form: our team will analyze your request and respond to you as soon as possible.

WMF Innovation Ecosystem

Images of the past editions

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Il WMF is part of the network of

Events at WMF

AI Global Summit
World Startup Fest
Creators Fest
VC e Open Innovation Fest
Music Fest
eSports & Gaming Fest
Book Fair
Web Marketing Fest
E-commerce Fest
Govtech Summit
Koders Fest
Future Show
Innovation Film Fest
Digital Tourism Fest
Research for Future
WMF Giovani
Digital Job Fair

JUNE 17 · 18 · 19, 2026
BOLOGNAFIERE
WMF - We Make Future

Full ticket on offer at 89€+VAT