Web Summit 2026 is bringing the world to Lisbon, with 70,003 attendees from 164 countries, making this its most international edition yet. The event has also broken its investor attendance record for the second consecutive year, welcoming 1,943 investors.



The tickets to the 2026 edition of Web Summit, in Lisbon, sold out last week, closing at 70,003 following strong demand for exhibition space from partners.&nbsp;



More than 10,000 startups will attend Web Summit, while the sold-out exhibition floor will feature 3,052 companies from 110 countries, alongside major partners from some of the world’s largest technology giants, Apple, Meta, Google, and Intel.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-windows-into-the-world">Windows into the world</h2>



Web Summit has always been a window into the future, and that future is being built in countries outside of the United States. Governments from Brazil, China, Qatar, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovenia, South Korea, and more are sending trade delegations to promote their domestic tech talent and expand global trade links.&nbsp;



“Welcome to the most global Web Summit ever. We are joined by attendees from 164 countries, more than ever before”, said Web Summit founder and CEO Paddy Cosgrave at Opening Night. “Brazil, like every country in the global south, continues to grow its presence here and that growth is reflected in this Web Summit… more startups are coming from São Paulo than Paris.”



“This year has, without a doubt, the most important lineup of technology speakers we ever had. And they are all from China. Because Chinese companies are building more of our shared Future than companies from anywhere else.&nbsp;And we should open our eyes to that future”, continued Web Summit founder and CEO Paddy Cosgrave.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="799" height="533" src="https://websummit.com/wp-media/2026/11/55643340703_8bf796f381_c.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-102505" srcset="https://websummit.com/wp-media/2026/11/BnVt3W4y-55643340703_8bf796f381_c-300x200.jpg 300w, https://websummit.com/wp-media/2026/11/55643340703_8bf796f381_c-768x512.jpg 768w, https://websummit.com/wp-media/2026/11/55643340703_8bf796f381_c.jpg 799w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 799px) 100vw, 799px" /></figure>



Web Summit 2026’s opening night featured dancing humanoid robots from Chinese company AgiBot and flying car technology from Xpeng AeroHT.



Speaking on Web Summit’s host country, Web Summit CEO also highlighted the record number of Portuguese startups: “This year we have the largest number of Portuguese startups at Web Summit ever. This speaks to the amazing rise of Portugal over the last 10 years”, said Paddy Cosgrave.



Despite a challenging fundraising environment for many early-stage companies in Europe, startups are showing up in force at Web Summit 2026. Portugal and Ireland are seeing record participation, with 350 Portuguese startups and 115 Irish startups, the highest number from Ireland since Web Summit moved to Lisbon.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="799" height="504" src="https://websummit.com/wp-media/2026/11/55643724500_eaee33529a_c.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-102506" srcset="https://websummit.com/wp-media/2026/11/5peIeXgg-55643724500_eaee33529a_c-300x189.jpg 300w, https://websummit.com/wp-media/2026/11/55643724500_eaee33529a_c-768x484.jpg 768w, https://websummit.com/wp-media/2026/11/55643724500_eaee33529a_c.jpg 799w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 799px) 100vw, 799px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-web-summit-effect-on-portugal">The Web Summit effect on Portugal</h2>



The impact of hosting Web Summit in Lisbon goes well beyond the four days of the event. A <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WDjoUk_w8O-Ft8bHIjMWk78qgOCwswk2/view">new report by EY</a> found that Web Summit has contributed nearly €2.5 billion to the Portuguese economy over the past decade, around €250 million a year.



The report also highlighted the lasting benefits for Portuguese startups exhibiting at the event, which were more likely to grow their revenue and create jobs. Since Web Summit first came to Lisbon in 2016, the number of Portuguese startups has doubled, while their combined annual turnover has grown from €1.23 billion to €2.85 billion.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-record-number-of-investors-nbsp">Record number of investors&nbsp;</h2>



The record investor turnout includes Accel, Bessemer Venture Partners, BlackRock, TPG, Union Square Ventures, Index Ventures, Amino Capital, Atomico, the Qatar Investment Authority and Tencent.



