WMF 2026 brings 3,000 startups and investors to Bologna

World Startup & VC Fest returns June 24-26 at WMF 2026 in Bologna, drawing more than 3,000 startups, investors, and corporates from 80+ countries. The three-day event is built around pitch sessions, business matching, and networking aimed at helping founders access capital, markets, and partnerships.

Why it matters: - WMF is positioning Bologna as a high-traffic meeting point for startup capital, corporate innovation, and cross-border business deals. - The event brings together founders, investors, and institutions across the startup lifecycle, from pre-seed to scale-up. - The mix of B2B, B2C, and B2G meetings is designed to turn conference traffic into concrete commercial and funding opportunities.

What happened: - The World Startup & VC Fest returns June 24-26 at WMF - We Make Future 2026 in Bologna. - The event is part of WMF’s international innovation festival focused on AI, tech, and digital. - More than 3,000 startup founders, innovative SMEs, investors, and other innovation stakeholders are expected. - Delegations from more than 80 countries will take part. - The program includes the Startup District, Startup Arena, thematic stages, side events, and reserved networking sessions inside and outside the fair.

The details: - WMF says its global network includes investors, corporates, venture capital firms, business angels, accelerators, incubators, startup organizations, media, and open innovation stakeholders. - That network is especially strong in Europe, North America, and Asia. - WMF says the ecosystem represented by participating investors, incubators, VCs, business angels, corporates, and accelerators totals 304 billion dollars in assets under management, 1.5 billion dollars of portfolio value, and more than 17,000 managed investment rounds. - Cosmano Lombardo, founder and CEO of Search On Media Group and creator of WMF, said the event connects startups, SMEs, investors, corporates, and institutions to create access to capital, markets, and partnerships. - Lombardo said startups across WMF’s 14 strategic sectors will participate, including AI, robotics, health, fintech, space economy, food, energy, mobility, tourism, and cybersecurity. - The Startup Competition drew 1,500 applications from 89 countries, and 140 startups were selected. - Participating ecosystems include Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United States, Canada, Brazil, China, South Korea, Singapore, India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda. - Startups will appear in exhibition areas, pitch sessions, meetings with more than 50 foreign delegations, and reserved networking events. - Dedicated B2B, B2C, and B2G areas will operate between halls 29 and 30 and other event spaces. - Partners for the meeting areas include ITA - Italian Trade Agency, Search On, Sellalab, and Legacoop. - The Soft Landing Program is designed to help founders and companies enter Italian and foreign markets and reduce friction in market entry. - Institutional and ecosystem partners for the Soft Landing Program include Invitalia, Italian Tech Alliance, InnovUp, Roma Startup, and Zest. - Invitalia Investor Day is scheduled for June 24 from 12:00 to 16:00 and is built around matchmaking for investors, corporates, open innovators, and partners of the Invitalia Startup System. - Other scheduled networking moments include Italian Lifestyle, WMF Innovation Night, ZEST - Open Innovation Meetup, a speakeasy with UIBM, Mimit, and the European Patent Office, and the Special Partner Night on June 23 at Tecnopolo DAMA. - The International Startup Competition Finals will take place on the afternoon of June 25 on the WMF Mainstage. - The six global finalists are Wormsensing of France, MaestroHub GmbH of Germany, TerraSpark of Luxembourg, Brainfood Intelligent Media Cloud of Greece, Mirai S.p.A. of Italy, and WealthRyse of China. - Lishe360 of Tanzania, selected through the Global Impact Challenge, will also appear on the Mainstage. - Competition prizes include a Jury Award that grants access to the Startup World Cup global finals in San Francisco and a chance to compete for up to 1 million dollars of investment. - The Public Award is linked to the OVHcloud startup program. - The Global Impact Challenge will also receive a service package from the Business Unit Consulting of Search On Media Group. - Mainstage sessions also include “The Business of Global Success: Music, Brands and Leadership,” with Mathew Knowles, and “The 28th Regime: One Market for Innovation,” with Francesco Cerruti, Lorenzo Minio Paluello, and Tomáš Pospíšil. - “Scale Up For Future” will feature Klarna and Trade Republic. - The Startup District will serve as the exhibition area for startups and entrepreneurial projects from around the world. - The Startup Arena will host pitch sessions for the 140 selected startups. - The pitch tracks are Technological Disruption, Finance and Scalable Infrastructures, Human Empowerment and Communities of the Future, and Planet, Smart Cities & Impact-Driven Innovation. - The Startup & VC Plenary will focus on venture capital, open innovation, internationalization, global ecosystems, cross-border strategies, access to European markets, new capital models, and community funding. - Additional stages include Impact to Business, Entrepreneurship, and Made in Italy Futures, powered by Philip Morris. - The University of Bologna’s Startup Day, now in its 11th edition, will also be part of the program.

Between the lines: - WMF is not just selling stage time; it is building a curated market for introductions, follow-on meetings, and market-entry support. - The event’s emphasis on soft landing, investor matchmaking, and foreign delegations suggests a push to convert international attention into real deal flow in Italy and Europe. - The broad sector mix indicates WMF is targeting both generalist innovation capital and specialized investors looking for specific verticals.

What's next: - The event opens June 24 and runs through June 26 in Bologna. - Pitch sessions, investor meetings, and networking events will determine which startups turn exposure into funding, partnerships, or market access. - The Startup Competition finals on June 25 will be a key checkpoint for the selected founders.

The bottom line: - WMF 2026 is aiming to function as a startup marketplace, not just a conference, by linking founders with capital, customers, and institutional support across borders.