At the closing event of the Slovenian Startup of the Year 2026 selection, which took place yesterday at the SiTi Theater in Ljubljana, the title of Slovenian Startup of the Year 2026 was won by the startup HeroLabs with the solution MooHero.
The award has been presented for the nineteenth consecutive year by the Start:up Slovenia initiative in cooperation with the Slovene Enterprise Fund, the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport, and other stakeholders of the Slovenian startup ecosystem.
The winning solution MooHero digitalizes agriculture with smart collars for cows that monitor animal health and behavior, enabling farmers to make faster and better decisions. The system also includes an application for herd management and monitoring reproductive events, while a significant advantage is the connection to the central Govedo.si database, which reduces administrative burdens for farmers.
HeroLabs has already equipped more than 5,700 cows with its solutions. After its successful breakthrough in the Slovenian market, it is also expanding to foreign markets, including Italy, Austria, and Croatia.
Five startups were included in this year’s final selection: Flux Performance, MooHero, ParakeetAI, Realtracing, and The World Game. The commission evaluated the candidates based on the product’s market success, investments acquired, team quality, and potential for rapid growth in international markets.
The Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport supports the development of innovative entrepreneurship, startups, and companies with high growth potential through various programs and instruments. The goal of the support is to strengthen the competitiveness of the Slovenian economy, develop new technologies and services, and create an encouraging environment for entrepreneurial ideas with global potential.
The award was presented to the winning team by the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr. Nataša Pirc Musar, who emphasized on this occasion: ‘The Slovenian Start-up of the Year award represents an encouragement and inspiration for a new generation of Slovenian entrepreneurship, which has the potential for global growth. With vision, good ideas, and perseverance, it is possible to set new standards of excellence. Therefore, my encouragement: be brave, start-upers. We can reach for the stars.’
The Slovenian Start-up of the Year selection is considered one of the most important awards in the Slovenian startup ecosystem and promotes the development of innovative companies with high potential for growth in global markets.
Author: Marko Pigac