01 / CYBER
Protect connected vessels.
Investigate OT cybersecurity and how disruption can spread across vessel systems.
Exceptional people. Consequential work.
Build what
matters.
Europe’s exceptional builders, industrial leaders and capital. Brought together to turn ambition into companies and capabilities that matter.
NEXT EVENT · SAN FRANCISCO
16–18 October 2026 · Maritime dual-use
Admission by selection. Every application is reviewed manually.
WHY SILICON MOUNTAIN
Silicon Valley’s drive.
Europe’s next chapter.
We’re bringing the conditions behind Silicon Valley’s success to Europe: exceptional talent, ambitious companies, research and capital, building together from the ground up.
Hackathons start the work. Venture and Scouting help take it further. The ambition: enduring companies and a stronger, more resilient Europe.
Europe has built extraordinary things together. Let’s build what comes next.
NEXT EVENT / SAN FRANCISCO / 16–18 OCTOBER 2026
The next generation of ships needs your code.
48 hours. Real maritime challenges. A room of people ready to build.
Bring your skills in software, AI, cyber or engineering to the Fincantieri Maritime Dual-Use Hackathon. Turn an industrial problem into a working prototype, with a team you build alongside.
Co-organised by Silicon Mountain, Fincantieri and Mind the Bridge.
02 / OPTIMISATION
Find a better route.
Explore piping layouts that meet engineering constraints and make better use of space.
03 / SOFTWARE
Make vessels adaptable.
Prototype software-defined capabilities for the next generation of maritime operations.
Co-organised with
Confirmed San Francisco partners
THE FLAGSHIP / TURIN / Q4 2026 · DATES ANNOUNCED SOON
Space. 48 hours.
Real challenges.
Work on operator-defined space challenges with builders who want to take their ideas further.
Venture supports future founders. Opt-in Scouting helps builders explore employment. Selected Venture teams can continue through six weeks of development with a challenge partner, working towards a pilot proposal.
Turin partners
More partners are coming.
All-Ways Group and General Catalyst are our first announced partners. More names, challenge briefs and participation details will follow.
CHALLENGE / 01
LOCKED
BRIEF ANNOUNCED SOON
CHALLENGE / 02
LOCKED
BRIEF ANNOUNCED SOON
CHALLENGE / 03
LOCKED
BRIEF ANNOUNCED SOON
BEYOND THE WEEKEND / THE TURIN PATHWAYS
The event is the beginning.
Come for what follows.
Build a company. Join one that matters. Partners help turn that ambition into opportunities. Arrive ready to pursue what comes after the demo; the scope of further work is agreed separately.
01 / VENTURE
For future founders.
Start with a real customer problem and a team capable of solving it. Use the event to demonstrate a first prototype and test how you work together.
- Develop with the operator. Selected Turin teams can continue through six weeks of acceleration with a challenge partner. Silicon Mountain coordinates weekly milestones and a contact on each side.
- Scope a pilot. Work towards a proposal with the scope, data needs and success criteria an industrial partner can evaluate.
- Build the company. When the team and opportunity are ready, explore company formation and introductions to relevant industrial and investment partners.
02 / SCOUTING
For exceptional careers.
Let relevant employers see how you build, solve problems and collaborate under real constraints. Your work becomes the starting point for a deeper conversation.
- Demonstrate your ability. Build alongside operators and peers. Show the judgment, technical skill and commitment behind the result.
- Choose to be considered. Scouting is opt-in. Profiles are shared with relevant hiring partners only with the participant’s consent.
- Meet the right team. Where the agreed partnership includes hiring support, Silicon Mountain helps coordinate shortlists and interviews with the partner’s HR team.
Continuation is selective and edition-specific. Turin’s six-week Venture programme does not automatically apply to San Francisco. Industrial partners decide on pilots, investors decide on funding and employers decide on hiring.
WHO WE BRING TOGETHER
One room.
