The main stage at Istanbul Ignited by Slush’D, Rixos Tersane, Istanbul
Istanbul Ignited by Slush’D returns to Rixos Tersane in Istanbul on 12 to 14 October for its second edition. The organisers expect more than 3,000 attendees, 1,400 startups and 600 investors, up from about 1,700 attendees last year.
The first edition ran at the same venue in 2025 under the name Istanbul Slush’D. It reached full capacity, hosted more than 1,000 investor and founder meetings and brought over 75 global funds to the city, according to the organisers. Half of the attendees came from abroad.
What Slush’D is
Slush started in Helsinki in 2008 as a volunteer-led event and grew into one of Europe’s best-known startup gatherings. In January it named Noora Saksa as chief executive. Slush’D, its licensed series, takes the format to local startup scenes.
The Istanbul edition’s main sponsors are Akbank and Togg, the Turkish electric car maker.
Three themes for 2026
The programme is built around three themes. Sovereignty & Resilience looks at how to build more independent systems, from supply chains to technology infrastructure. AI as Infrastructure covers how AI is becoming the base for new products and business models. The Human Edge asks why creativity, judgement and intuition still matter as AI speeds up.
Who is speaking
The first wave of speakers includes partners at several venture firms. The confirmed names include Accel partner Zhenya Loginov and Periodic Labs co-founder and co-CEO Ekin Doğuş Çubuk. Judith Dada, co-CEO of Langdock and senior partner at Visionaries, is also on the list. So are Bryan Kim, founder of Mido Capital and a former partner at Andreessen Horowitz, and Index Ventures partner Emil Schaefer.
General Catalyst partner Zeynep Yavuz, Scribble Ventures founder Elizabeth Weil and Basil Fateen, head of startups and VC at Nvidia, also join the line-up. Chris Kemp, the founder and chief executive of Astra, will speak. So will Ilyas Khan, founder of the quantum company Quantinuum.
Adjust chief executive Andrey Kazakov and Midas founder Egem Eraslan are on the programme too. Gaming has its own slot, with Tripledot Studios co-founder Akin Babayiğit and Loom Games chief executive Kübra Gündoğan. Istanbul studio Grand Games, another speaker company, raised a $70m Series B in May.
The organisers say speakers will also come from OpenAI, Anthropic, ElevenLabs, Index Ventures, Mubadala and PIF, among others. More names will follow in the coming weeks.
Investor Day and a hackathon
The event opens on 12 October with an invite-only Investor Day and a hackathon. The main conference runs on 13 and 14 October. The core team has doubled in size since last year, and the volunteer community has grown with it, the organisers said.
Co-founder Şan Yalman said this year’s programme is bigger, with several speakers visiting Türkiye for the first time.
“The focus is on creating the kind of access and conversations that are usually concentrated in only a handful of global hubs,” Yalman said.
His co-founder, Melisa Çağlar, first worked with Slush as a high school volunteer in Helsinki.
“This year, with a larger team and stronger partnerships, we are taking that commitment further, aiming to position Istanbul as a hub that connects Turkish and regional entrepreneurs with capital, opportunities, and global markets across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia,” Çağlar said.
Tickets
Tickets are on sale on the Istanbul Ignited by Slush’D website. Student passes cost €80, startup passes €200, investor passes €350 and general passes €400, before VAT and fees.
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.
This article is presented by TNW Studio and sponsored by Slush’D. This is paid content. The TNW newsroom was not involved in its creation. Links may be affiliate links, meaning TNW may also receive a commission on purchases. This does not affect the price you pay.
