The Slovenian Startup of the Year 2026 is HeroLabs with its MooHero smart collars for cows. The collars track temperature and allow for early disease detection. The accompanying app also communicates with existing tools such as milking robots and feeders.

The runners-up in the competition were young companies Parakeet AI, RealTracing, WorldGame, and Flux Performance. Parakeet AI developed a real-time AI-based job interview assistant. RealTracing is an AI-powered digital platform that collects and enriches data on current and upcoming construction projects to increase transparency and insight in the construction industry. WorldGame develops simple, fun, and addictive board and card games for a broad audience. The games are sold via Amazon and available in several languages. Flux Performance is dedicated to revolutionizing the off-road motorcycle industry with electric motorcycles that offer superior performance.

The annual competition is organised by Start:up Slovenija with the support of the government. In May, the SPIRIT Slovenia Business Development Agency launched a searchable database which currently contains key data on 77 local startup companies. The agency also organises presentations of Slovenian startup companies at various international events, including the Startup Grind Global Conference in Silicon Valley, ViennaUP in Vienna, Web Summit in Lisbon, and Slush in Helsinki.