Elevon in New York: What We Learned About Scaling AI in the U.S.

When we landed in New York as founders of Elevon, we did not come as observers. We came to test our assumptions.

Together with Martin Horváth and Martin Kadlec, we represented Elevon at the Slovak Accelerator Program 2026 in New York, organized with the support of SOSA. The goal was simple but ambitious: understand what it really takes to scale an AI company in the U.S. market and validate how our AI Agent software for banks and telcos fits into this ecosystem.

What we found was clarity.

New York Is Not Just a City. It's a Gateway.

NYC is often described as a bridge between Europe and the U.S. After this experience, we understand why.

The city combines:

• A $2.1T economic ecosystem
• 1,000+ tech investment firms
• 100+ universities
• 120+ AI-focused startups
• 300,000 SMBs and 40+ Fortune 500 headquarters

It is dense, fast, direct and unapologetically ambitious. The business culture is punctual, formal and efficient. If you are late, blame the subway, but only once.

More importantly, NYC is a decision-maker region. If you want to win the U.S., you focus on where decisions are made, not where it is comfortable.

The U.S. Market Is Bigger. But It Is Not Easier.

One of the strongest insights for us was this: the U.S. is not one market.

It is fragmented by states, regulations and buyer expectations. CAC is higher. Competition is denser. Product-market fit is not optional. It is survival.

At the same time, the upside is undeniable:

• Average contract values are roughly 50 percent higher than in the EU
• Sales cycles can be 30 percent faster
• TAM can be multiple times larger

The message was consistent across sessions: Do not move to the U.S. because it sounds big. Move because your ICP and painkiller are clear.

"ICP plus painkiller. That formula appeared again and again in our notes."

Face-to-Face Still Wins

In a world obsessed with remote everything, this was refreshing.

Face-to-face is critical. Local presence is critical. Relationships open doors.

At J.P. Morgan's sessions, one message stood out: the U.S. rewards visibility and credibility. Build it on three levels:

• Personal
• Team
• Company

Start with media, interviews and a strong founder story. Business is human to human.

As founders, this resonated deeply with us. Technology matters. AI architecture matters. But in the end, trust scales companies.

Legal Structure Is Strategy

Expanding to the U.S. is not just about sales. It is about infrastructure.

We discussed entity structures, governance and credibility. Most companies register in Delaware. Investors and enterprise customers expect professional structure. Governance and documentation signal trust.

Legal setup is not admin. It is positioning.

At Elevon, where we focus on governed and production-grade AI, this alignment between legal structure and operational governance felt natural. Trust is not marketing. It is architecture.

Sales in the U.S.: Sell Value, Not Features

The strongest pattern across founders and mentors was clear:

"Sell incremental value. Always."

U.S. buyers do not buy technology. They buy outcomes. They expect short activation times. They want to see value quickly. Two weeks to implementation is not unrealistic in certain contexts.

Another hard truth: Do not offer free pilots. Offer paid PoCs.

That discipline filters seriousness on both sides.

For us, this reinforces how we position Elevon Platform. AI must run in real workflows. It must create measurable ROI. Otherwise, it is experimentation, not transformation.

Venture Capital Is Resetting

The U.S. VC landscape is recalibrating.

AI represents around 17 percent of all deals and 27 percent of total invested capital. At the same time, valuations are under pressure, down rounds are more common, and raising takes longer.

The advice was pragmatic:

• Be Delaware C-Corp ready
• Raise on milestones
• Assume your first deal must be safe and structured

For founders, the message is simple. Discipline wins. Narrative wins. Credibility wins.

The Bigger Reflection: Strategy Is Being Proactive

On the very first pages of our notes, one sentence stood out:

"Strategy is making you proactive, not reactive."

New York forces clarity. It forces you to define your long-term vision, align resources and make deliberate decisions.

For Elevon, this trip was not about symbolic presence. It was about sharpening our U.S. strategy in three pillars:

• Sales
• Product
• Legal

We left New York with stronger conviction that governed, production-grade AI for enterprise has a clear place in the U.S. market. But conviction is not enough.

"Test. Validate. Make a move."

Proud to Represent Slovakia

Beyond the strategy sessions and investor meetings, one moment stood out.

At the Consulate, Slovak founders across software, AI, healthcare, aerospace and data platforms presented global ambitions with confidence. The energy in the room proved that Slovakia may be geographically small, but it consistently produces world-class talent.

We are grateful to SOSA for its leadership, as well as to SARIO, the Slovak Embassy in the U.S., and all mentors and judges who contributed to this program.

The Slovak professional community abroad is strong because it collaborates.

And collaboration scales.

What's Next for Elevon

For us as founders, New York was not the end of a program. It was the beginning of a more focused U.S. execution.

We are doubling down on:

• Clear ICP definition
• Selling measurable value
• Local partnerships and presence
• Governance-first AI infrastructure

Because scaling AI in the U.S. is not about hype.

It is about trust, visibility and execution.

And we are ready to build.