Silicon Valley Open Doors (SVOD) has become a leading boutique tech and investment conference in Silicon Valley since it began in 2005, offering entrepreneurs an opportunity to interact with and learn from industry leaders. In 2015, the event went global, coming to Europe for the first time in an effort to connect the Eastern European tech community with more established ecosystems.

The SVOD Europe conference allows tech leaders from Eastern Europe to connect with their counterparts from more established tech ecosystems in an attempt to help entrepreneurship to flourish in this region. The program, which kicked off with an event in April 25 that drew speakers from Silicon Valley and Europe, includes speeches from a brilliant lineup of guests, as well as a pitching competition that allows 25 startups to present their products and services to prospective investors.

The history of SVOD Europe conference began in 2005, when the well-known boutique conference Silicon Valley Open Doors (SVOD) first connected startups and entrepreneurs with high-profile investors, founders, CEOs, and other leaders in Silicon Valley. It has become one of the most successful programs of its kind, having provided a platform through which every second company to have participated has obtained funding and for leading tech, venture capital, and entrepreneurship experts to speak to audiences about the latest innovations. Past speakers include George Zachary, Charles River Ventures (Midas List, first investor in Twitter, Yammer, Shutterfly), Byron Deeter, Bessemer Venture Partners (Midas List, investor in Box, Twilio, DocuSign), Phil Libin (CEO of Evernote), Pitch Johnson, Steve Jurvetson (DFJ), Tim Draper, Esther Dyson, Matt Cohler, Max Levchin (PayPal, Yahoo!), Steve Blank, Guy Kawasaki, John Morgridge (Chairman of Cisco), Charles Giancarlo (SilverLake), Vinod Khosla, and many other amazing people.

And now SVOD has taken the concept abroad with the SVOD Europe project, which consists of a conference and series of Tech Bridges with different countries. The Tech Bridge series is designed to provide an alternative to the typical crowded tech conference by presenting a cozier atmosphere, enabling guests and entrepreneurs to more effectively network and interact.