Bridge

Connecting founders from Finland with the opportunities of Silicon Valley.

Join Bain X SILTA Event

SILTA is a program that takes top founders from Finland to the SF Bay Area for three months to immerse them into the vibrant, lively culture of the SF Bay Area. The purpose of SILTA is to enable the founders to develop their company and vision in the can-do environment of Silicon Valley.

We want to transform the humble Finnish attitude atmosphere to support taking on new, internationally ambitious ideas - to promote companies to become global from day one.

“As a young CEO I would absolutely grab any opportunity to join the SILTA program and immerse myself in the Silicon Valley ecosystem.
Spending time there will bring in numerous benefits, both predictable and completely surprising.”

Risto Siilasmaa

Founder of F-Secure & Supporter of the SILTA project

Supporting top founders to build globally successful companies.

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Follow our programs

SILTA Batch S25

March 2025 - May 2025

YCombinator W25 Prep Module

October 2024 - November 2024

SILTA Batch F24

September 2024 - November 2024

Ongoing

SILTA Batch S24

March 2024 - May 2024

Ended

SILTA S24 Deep Tech Track

March 2024 - May 2024

Ended

YCombinator S24 Prep Module

March 2024 - April 2024

Ended

YCombinator W24 Prep Module

August 2023 - September 2023

Ended

SILTA Batch S23

March 2023 - May 2023

Ended

SILTA Batch F22

September 2022 - November 2022

Ended

SILTA Batch S22

March 2022 - May 2022

Ended

SILTA Alumni in Media

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People about us

For any founder, it's very useful to learn how some of the best companies are started and scaled. Still today the bay Area has the highest concentration of experienced entrepreneurs in the world. Spending time in the Bay Area will help you to gain the skills and contacts you need to take your company off the ground. That's why I warmly recommend every new entrepreneur who has not yet spent time in the Bay Area to participate in the SILTA program.

Kristo Ovaska

Co-Founder at Smartly

SILTA was our way of doing a go-to market to the US market. We got our first US and Canadian customers which really helped our startup to confirm the market demand.

Niilo Pirttijärvi

Co-Founder at Inven, SILTA S22 participant

If you’ve ever felt like a misfit, don’t worry! The Bay Area is the place where it’s ok to think big, have big dreams and reach for the stars. In Silicon Valley the future is not something distant and abstract but something that’s being built every day. It had a profound impact on me and my thinking.

Perttu Pölönen

Inventor, Author, & Keynote Speaker

SILTA is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for early stage founders.

Patrik Holopainen

CEO, Founder at Opeton, SILTA S22 Participant

Snooping around in Silicon Valley gave me confidence to just go ahead with founding my company. In a place full of ridiculously ambitious plans, it's easier to just blend in and get cracking.

Annu Nieminen

Co-Founder, CEO at Upright Project

Surrounding yourself with talented and ambitious people is a contagious way to grow your mind. I couldn't recommend spending time abroad more and while anywhere will do you great service, the San Francisco Bay Area in particular is a hotspot for tech growth, global talent and capital.

Pia Henrietta Moon

Co-Founder, CEO at Carbo Culture

Building Meru Health in Silicon Valley and in the US in general has been a uniquely positive and exciting experience. We've been able to get to work with the absolute best people and partners in our industry (Y Combinator, Stanford, Harvard) and we've learned so much from other founders and other world leading digital health companies.

Kristian Ranta

Co-Founder, CEO at Meru Health

Silicon Valley is a wonderland that opens your mind to unlimited opportunities and energy.

Riko Nyberg

AI at NREP, ex-Apple

My experiences from the time I spent in the Bay Area opened my eyes to a whole new world of opportunities that I couldn't have dream of before.

Nasim Selmani

Founding Partner, DEI Consultant at deidei

For anyone curious and entrepreneurial-minded, I can warmly recommend spending time in Silicon Valley. It's a place full of exciting opportunities and spending time there might open up some new adventures and perspectives that shape your career - or even lead to founding your own company.

Katja Toropainen

Co-Founder, CEO at Inklusiiv

Silicon Valley is nothing more than a focal point of ambitious people. You can do it.

Jaakko Rauhala

Co-Founder, CEO at Kapacity.io

Our Partners

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Supported by

  • Kristian Ranta, CEO & Founder at Meru Health
  • Ilkka Paananen, CEO & Co-Founder at Supercell
  • Risto Siilasmaa, Co-Founder at F-Secure
  • Kristo Ovaska, Founder of Smartly.io
  • Will Cardwell, Partner at Courage VC