Hellenic Innovation Network

02/25/2026

Deep tech is not just about breakthrough science — it’s about investability.

Board members of the Hellenic Innovation Network,Marina Hatsopoulos and Dionysis Panagiotopoulos, are speaking at StartSmart SEE Accelerator 2026 on what investors really look for in deep tech startups.

If you are a founder, researcher, or early-stage investor, this session will give you practical insight into funding readiness and scaling strategy.

INVESTING IN THE IMPOSSIBLE

What deep-tech investors really look for.

What separates a brilliant lab breakthrough from a fundable startup?

What does it actually take to cross the “valley of death” between a working prototype and your first paying customer?

In this session, Marina Hatsopoulos — founder of Z Corporation, angel investor and MIT lecturer — joins Dionysis Panagiotopoulos, co-founder of Aether VC, to unpack how deep-tech investment decisions are made:
✔ What gets a “yes”
✔ What gets a “no”
✔ What early-stage teams can do right now to improve their odds

This webinar is part of the StartSmart SEE Podcast & Webinar Series, bringing together leading voices shaping the future of deep-tech entrepreneurship in South Eastern Europe.

At the same time, applications for the StartSmart SEE Accelerator 2026 are now open and will remain open until March 6.

The program culminates at the MIT Universal AI Summit (June 30, Athens), where:
🥇 The winning team receives €10,000
🥈 Second place: €5,000
🥉 Third place: €3,000
If you're building, investing in, or supporting deep-tech ventures in the region — this conversation (and this program) is for you.

February 25 | 18:00 EET
Live on Zoom
Register here : https://lnkd.in/dMbe7Yg2

02/11/2026

Applications are OFFICIALLY OPEN — StartSmart SEE Accelerator 2026

Deep-tech founders across Southeastern Europe — this is your signal.

If you are building breakthrough technology, pushing scientific innovation forward, and aiming for global scale, this is where momentum happens.

MIT-inspired acceleration. World-class mentors. Global investor exposure. Zero equity taken.

The next wave of deep-tech champions is being built now — be part of it.

Apply now. Move fast. Build what’s next.

11/30/2025

Boston, get ready — the Greek innovation ecosystem is making its mark! 🇬🇷✨

Hellenic Innovation Network, Endeavor Greece, and the Consulate General of Greece in Boston are teaming up for a dynamic startup gathering featuring a fireside chat with George Scangos (former CEO of Vir, Biogen & Exelixis) along with spotlight presentations from five emerging startups.
A unique opportunity to gain insights and connect with leaders from the community.

🗓️ Wednesday, December 3, 2025
📍 Insurify Headquarters, 201 Broadway, 6th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139

Seats are limited — secure yours here 👉 https://www.eventbrite.fi/e/greeking-out-in-boston-co-hosted-by-endeavor-and-hin-tickets-1742266529089

11/28/2025

A Night of Greek Innovation in Boston

The Hellenic Innovation Network and Endeavor Greece are bringing Greeking Out to Boston, activating a high-caliber forum for founders, investors, and industry operators shaping the next wave of Greek tech.

Join 150+ leaders at Insurify HQ for an evening spotlighting Greece’s expanding innovation footprint across the U.S. ecosystem.

Fireside Chat
• George Scangos — Former CEO of Vir, Biogen, Exelixis
• Moderated by Simos Simeonidis, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Kos Biotechnology Partners

Founders’ Panel
• Andreas Goutopoulos, CEO & Founder, Actithera
• Daphne Psacharopoulos, Founder & CEO, Ironsides Medical
• Snejina Zacharia, Founder & CEO, Insurify
• Stavros Papadopoulos, Founder & CEO, TileDB
• Moderated by Elisa Konofagou, Founder & Head of Scientific Advisory Board, Delsona Therapeutics

📍 Insurify HQ — 201 Broadway, Cambridge, MA
🕔 5:00–8:00 PM

Secure your seat: https://lnkd.in/e-eZhkS3

11/10/2025

Boston, we’re Greeking out! 🇬🇷✨

Hellenic Innovation Network, Endeavor Greece, and the Consulate General of Greece in Boston are teaming up for a startup night featuring a fireside chat with George Scangos (former CEO of Vir, Biogen, & Exelixis) and spotlights from five startups. Come for the insights, stay for the networking!

