About us
We're START Vienna, a student-run non-profit connecting Vienna's most ambitious students and early-career builders with the startups and companies on the frontier of innovation.
Over the past years that's increasingly meant AI companies, and that's where this group focuses: hackathons, founder talks, hands-on workshops, and the kind of in-person events where you actually meet the people you'll start your next thing with.
We're part of the global START Network — over 1,000 alumni across Europe and LATAM, 30 years of building entrepreneurial communities at universities. In Vienna, our members come from, WU Vienna, TU Wien, University of Vienna, FH Technikum, and beyond.
What you'll find at our events:
- Real challenges from real companies, not theoretical exercises
- Hackathons with prize pools that take you seriously (10,000+ EUR)
- Direct access to founders, VCs, and tech leads from Vienna's startup scene
- A community that pushes you to actually build, not just talk about building
If you're a student, recent graduate, junior dev, designer, or early-career operator with an entrepreneurial itch, you're in the right place.
Next up: START Hack Vienna '26 — 24 hours, 100 builders, 4 case partners, June 6 and 7 at Home of Innovation.
Featured event
START Hack Vienna '26
24 hours. 4 real cases. 100 builders. One weekend that hits - apply on Luma: https://luma.com/sp3ivels
On June 6 and 7, START Hack Vienna '26 takes over Vienna. You, your laptop, your team - and four challenges from leading tech companies. Code freeze is Sunday at 14:00. Until then: build, debug, pitch, win.
Who's in:
🎙️ fonio.ai - Voice AI Infrastructure
🛡️ techbold - B2B IT & Automation
🎯 Plus two more case partners, coming soon
🛠️ Powered by Lovable and more tool partners to come
🏠 At Home of Innovation, Vienna
***
What you get:
🎯 4 real challenges from real companies, no toy problems
🧠 Live mentoring from case partners and industry experts
🛠️Premium tool access with credits from our partners
🍕 24h catering, food truck, coffee on tap
🏆 10,000+ EUR prize pool plus a Community Award and the Overall Winner trophy
🌍 A public GitHub portfolio piece - MIT-licensed, ready for your CV
***
Who should apply:
Builders, students, engineers, designers, PMs, founders, operators - junior to senior. If you ship things and want to join great people, you're in the right place.
Solo? That works, we'll match you on-site.
***
The basics:
📅 June 6-7, 2026
📍 Home of Innovation, Vienna (Arsenalstraße 11)
💸 Free
👥 Teams of 2-4
🌐 English
🎟️ ~100 builders on-site
***
How it works:
Teams pick their case preferences. We match. 24h of hacking. Each case partner picks a Track Winner. The 4 Track Winners pitch in front of an external jury of VCs, founders, and tech leads - and one of them takes home the Overall Winner trophy.
While the jury deliberates, the Community Award runs on the main stage - open mic, 2-minute pitches, live crowd voting.
***
Applications are rolling. Apply early, hear back fast.
Powered by START Vienna - Vienna's community for entrepreneurial talent. Part of the global START Network.
Upcoming events
1
START Hack Vienna '26
Home of InnoVation, Arsenalstraße 11, 1030 Wien, Vienna, AT24 hours. 4 real cases. 100 builders. One weekend that hits - apply on Luma: https://luma.com/sp3ivels
On June 6 and 7, START Hack Vienna '26 takes over Vienna. You, your laptop, your team - and four challenges from leading tech companies. Code freeze is Sunday at 14:00. Until then: build, debug, pitch, win.
Who's in:
🎙️ fonio.ai - Voice AI Infrastructure
🛡️ techbold - B2B IT & Automation
🎯 Plus two more case partners, coming soon
🛠️ Powered by Lovable and more tool partners to come
🏠 At Home of Innovation, Vienna***
What you get:
🎯 4 real challenges from real companies, no toy problems
🧠 Live mentoring from case partners and industry experts
🛠️Premium tool access with credits from our partners
🍕 24h catering, food truck, coffee on tap
🏆 10,000+ EUR prize pool plus a Community Award and the Overall Winner trophy
🌍 A public GitHub portfolio piece - MIT-licensed, ready for your CV***
Who should apply:
Builders, students, engineers, designers, PMs, founders, operators - junior to senior. If you ship things and want to join great people, you're in the right place.
Solo? That works, we'll match you on-site.***
The basics:
📅 June 6-7, 2026
📍 Home of Innovation, Vienna (Arsenalstraße 11)
💸 Free
👥 Teams of 2-4
🌐 English
🎟️ ~100 builders on-site***
How it works:
Teams pick their case preferences. We match. 24h of hacking. Each case partner picks a Track Winner. The 4 Track Winners pitch in front of an external jury of VCs, founders, and tech leads - and one of them takes home the Overall Winner trophy.
While the jury deliberates, the Community Award runs on the main stage - open mic, 2-minute pitches, live crowd voting.***
Applications are rolling. Apply early, hear back fast.
Powered by START Vienna - Vienna's community for entrepreneurial talent. Part of the global START Network.1 attendee
