Lisbon, Nov. 11, 2024 (Lusa) - Web Summit has announced that the event which kicks off on Monday in Lisbon has "officially sold out" with more than 70,000 attendees and a "record" 3,000 exhibiting companies, 1,000 investors and 2,000 global media.
On today's opening night, the highlights of the event include the likes of Pharrell Williams, Grammy winner, musician, filmmaker and philanthropist, and creative director of menswear at Louis Vuitton, who will be talking to Visa's CMO (chief marketing officer), Frank Cooper III, about commerce and creativity.
According to the organisers, 160 countries are represented at the technology summit.
In total, there are around 300 employees and 6,000 volunteers and staff linked to the construction of the event spaces.
The Web Summit "is welcoming more startups than ever before, registering a 15% increase since the record of 2,608 startups in 2023".
In addition to the speakers, the tech summit brings together "a record number of 3,000 exhibiting companies, 1,200 of them founded by women, and 500 of which participated through the Impact programme, for startups that are aligned with the UN's sustainable development goals.
The 1,000 investors from companies such as Northzone, Seven Seven Six, Qatar Investment Authority, 500 Global, Khosla Ventures will "connect with the largest and most diverse group of early-stage startups in the world" and host thousands of meetings as well as mentoring sessions.
A new report on Web Summit x Crunchbase funding shows that "US$60.6 billion was raised by Web Summit 2023 companies and US$755 million went to participants in the Web Summit startup programme.
Startups at the Web Summit obtained "an average of US$5.5 million in annual funding, far exceeding the industry average of US$3.3 million", says the organisation.
The event will host 60 business delegations from 40 countries.
Germany's delegation will include 80 startups and will include Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck. Ukraine will present 24 startups, Qatar four startups, Brazil will bring 80 startups, while Serbia will host 24 startups Finally, 36 Irish startups will represent technological innovation at the Web Summit 2024 in Lisbon.
ALU/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
