These past few weeks have been truly phenomenal at Plug and Play International.

With world economies becoming more and more knowledge-based, and fantastically innovative startups espousing unique technologies from talented and gutsy entrepreneurs popping up all over the globe, many of them simply deserve to be plugged into the Silicon Valley ecosystem. That is why we build international bridges at Plug and Play– to help international startups access the same resources our local startups have: from our Startup Camp and International Acceleration Program to top-notch advising and mentoring and deal flow sessions with investors and corporations.

Here at the Tech Center in Sunnyvale, we launched the German Silicon Valley Accelerator, with two German start-ups joining us now and four per quarter, adding a unique German flavor to our community. As GSVA put it, the event was not only overwhelmingly well attended, but also a great success, providing ample of business and networking opportunities for entrepreneurs, investors and corporate representatives.

In Valencia, a fantastic gathering was organized by our main man in Spain Albert Gutiérrez at the Westin Hotel. Our CEO Saeed Amidi gave stellar speech entitled “Building a Bridge between Valencia and Silicon Valley”, to an audience of more than 250 people – from entrepreneurs, tech companies, and investors to universities and various local and regional government representatives – to strengthen the knowledge-based ecosystem in Spain.

As part of PnP’s commitment to the country, Saeed also met with Valencia’s Mayor Ms. Rita Barbera who showed us possible sites of where Plug and Play España will eventually be located, right next to where the America Cup is held– the view’s not too bad from there Then, the PnP team had dinner with a number of investors, entrepreneurs as well as Maximo Buch, Valencia Region’s Finance Minister. All in all, a wonderful, productive and exciting experience para Conectar Y Jugar en España!

Next up was Finland, where Saeed and Jena, PnP’s tireless international relations manager, met representatives from the Finnish government, universities, Tekes, Nokia and Rovio Entertainment, creators of the famous Angry Birds!

On to freezing Russia, where Plug and Play received a very warm welcome at an annual event entitled “Week of Russian Business,” sponsored by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), a independent organization which consists of over 330,000 business representatives from the financial, energy, and scientific sectors throughout Russia. It is led by Alexander Shokhin, the former Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation. At the conference, Saeed represented Silicon Valley innovation and entrepreneurial spirit in meetings with the nation’s top businesspeople, federal ministers and public figures such as Prime Minister Vladimir Putin; Viktor Vekselberg, President of the Skolkovo Foundation; and Mikhail Prokhorov, a top Russian businessman and challenger in the Presidential elections next month.

As part of the conference, Plug and Play also co-hosted an event entitled “Innovative Russia – Responses to global challenges.” The day-long event was also opened by Mr. Shokhin and Magomed Musaev, President of GVA Capital, and featured 19 speakers from addressing technological solutions to global issues such as energy, job creation, and sustainable development. The event was the only one during the entire conference to feature such an eclectic group of experts from all over the world such as the US, Russia, India, and Sweden among other regions. The event was attended by 600+ major players in Russia’s VC, energy, and entrepreneurial scene, with hundreds spilling over to watch the event on large-screen monitors in the outside lobby! Saeed also spoke at other events focused on stimulating foreign investments in Russia, and was interviewed by major Russian outlets like RT TV! Check it out!

Saeed inspired great enthusiasm for Russian entrepreneurship and for Plug and Play’s growing involvement in Russian technological innovation. To this end, Plug and Play – in partnership with GVA Capital – will embark on an ambitious initiative to open 5 centers in the Russian and CIS regions. The first center will open in Moscow in the coming months!

So four awesome outcomes from four innovative countries, to bridge more international startups to our community here at Plug and Play. We look forward to receiving them.

Wait until you hear about what else the International team has in store with these bridges. But in the meantime, Danke, Gracias, Kiitos, and спасибо to all our new friends from around the world!

Stay tuned

- The Plug and Play International Team