 important than explosive growth. Now perhaps more than ever, startups need to be built from the first principles. And founders should prepare themselves for the long haul, because the truth is that it takes persistence to build a company that lasts. However, rarely has a stagnant period felt this exciting. Across sectors, fundamental to human progress, all the way from sustainable energy to AI, we're suddenly able to build things that we couldn't even imagine for most of human history. But what's most important is that we didn't reach this point by coincidence, as it takes persistence to reach a technological breakthrough. We're convinced that this decade will be viewed as pivotal in humanity's efforts to reimagine the way we live, work, and interact with nature, technology, and each other. For that, we need a society at large to work together for the betterment of all of us, because ultimately, it takes persistence to change the world. That's why we gathered the 13,000 of you to celebrate over the next few days here in Helsinki, entrepreneurial grit, and what it takes to build a world-changing company. Look around. You're surrounded by 5,000 startup founders and operators. These are the people who dare to dream big and build the future we want to see. To every single founder in the audience, you are our most important customers, and we worked really hard to make this event a seven-star experience for you. We sincerely hope you enjoy it. In addition, we're joined by 3,000 investors, managing a combined total of more than $3 trillion in assets. That makes this the largest gathering of venture capital on the planet. In this tiny city up north, what's more, we're about to break a record together. You have booked more than 20,000 meetings with each other through our matchmaking tool. That means more than 1,000 meetings taking place every hour. It's hard to imagine what else the ecosystem needs more at this very moment. In addition to connections, slush is about advice. We believe that those who have built iconic companies provide the most valuable learnings to aspiring and early-stage founders. That is why we have gone above and beyond to bring some of the most successful company builders in the world to share their hard-earned advice with you. No matter the topic, we promise to deliver insights and concrete advice that you can put into practice the moment that you're back at the office. Something that might surprise many of you is that slush is an offer of profit led by students and reason graduates. Moreover, our event is put together by 1,600 volunteers who are taking their very first steps in the ecosystem. In fact, all three of us here... In fact, all three of us here on stage started our slush journey as volunteers. So I know exactly how exciting this moment feels for you. To every single volunteer in a room, we want to say thank you. Let's give a huge round of applause to our volunteers. We've gathered here for Slush 2023, a celebration of entrepreneurial growth and building to last. With this event, we aim to transform your idea of what's possible and invite you to a community where persistence is perceived as a virtue and no dream is too big but needed to chase the world. The beauty of events lies in the fact that they only exist for a very brief moment. That's why every minute counts. So make sure to make the most out of it. We're beyond excited to have all of you here. Welcome to Helsinki and Slush 2023.