Access that’s normally closed
Direct introductions to founders who built companies worth between €100M and €12bn like Adjust, ProGlove and SumUp, plus mentors from the Creative Destruction Lab and European Defence Tech Hub.
Two weeks. One house.
For founders building Europe’s independence.
For founders building Europe’s independence.
A hacker house for founders who'd rather build Europe's infrastructure than import it.
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00manifesto
The future belongs to those who build it.
There are founders out there who read the news about Europe and don’t feel anxious. They feel useful, and they're already building the foundations of European independence.
While everyone else debates whether Europe can build what it needs, there are founders already laying the groundwork. That’s who this Hacker House is for.
Most of the technology the continent needs for the next decade doesn't exist yet. It's half-built on the laptops of people who haven't met the operator who'd tell them what's broken, or the investor who'd fund the fix. What separates a good prototype from a deployed system is access and proximity to knowledge. That’s the gap this house closes.
So for two weeks in Tallinn, we’ll put eighteen of you under one roof and get out of the way. The programme is the work itself. You bring something real and you make it more real, surrounded by people who can tell you in an afternoon what would otherwise take a year to learn: what's been tried, and what nobody will buy.
Credentials have never shipped anything, so we don't care where you studied or who you've worked for. We care about what you've built and how fast you can build the next thing.
If you're already building something that helps Europe stand on its own, stop doing it alone in your bedroom. Bring it to the house, and leave with something the whole continent can run on.
01What this is
Eighteen builders. One Hacker House.
For two weeks, eighteen founders will live and work full-time under one roof, building the strategic infrastructure Europe still imports: sovereign compute, communications, energy and machine intelligence.
You bring a live project and meaningful progress. We bring everything else, including the people most founders spend years trying to reach: operators who built companies like Adjust (€1.2bn exit), ProGlove (€500M exit) and SumUp (€8bn valuation), alongside mentors from the Creative Destruction Lab and the European Defence Tech Hub, in the room with you.
It ends with a demo day the day before the ABCD Conference, in front of the investors and operators who back category-defining companies.
02Why Tallinn, why now
Where founders outnumber excuses.
A nation of 1.3 million built the most advanced digital state on earth. Estonia runs its government from a laptop and produces more startups and unicorns per head than almost anywhere in the world. If you want to see European self-determination in practice, it already exists in Tallinn. The house sits where the talent density is highest, and where the need for what you're building is understood without explanation.
1.3M
People running the most advanced digital state
#1
Startups and unicorns per capita in Europe
100%
On-the-ground costs covered
03Inside the house
A preview of where you’ll be spending your time
04NINE CAPABILITIES EUROPE NEEDS
Building one? Apply.
001
Sovereign, resilient communications & data links
Keeps people and organisations connected via mesh and LEO-satellite failover in under 1 second, even when primary networks fail or are disrupted.
002
GPS-independent position, navigation & timing
Tech delivering reliable positions and timing without GPS, keeping critical operations running when satellite signals are disrupted or unavailable.
003
Cyber resilience & information integrity
AI detects coordinated cyberattacks and disinformation in real time, under 5 seconds for cyber threats, under 5 minutes for information threats.
004
Sovereign Earth observation & space situational awareness
Independent satellite and multi-sensor monitoring for situational awareness, including in the Arctic and low-infrastructure regions.
005
Airspace awareness & sensor fusion
Detects and tracks unauthorised aerial activity in under 3 seconds using fused radar, optical, and RF sensors; therefore protecting critical infrastructure and airspace integrity.
006
Critical-infrastructure resilience: energy & grid
Self-healing grids and microgrids isolate faults in under 200ms, keeping power flowing through disruption or deliberate interference.
007
Resilient logistics & supply-chain continuity
AI-optimised logistics capable of keeping supply chains running with up to 30% infrastructure loss.
008
Sovereign compute & edge AI
Runs AI decision-support on infrastructure independent of foreign cloud providers, keeping data and compute sovereign.
009
Maritime & subsea autonomy / cable protection
Autonomous underwater and surface systems that monitor and protect subsea cables and pipelines.
05What you get
Everything in this house exists to move your project forward.
handshake
build
A serious workshop
3D printers, soldering stations, and the equipment you need to keep progressing on your hardware.
co_present
Mentorship & pitch training
Focused sessions and Pitch Day prep from founders who've built companies valued between €100M and €12bn.
slideshow
A Pitch Day where it counts
Pitch the day before the ABCD Conference to the investors and operators behind Europe's category-defining companies.
payments
Land with a laptop, we’ll handle the rest
Accommodation, meals and transport within Tallinn are covered.
hub
An open door into CDL and EWOR
The top three founders earn a guaranteed place in the next CDL programme. Every chosen participant is considered for the EWOR Fellowship.
06Organisers
The people building this with you.
EWOR is a fellowship for outlier founders in tech. We support the top 0.1% with up to €500,000 in funding, weekly 1:1 mentorship from unicorn founders (Adjust, ProGlove, SumUp) and bespoke, virtual-first support for each founder.
Creative Destruction Lab is a science-driven accelerator that helps founders validate their business models through customer discovery and systematic testing, with a focus on deep tech and innovation-driven companies.
EDTHEuropean
Defence
Tech Hub
Defence
Tech Hub
The European Defence Tech Hub (EDTH) is a pan-European network for defence innovation, bringing new talent into the sector and accelerating it through rapid-prototyping hackathons that bridge builders, investors, militaries, and policymakers — bottom-up, country by country.
07Supporters
FAQ
Does applying to the Hacker House count as an EWOR Fellowship application? +
The selection process is the same as the EWOR Fellowship, and every participant is considered for the Fellowship. Applying just for the Hacker House won't count against you.
When and where is it?+
9–24 September 2026, in Tallinn, Estonia. We expect you on-site and building full-time for the full two weeks.
Do I need a finished product to apply?+
No. What you need is a concrete project with real progress behind it: a prototype, a deployment, code that runs. If you're already building in one of the nine capabilities, apply. If the work doesn't exist yet, the house can't help you.
Can I apply solo, or only as a team?+
Either. If you apply as a team, only one person can take the spot in the house. Send whoever gains the most from two weeks of direct access to operators and investors. The rest of the team can visit, or keep building remotely while your housemate works the room.
What are the equity terms? Do you invest?+
There are none, and no. Once you're in Tallinn, everything is covered: accommodation, meals and logistics, with zero equity taken. You cover your own travel to Estonia. The EWOR Fellowship is a separate decision that comes later.
Is housing and food covered, or do I pay rent?+
Once you land in Estonia, everything is covered: accommodation, meals and getting around. You'll share a room with one or two other founders. Travel to Tallinn is on you, we don't offer travel grants.
What resources will I have on-site?+
Intros to operators who've built unicorns and mentors from CDL and EDTH are in the house with you. Pitch Day will put you in front of the investors behind Europe's category-defining companies. For physical products there's a hardware lab: 3D printers, soldering stations and more. Bring your prototype if you have one.
What does a typical day look like?+
Most of your time is protected for building. The exceptions are workshops and pitch training, which everyone is required to attend.
Is there a Pitch Day?+
Yes, on the 23.09., the day before the ABCD Conference, in front of the investors and operators behind category-defining companies. Pitch training runs throughout the two weeks, so you'll arrive ready.
Any questions unanswered? Send a question to [email protected]
Hacker House for European Independence
Applications close July 31.
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© 2026 EWOR | Hacker House for European Independence