New data from PitchBook highlights the global reach of investors attending Web Summit 2026. Investors attending Web Summit have participated in 60% of global VC deal value and 73% of US VC deal value in 2026, based on data through September 30.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-china-shares-glimpse-into-the-future">China shares glimpse into the future</h2>



China&#8217;s growing influence in AI and robotics will be a major theme at Web Summit 2026, which brings together 960 speakers from around the world, including tech leaders from China, Europe and the US.



The event will welcome its largest-ever Chinese delegation, with speakers including Unitree, one of China’s leading humanoid robotics companies, represented by co-founder<a href="https://websummit.com/attendees/lis26/4dfde31c-9ab3-4585-8b31-6241fd2d918e/li-chen/"> Li Chen</a>; Tencent&#8217;s chief investment and strategy officer (EMEA) <a href="https://websummit.com/attendees/lis26/c2b63f4a-62e0-47c2-883d-774f845bc93c/ling-ge/">Ling Ge</a>; Xiaomi CMO<a href="https://websummit.com/attendees/lis26/fb73ca3a-deb2-4ea3-b4f4-66ec9649181e/fei-xu/"> Fei Xu</a>; ModelBest CEO <a href="https://websummit.com/attendees/lis26/4a6b2860-0655-4181-8e57-9e9a3c268b52/dahai-li/">Dahai Li</a>, whose company develops AI models; and Pony.ai co-founder<a href="https://websummit.com/attendees/lis26/057bf130-ee75-424c-adce-f2edd937e037/leo-haojun-wang/"> Leo Haojun Wang</a>, who is a leader in autonomous driving.



Speakers also include <a href="https://websummit.com/attendees/lis26/6357156f-d2fe-44c3-ad89-00f2e692fa23/henna-virkkunen/">Henna Virkkunen</a>, the European Commission&#8217;s executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy; Reddit COO <a href="https://websummit.com/attendees/lis26/a1937d02-413d-4bf4-958d-d0c07f46c4e0/jen-wong/">Jen Wong</a>; and Writer co-founder and CEO <a href="https://websummit.com/attendees/lis26/23d66a8b-44f2-48a8-a77c-e51ebf200180/may-habib/">May Habib</a>. They&#8217;ll be joined by Arm CEO<a href="https://websummit.com/attendees/lis26/0ef31cf7-5dcc-4aa5-ba45-71ee4b11238e/rene-haas/"> Rene Haas </a>and Cloudflare co-founder and CEO <a href="https://websummit.com/attendees/lis26/34a6f338-b5be-4983-935e-f6eeffb20b2a/matthew-prince/">Matthew Prince.</a>



Robotics will also be a major focus, with humanoid robots from <a href="https://websummit.com/attendees/lis26/dfb44138-a865-48d1-8c1e-857dfa87cb2e/agibot-a3/">Agibot</a>, <a href="https://websummit.com/attendees/lis26/23e2dc6e-fe0f-4594-a2e1-b3d56a638b78/galbot-g1/">Galbot</a> and Booster Robotics present at Web Summit.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-global-media-reporting">Global media reporting</h2>



