Greece has pushed through the first wave of startups in IT, enabled by low barriers to entry, and now is shifting toward larger opportunities in deep tech. Commercializing university research offers the potential for greater returns, as demonstrated by top US universities, but the path is longer and less clear. Building a strong business from core technology is a massive challenge, and driving it to exit is even harder. Yorgos Koutsoyannopoulos, Co-Founder/Former CEO of Helic will discuss its formation out of the National Technical University of Athens to address the issue of  electromagnetic crosstalk caused by closer proximity of high-frequency circuits. Vic Kulkarni, Vice President at Ansys, will discuss their reasons for acquiring Helic and expanding its research and development center in Athens, with a stated goal of increasing employment over 2-3 years from 50 to 200, mostly scientists and engineers.

Speakers:

Yorgos Koutsoyannopoulos, Co-Founder/Former CEO, Helic

Vic Kulkarni, Vice President, Strategy, Ansys Electronics & Semiconductor BU

Moderator:

Dora Varvarigou, NTUA Professor (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science) and Chairwoman of the Board of the Water Utility in Athens