🗓️ Wednesday, December 3, 2025
📍 Insurify Headquarters: 201 Broadway, 6th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139
🎤 Startup Event: Fireside Chat with George Scangos
Seats are limited, RSVP now 👉 https://www.eventbrite.fi/e/greeking-out-in-boston-co-hosted-by-endeavor-and-hin-tickets-1742266529089

Tag a friend who should join you!

11/06/2025

Boston, we’re Greeking out! 🇬🇷✨

Hellenic Innovation Network & Endeavor Greece are teaming up in Cambridge for a startup night featuring a fireside chat with George Scangos (former CEO of Vir, Biogen, & Exelixis) and spotlights from five startups. Come for the insights—stay for the networking!

🗓️ Wednesday, December 3, 2025
📍 Insurify Headquarters — 201 Broadway, 6th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139
🎤 Startup Event: Fireside Chat with George Scangos

Seats are limited—RSVP now 👉 https://www.eventbrite.fi/e/greeking-out-in-boston-co-hosted-by-endeavor-and-hin-tickets-1742266529089?aff=oddtdtcreator

Tag a friend who should join you!

Everything you need to know about the booming Greek Innovation Ecosystem and how to be part of the Greek Transformation movement.

04/11/2025

First Modern Panathēnea: Where Innovation Meets Legacy

Reimagining the festival that once defined Ancient Athens, Panathēnea brings together startup founders, investors, and corporate leadersacross technology, art, and business to spark game-changing collaborations.

With 20+ headline speakers, including Canva’s Melanie Perkins, Slush founder Peter Vesterbacka, and leaders from OpenAI and Microsoft, Panathēnea is set to be a landmark event for innovation.

Evenings will feature curated side events, across all of springtime Athens, hosted by top VCs and startup incubators, creating memorable experiences while blending fun and networking.

Be part of history in the making—Join here and get 60% off with the Hellenic Innovation Network exclusive “HIN60” code limited for the first 50 tickets.
https://www.panathenea.org/tickets

04/01/2025

About a year ago, we came up with the idea to host our first Hellenic Innovation Network event in Palo Alto. We reached out to Nick Arvanitidis to ask if he would share his 60-year-long story as a Greek entrepreneur in the Bay Area. Nick graciously declined, encouraging us instead to spotlight the younger generation of founders coming out of Greece and the diaspora.

With the help of Dionysis Panagiotopoulos, Partner at LDV Partners, Andreas Stavropoulos, Partner at Threshold Ventures and member of Greece’s National High Committee for AI, and the energy and drive of Tota Zoura, Director at FalconX, we were able to turn this idea into reality.

On March 20, 2025, we hosted "AI and Greece: An Emerging Innovation Destination" at the beautiful offices of Foley & Lardner LLP in Palo Alto.

We’re incredibly grateful to our panelists—Fay Christodoulou PhD, CMT (CSO at INTEGRA Biosciences), Emil Palikot (Founder of MoveUp AI), Minas Liarokapis (Founder of Acumino), and Alex Dimakis (Founder of Bespoke Labs)—for their insights and for representing the cutting edge of AI innovation connected to Greece.

Huge thanks as well to our fantastic moderators, Tota Zoura and George Panagiotakopoulos (Head of Europe & Expansion at Berkeley SkyDeck), for facilitating thoughtful, engaging discussions.

We were honored to have Grigoris Tassiopoulos, Consul General of Greece in San Francisco, open the event with warm and encouraging remarks about the growing Greece–Bay Area innovation bridge.

Finally, a heartfelt thank you to the team at Foley & Lardner LLP—Chris McKenna, David Kantaros, Meghan Needham, Kelsey Lauren Koziar, and Zhanna Sarkisova—for hosting us so generously and supporting this community effort.

04/01/2025

About a year ago, we came up with the idea to host our first Hellenic Innovation Network event in Palo Alto. We reached out to Nick Arvanitidis to ask if he would share his 60-year-long story as a Greek entrepreneur in the Bay Area. Nick graciously declined, encouraging us instead to spotlight the younger generation of founders coming out of Greece and the diaspora.

With the help of Dionysis Panagiotopoulos, Partner at LDV Partners, Andreas Stavropoulos, Partner at Threshold Ventures and member of Greece’s National High Committee for AI, and the energy and drive of Tota Zoura, Director at FalconX, we were able to turn this idea into reality.

