Access that’s normally closed
Direct introductions to operators who built Adjust, ProGlove and SumUp, plus mentors from the Creative Destruction Lab and EDTH.
Two weeks. One house.
For founders rebuilding Europe’s independence.
For founders rebuilding Europe’s independence.
A hacker house for founders building the strategic infrastructure Europe can’t afford to keep outsourcing.
—
The ones who build before they’re asked.
There’s a kind of founder who reads the news about Europe and doesn’t feel anxious. They feel useful. They want to build the foundations of European independence.
While everyone else debates whether Europe can build its own foundations, they’re already deeply committed to something that does. That’s who this is for.
Most of the technology Europe needs for the next decade doesn’t exist yet. It’s half-built on the laptops of people who haven’t yet met the operator who’d tell them what’s actually broken, or the investor who’d fund the fix. The gap between a good prototype and a deployed system isn’t skills. It’s access, focus, and proximity to the truth. That’s the gap this house closes.
So for two weeks in Tallinn, we put eighteen of you under one roof. No curriculum to sit through. No theory. 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 works in practice, what’s been tried, what nobody will buy.
Credentials don’t ship. Teams do. We don’t care where you studied or who you’ve worked for. We care what you’ve made and how fast you can make the next thing. If your CV is thin but your work is undeniable, you’re exactly who we’re looking for.
If you’re already building something that helps Europe stand on its own, you shouldn’t be doing it alone in your bedroom. Come build it in the house, so it can be deployed and scaled across our entire continent.
01What this is
Eighteen builders. Two weeks. One house.
Eighteen founders move into one house in Tallinn and work full-time for two weeks on the strategic infrastructure Europe still imports — sovereign compute, communications, energy, and machine intelligence.
You bring a real project and meaningful progress. We bring the room, the equipment, and the people most founders spend years trying to reach: operators who built unicorns like Adjust, ProGlove and SumUp, with 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. Not an accelerator. Not a course. A focused place to build.
02Why Tallinn, why now
The natural home of unicorn founders.
A nation of 1.3 million built the most advanced digital state on earth — e-residency, a government you can run from a laptop, more startups and unicorns per head than almost anywhere, and one of Europe’s most active venture ecosystems. To see European self-determination in practice, you start in Tallinn. The house sits where the talent density is — and the need is obvious.
1.3M
People running the most advanced digital state
#1
Startups and unicorns per capita in Europe
100%
On-the-ground costs covered once you land
03Inside the house
Two weeks, on the ground.
04if you’re working on this, this hacker house is for you…
Nine capabilities.
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
Delivers reliable position 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, 5 minutes for information threats.
004
Sovereign Earth observation & space situational awareness
Independent satellite and multi-sensor monitoring for situational awareness, including in 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 – 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 keeps supply chains running even with 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 pointed at the build.
handshake
build
A serious workshop
3D printers, CNC tools, soldering stations, and the equipment you need to keep moving on your hardware.
co_present
Mentorship & pitch training
Focused sessions and demo-day prep with founders and operators who have done it before.
slideshow
A demo day that matters
Pitch the day before the ABCD Conference to the investors and operators who back category-defining companies.
payments
Everything covered on the ground
Once you land, accommodation, food, transport, and the rest are on us.
hub
A shot at what’s next
The best builders get a guaranteed spot at the next CDL cohort, and may be invited to join the EWOR Fellowship.
06Organisers
The people building this with you.
CREATIVE DESTRUCTIONLAB
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.
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.
EDTHEuropean
Defence
Tech Hub
Defence
Tech Hub
The European Defence Tech Hub (EDTH) is a pan-European network for defense 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.
Common questions.
Am I applying to the EWOR Fellowship when I apply?+
The application and selection process is the same as the EWOR Fellowship, and people in the house can be offered a place in it. You’re also welcome to apply purely to join the hacker house — that’s a complete reason to be here, and it never counts 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, but you need a concrete project and significant progress toward it — a prototype, a deployment, code that runs. You should already be building in one of the nine capabilities. Don’t apply without real work to show.
Can I apply solo, or only as a team?+
Either. If you apply as a team, only one person joins the house — send whoever can move the company furthest by talking to operators, mentors, and investors. The rest can visit or work remotely alongside.
What are the equity terms? Do you invest?+
The hacker house is fully paid for. We charge zero equity and invest no money as part of it. A place in the EWOR Fellowship, if offered later, might involve investment.
Is housing and food covered, or do I pay rent?+
Once you land in Estonia, we cover accommodation, food, transport, and everything else. Comfortable rooms, two or three beds. Getting there is on you — we don’t offer travel grants.
What resources will I have on-site?+
Introductions to operators who’ve built unicorns, mentors from our partner labs and networks, and investors who back category-defining companies. Plus 3D printers, CNC tools, soldering stations, and other equipment for your hardware. Bring your prototype if you have one.
What does a typical day look like?+
Most of your time is protected for building, alongside eighteen ambitious founders. We run several workshops and pitch-training sessions we expect you to attend.
Is there a demo day?+
Yes — the day before the ABCD Conference, attended by the investors, operators, and founders who back and build category-defining companies from around the world. We train for it throughout the two weeks.
Any questions unanswered? Send a question to [email protected]
© 2026 EWOR | Hacker House for European Independence