The announcements, ideas and conversations coming out of Web Summit 2026 will reach audiences around the world, with more than 1,500 members of the global media reporting from the event. Members of the media speaking and reporting at Web Summit include CNBC President <a href="https://websummit.com/attendees/lis26/bf079cea-e752-4e7a-9e11-20751d2b0d38/kc-sullivan/?_gl=1*1h51sgs*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQiA-8XXBhDaARIsADnEOrCEtyNZ_as3f72WyeanLMaT5O3JNF3PJn1HUJT3QoG9qh565g1XIzsaAnRMEALw_wcB&amp;gbraid=0AAAAADmjBMAG5AoQvpBIgtQK_SWhKlkFw">KC Sullivan</a>, Wall Street Journal Deputy Editor-in-Chief <a href="https://websummit.com/attendees/lis26/c5e6f874-ef00-4a25-a911-c0b52ba914c5/aja-whitaker-moore/?_gl=1*syvock*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQiA-8XXBhDaARIsADnEOrCEtyNZ_as3f72WyeanLMaT5O3JNF3PJn1HUJT3QoG9qh565g1XIzsaAnRMEALw_wcB&amp;gbraid=0AAAAADmjBMAG5AoQvpBIgtQK_SWhKlkFw">Aja-Whitaker More</a>, The Atlantic CEO <a href="https://websummit.com/attendees/lis26/a98cea5c-315e-4027-874d-68c62cf2574a/nick-thompson/?_gl=1*1rsd7is*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQiA-8XXBhDaARIsADnEOrCEtyNZ_as3f72WyeanLMaT5O3JNF3PJn1HUJT3QoG9qh565g1XIzsaAnRMEALw_wcB&amp;gbraid=0AAAAADmjBMAG5AoQvpBIgtQK_SWhKlkFw">Nick Thompson</a>, The Washington Post Executive Editor <a href="https://websummit.com/attendees/lis26/c23e66c0-c0df-4857-9a59-d8c50cad11ec/matt-murray/?_gl=1*jm87i5*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQiA-8XXBhDaARIsADnEOrCEtyNZ_as3f72WyeanLMaT5O3JNF3PJn1HUJT3QoG9qh565g1XIzsaAnRMEALw_wcB&amp;gbraid=0AAAAADmjBMAG5AoQvpBIgtQK_SWhKlkFw">Matt Murray</a>, South Morning Post Editor-in-Chief <a href="https://websummit.com/attendees/lis26/f55bb83b-b2a3-463a-90b5-45b8d4804f76/chung-yan-chow/?_gl=1*jm87i5*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQiA-8XXBhDaARIsADnEOrCEtyNZ_as3f72WyeanLMaT5O3JNF3PJn1HUJT3QoG9qh565g1XIzsaAnRMEALw_wcB&amp;gbraid=0AAAAADmjBMAG5AoQvpBIgtQK_SWhKlkFw">Chung-Yan Chow</a>, The New York Times Managing Editor <a href="https://websummit.com/attendees/lis26/ce67480b-3f84-421c-a4b8-7753b771ac00/marc-lacey/?_gl=1*1ovw5im*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQiA-8XXBhDaARIsADnEOrCEtyNZ_as3f72WyeanLMaT5O3JNF3PJn1HUJT3QoG9qh565g1XIzsaAnRMEALw_wcB&amp;gbraid=0AAAAADmjBMAG5AoQvpBIgtQK_SWhKlkFw">Marc Lacey</a>, Reuters News President <a href="https://websummit.com/attendees/lis26/67f13bf9-2294-48cc-8a5b-68e6a8a5af42/paul-bascobert/?_gl=1*1ovw5im*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQiA-8XXBhDaARIsADnEOrCEtyNZ_as3f72WyeanLMaT5O3JNF3PJn1HUJT3QoG9qh565g1XIzsaAnRMEALw_wcB&amp;gbraid=0AAAAADmjBMAG5AoQvpBIgtQK_SWhKlkFw">Paul Bascobert</a>, and  Axios Publisher <a href="https://websummit.com/attendees/lis26/a642dd99-588f-43ec-8ab8-b37c30bbe4c6/nicholas-johnston/?_gl=1*1h51sgs*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQiA-8XXBhDaARIsADnEOrCEtyNZ_as3f72WyeanLMaT5O3JNF3PJn1HUJT3QoG9qh565g1XIzsaAnRMEALw_wcB&amp;gbraid=0AAAAADmjBMAG5AoQvpBIgtQK_SWhKlkFw">Nicholas Johnson</a>.  