Seven essential contributions.
Breakthrough companies need more than brilliant technology. They need customers, knowledge, people and capital working together.
Primes & OEMs
Industrial customers: the people who own the problem, evaluate the work and can take a pilot forward.
Government & institutions
The people who understand procurement, certification and the public instruments that help technology reach use.
Universities & research hubs
Researchers, laboratories and exceptional emerging talent, with knowledge teams can build on.
Strategic-industry scaleups
Founders and operators who have taken technology into the field, and can become partners or employers.
Specialist SMEs
Deep technical expertise, manufacturing knowledge and the supply-chain capabilities a prototype needs to progress.
VCs & angel investors
Investors who can understand the team, the technology and the customer in the same conversation.
Exceptional builders
Engineers, researchers, hackers and future founders selected for their ability to make difficult things work.
These are the roles we convene across Silicon Mountain. Confirmed organisations for each edition are listed with that event.
PAST EVENT / ROME / 12–14 JUNE 2026
Built in Rome.
Made to go further.
The Maritime Security Hackathon brought builders and industrial operators into the same room, with Fincantieri and Talent Garden.
70+Participants
5Working MVPs
48hTo build
Winner Lares Technologies demonstrated coordination of manned and unmanned vehicles across underwater, surface and aerial domains. EchoLock received a special mention.
FIELD NOTES / ROME, JUNE 2026
ROME · 12–14 JUNE 2026
ROME · 12–14 JUNE 2026
ROME · 12–14 JUNE 2026
ROME · 12–14 JUNE 2026
ROME · 12–14 JUNE 2026
ROME / PARTNERS
With contributions from AgorAI · Chapeau · FORG3D · Mirai · Ray Systems · Talent Garden
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Before you join us.
Something else on your mind? Ask us directly.
Joining an event
How do I get a place in San Francisco?
Apply on Luma and show us what you can build. We read every application ourselves and select for skill, contribution and fit with the challenges. The organisers will confirm whether you have a place.
What are you looking for in a builder?
Strong practical skills and work you can show us. Software, AI, embedded systems, cyber, robotics, CAD, optimisation and prototyping all belong here. Maritime experience helps, but isn’t required. Bring curiosity, the ability to work with others and a reason to keep building after Sunday.
Do I need to bring a team?
No. Apply on your own or with people you already build with. You can meet collaborators at the event. Selected participants will receive the final team arrangements from the organisers.
When and where is San Francisco?
16–18 October 2026 at Mind the Bridge, 450 Townsend Street, San Francisco. We start at 4:30pm on Friday and finish at 4:30pm on Sunday, Pacific daylight time.
What should I budget for?
The SF application page lists a $20 deposit, refunded when you attend. You’ll cover your own travel and accommodation. Check Luma and the event terms for the current details before making plans.
Can I apply for Turin yet?
Not yet. Our space flagship is planned for Q4 2026; dates, venue and challenge briefs will be announced soon. Tell us what you build if you’d like to discuss fit in the meantime.
Beyond the weekend
What happens after the demo?
That depends on what you want to build next. Venture is for future founders; opt-in Scouting connects builders with technical career opportunities. Selected Turin Venture teams can continue through six weeks of development towards a pilot proposal. SF follow-up is arranged separately. Explore both pathways.
Who owns what we build?
The answer is in each event’s Participant Terms and challenge agreements, which cover ownership, licences and use of results. Ask us for the terms before you accept your place. We’ll point you to the right documents and help clarify any questions.
Becoming a partner
What makes a good Silicon Mountain partner?
A meaningful industrial problem, deep expertise and people who can help promising work progress. We look for partners who raise the level of the room and stay involved beyond the event. Tell us what your organisation can contribute and what you want to achieve.
How do we start?
Use our partnership form to introduce your company and the problem you’re working on. We’ll review the fit and discuss a practical scope together: the challenge, your team’s involvement, expected outputs and commercial terms.