HELSINKI (AP) — Al Gore has kicked off one of Europe's largest startup events in Finland, where 2,600 companies and some 1,500 investors are gathering to network and negotiate funding.

At Thursday's opening of the two-day Slush conference in Helsinki, the former U.S. vice president urged investors to look beyond short-term gains and support businesses that "make a profit in a sustainable way that does not sacrifice the future."

Finland has managed over the past five years to build a flourishing entrepreneurial scene on the legacy of Nokia's phone operations and the creation of gaming heavyweights Supercell and the Angry Birds developer Rovio. Yet the country and the wider European region have struggled to create a true global giant to compete with U.S. companies like Google or Amazon.