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="799" height="533" src="https://websummit.com/wp-media/2026/11/55643825730_6a29810f64_c.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-102512" srcset="https://websummit.com/wp-media/2026/11/wInGQNCX-55643825730_6a29810f64_c-300x200.jpg 300w, https://websummit.com/wp-media/2026/11/55643825730_6a29810f64_c-768x512.jpg 768w, https://websummit.com/wp-media/2026/11/55643825730_6a29810f64_c.jpg 799w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 799px) 100vw, 799px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-curated-meetups-and-night-summit">Curated meetups and Night Summit</h2>



Beyond the stages, Web Summit will host more than 400 meetups across four days, including 246 daytime and 156 nighttime gatherings. Bringing together founders, investors and tech professionals, the meetups cover topics ranging from founder burnout and bootstrapping to women building with AI, alongside international gatherings such as São Paulo Meets the World and China Founders × Global Investors &amp; Tech Industry.&nbsp;



For the first time, Night Summit will also take place on the exhibition floor, with networking, karaoke, games and other activities giving attendees more opportunities to connect.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="799" height="561" src="https://websummit.com/wp-media/2026/11/55642474387_9fcfdf602a_c-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-102514" style="width:840px;height:auto" srcset="https://websummit.com/wp-media/2026/11/nKX5vIRl-55642474387_9fcfdf602a_c-1-300x211.jpg 300w, https://websummit.com/wp-media/2026/11/55642474387_9fcfdf602a_c-1-768x539.jpg 768w, https://websummit.com/wp-media/2026/11/55642474387_9fcfdf602a_c-1.jpg 799w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 799px) 100vw, 799px" /></figure>



You can find a recap of Web Summit’s key numbers below:&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-numbers">Key numbers</h2>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>70,003 attendees from 164 countries, making Web Summit 2026 its most international edition yet;</li>



<li>1,943 investors, a record for the second consecutive year, with leading investors including Accel, Bessemer Venture Partners, BlackRock, TPG, Union Square Ventures, Index Ventures, Atomico, the Qatar Investment Authority and Tencent.</li>



<li>Major technology partners including Google Cloud, Meta, Apple, Atlassian, Intel, IBM, Spotify, Lenovo, and TikTok, with exhibition space sold out for Web Summit 2026. More than 10,000 startups attending, with 3,052 exhibiting companies from 110 countries, alongside major partners including Apple, Meta, Google and Intel;</li>



<li>The top industries among exhibiting startups are AI and machine learning, followed by SaaS, healthtech, fintech and education. The event also welcomes partners and government and trade delegations from countries including Brazil, China, Qatar, Poland, Georgia, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovenia and South Korea.</li>



<li>Record startup participation from Portugal and Ireland, with 350 Portuguese startups and 115 Irish startups;</li>



<li>PitchBook data shows that investors attending Web Summit 2026 have participated in deals representing 59.2% of global and 73.2% of US venture capital deal value in 2026, based on data through September 30.</li>



<li>960 speakers, including Cloudflare co-founder and CEO Matthew Prince, Arm CEO Rene Haas, Reddit COO Jen Wong, Xiaomi CMO Fei Xu and European Commission executive vice-president Henna Virkkunen;</li>



<li>Web Summit&#8217;s largest-ever Chinese delegation, featuring leaders from Tencent, Xiaomi, Unitree, ModelBest and Pony.ai, alongside humanoid robots from AGIBOT, Galbot and Booster Robotics;</li>



<li>246 daytime meetups and 154 night time meetups across four days, connecting founders, investors and tech professionals. Topics range from bootstrapping to women building with AI. China Founders × Global Investors &amp; Tech Industry, which is one of the event&#8217;s most popular meetups.</li>



<li>Over 1,500 members of the media are reporting from Web Summit 2026, with global and event media partners including CNBC, Axios, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, CGTN, RTP and SAPO. Participating media include Bloomberg, CNN, Sky News, Reuters, The New York Times, The Economist, AP and AFP.</li>



<li>Web Summit&nbsp; also continues to work towards greater gender equality in tech, both through its event and its wider community. Now in its seventh year, the annual Gender in Tech report draws on the experiences of women working in technology around the world, exploring the challenges they face, from career progression and leadership to pay inequality and work-life balance. While 84% of respondents report women in leadership roles at their companies, including 35% at C-suite level, significant challenges remain: half face sexism, nearly 60% report unequal pay, and AI has yet to help close these gaps.</li>
</ul>

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