In mid-June, Adapter participated for the first time in the Hello Tomorrow Global Summit in Amsterdam, one of Europe’s leading events dedicated to deep technology. The summit brought together researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, industrial companies, and innovation ecosystem leaders from around the world.
The two-day event is one of Europe’s most important meeting places for the deep tech community, focusing on the development, funding, and international scaling of science-based technologies. This year’s summit attracted more than 3,000 participants, featured over 100 speakers, and welcomed startups, research organisations, international investors, and global companies.
For Adapter, the event provided an important opportunity to showcase Estonia’s knowledge transfer ecosystem and strengthen the country’s visibility within the European deep tech community. A recurring theme throughout the summit was that Europe does not lack scientific knowledge, research excellence, or talent. Instead, the key challenge is creating the confidence and conditions needed to experiment more rapidly, collaborate more effectively, and help science-based companies scale internationally.
This shared vision also inspired the joint side event organised by Adapter and Research in Estonia: Bits and Bites: From Science to Scalable Deep Tech.
The event focused on the conditions needed for the growth of Estonian deep tech companies, effective knowledge transfer, and the commercialisation of research emerging from universities and research institutions.
Interest in the event exceeded expectations. The venue quickly reached capacity, and discussions continued well beyond the end of the official programme.
The speakers included Anu Nef, Mikk Viilukas, Kerli Luks (Muun Health), Kristel Vene (TalTech), Kairi Raime (University of Tartu), Märt-Erik Martens (Gelatex), and Jekaterina Mazina-Sinkar.
The programme concluded with the panel discussion “Bits and Bites: From Science to Scalable Deep Tech,” featuring Piia Pääso, Merli Üle, and Barbara Agasild, moderated by Vaido Mikheim. The discussion explored topics including advances in food technology, the commercialisation of university and research-based innovations, and the conditions Estonia needs to create in order to foster the emergence and growth of more deep tech companies.
Adapter returned from Amsterdam with renewed confidence that Estonia’s research excellence, entrepreneurial ecosystem, and knowledge transfer capabilities have a strong place within the international deep tech community.
The experience also reinforced an important conclusion: one of Estonia’s greatest strengths lies in its ability to operate as a connected innovation ecosystem – bringing together science, business, and knowledge transfer while providing companies with clear access to the expertise, infrastructure, and capabilities of the country’s research institutions.
