The 12th edition of one of Europe’s oldest startup events is happening on May 7-8 in Valletta. In addition to the usual pitch competition and investor matchmaking, this year’s agenda features a media panel with founders and editors from some of Europe’s top tech publications.
While most startup founders understand the need for press coverage, far fewer know how to achieve it. The gap between “we sent a press release” and “a journalist wrote about us” is where many well-funded and well-constructed companies quietly vanish from public attention.
The EU-Startups Summit, returning to Valletta, Malta, for its 12th edition on May 7-8, is directly addressing this gap with a media panel titled: “The Startup Media Landscape, PR Tips & Tricks.”
The event, expected to draw around 2,500 founders, investors, and startup ecosystem leaders to the Mediterranean Conference Centre, has established itself as one of Europe’s key gathering points for early-stage companies and their financiers.
Previous editions have attracted unicorn founders, prime ministers, and hundreds of investors seeking opportunities beyond London and Berlin. This year’s speaker lineup includes over 80 participants, featuring keynotes, fireside chats, and an investor showcase where 15 venture capital firms present their focus areas each day.
The media panel unites three figures who collectively cover much of the European startup press landscape.
Akansha Dimri, the founder and editor-in-chief of Tech Funding News, has over 15 years’ experience reporting on venture capital and emerging technology across Europe, the US, and Asia, previously leading editorial teams at UKTN and Silicon Canals.
Thomas Ohr started EU-Startups.com in 2010, when European startup coverage was niche, and has spent over a decade transforming it into a widely-read platform while organizing this summit.
The third panellist is Alexandru Stan, CEO of TNW, co-founder of Tekpon, a software discovery and review platform, and an active technology venture investor.
The pitch competition remains a central feature of the event. Out of over 1,500 startup applications, 15 early-stage companies will take the main stage, competing for a prize package worth over €700,000. Past editions have used the competition as a launchpad, with several alumni securing significant follow-up funding, partly due to the visibility the event offers.
The venue, the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta, is a 16th-century former hospital and Malta’s main conference facility for decades. The evening program on both days transitions to the rooftop terrace overlooking Valletta’s Grand Harbour.
Malta Enterprise, the island’s economic development agency, sponsors the event, part of the government’s broader effort to make the country a hub for European tech businesses and talent.
The media panel highlights a genuine tension in the European startup ecosystem: European founders often find that coverage skews towards the largest markets and most-funded rounds, complicating visibility for earlier-stage companies outside London, Berlin, Paris, and Stockholm.
Whether practical advice from journalists can significantly change this dynamic is uncertain. However, the fact that a summit of this magnitude prioritizes media literacy over investor access signals where European founders perceive the friction.
Disclosure: Alexandru Stan, CEO of TNW, is a panelist at the EU Startups Summit 2026. This article was written and edited independently of his participation.