On March 20, 2025, we hosted "AI and Greece: An Emerging Innovation Destination" at the beautiful offices of Foley & Lardner LLP in Palo Alto.

We’re incredibly grateful to our panelists—Fay Christodoulou PhD, CMT (CSO at INTEGRA Biosciences), Emil Palikot (Founder of MoveUp AI), Minas Liarokapis (Founder of Acumino), and Alex Dimakis (Founder of Bespoke Labs)—for their insights and for representing the cutting edge of AI innovation connected to Greece.

Huge thanks as well to our fantastic moderators, Tota Zoura and George Panagiotakopoulos (Head of Europe & Expansion at Berkeley SkyDeck), for facilitating thoughtful, engaging discussions.

We were honored to have Grigoris Tassiopoulos, Consul General of Greece in San Francisco, open the event with warm and encouraging remarks about the growing Greece–Bay Area innovation bridge.

Finally, a heartfelt thank you to the team at Foley & Lardner LLP—Chris McKenna, David Kantaros, Meghan Needham, Kelsey Lauren Koziar, and Zhanna Sarkisova—for hosting us so generously and supporting this community effort.

02/26/2025

Join us on March 20, 2025, for an insightful event featuring Andreas Stavropoulos, Partner at Threshold Ventures and a key figure in global innovation. Moderated by Tota Zoura of StartX, this fireside chat will delve into Greece’s emergence as an innovation hub and its pivotal role in the global AI landscape.

This will be followed by a Startup Panel, moderated by Niko Bonatsos, Managing Director at General Catalyst, showcasing the latest advancements and opportunities in the Greek tech ecosystem.

Speakers:
🔹 Fay Christodoulou PhD, CMT – CSO, Microfluidics
🔹 Emil Palikot – Founder, MoveUp AI
🔹 Minas Liarokapis – Founder, Acumino
🔹 Alex Dimakis – Founder, Bespoke Labs

Register Here: https://www.eventora.com/en/Events/AIandGreeceinPaloAlto

02/19/2025

✨ Hellenic Innovation Network’s First NYC Event – Innovation and Impact! ✨

What a fantastic kickoff for the Hellenic Innovation Network in New York City, hosted by Foley & Lardner LLP & Lardner! A huge thank you to the organizing team—Alex Tzoukas, Alexandra Choli, Ismini Drosoforidi, and Georgia Kokaraki PhD, PMP—for making it happen. Special thanks to Iphigenia Kanara, Consul General of Greece in New York, for joining us.

After an inspiring fireside chat with Stelios Papadopoulos, the audience learned about Greek-founded startups signalfusion.ai, Tinos Therapeutics, Sentinal4D, and Direct Kinetic Solutions, Everlasting Power, which exemplify the passion and creativity driving the Greek tech ecosystem.

A big thank you to the Greek tech community for coming together to support each other.

Stay tuned—more to come! 🇬🇷🚀

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02/12/2025

Join us for an engaging evening of insights, networking, and discussions at Foley & Lardner LLP in 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆. Connect with industry leaders and founders shaping the future of innovation.

𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝘁:
Dr. Stelios Papadopoulos, Chairman of the Board & Co-Founder, Exelixis, shares insights on Innovation & Impact, moderated by Alex Tzoukas (Kos Biotechnology Partners)

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻:
Moderated by Niovi Christopoulou, Investor (AI Fund), The City University of New York Professor, NYC/DC/Athens Attorney & Digital Tech Legal Expert.

Meet the Founders & Startups:
🔹 Maria K. – Founder & CEO, signalfusion.ai
🔹 Nikos Tapinos – Founder & CSO, Tinos Therapeutics
🔹 Georgia Mitsi – CEO & Co-Founder, Sentinal4D
🔹 Joanna Patsalis – Co-founder & COO, Direct Kinetic Solutions, Everlasting Power

📢 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟭𝟱
Save your spot here: https://www.eventora.com/en/Events/InnovationandImpact?fbclid=IwY2xjawIZrFlleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHQ9ozfax0O8n1QzJWFFwLXkglhc6JaV5Zo5l5hlYLi6Ldvspe2PZG1dc3Q_aem_jEkP4goUIdAZTvdKEqeR8Q