Web Summit 2025 Reveals a New Geography of Global Innovation — and AI Everywhere, for Everyone
- Editorial Team
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
Europe’s largest startup conference solidifies 2025 as the year when artificial intelligence stops being a promise and becomes real infrastructure for scale, innovation, and competitiveness.
By Fabrício Umpierres, journalist — Experience Club US
Reporting from Web Summit Lisbon 2025
It was the largest edition in the event’s history.
Web Summit Lisbon 2025 brought together 71,386 attendees from 157 countries, as well as 1,857 investors — a 74% increase compared to last year, signaling that in-person deal-making is accelerating once again. In total, 2,725 startups participated, 40% of them woman-founded, and artificial intelligence emerged as the most dominant sector. According to Crunchbase, nearly 200 startups from the 2024 edition have already raised US$ 715.5 million post-event — reinforcing the conference’s impact on the global innovation cycle.
But the numbers were only the backdrop. The 2025 edition marked a historical inflection point in the global tech landscape — and made clear that the AI race is reshaping the geopolitics of innovation, the structure of industries, and even the future of professional careers.
On the main stage at the MEO Arena, Web Summit founder Paddy Cosgrave opened the event with a striking diagnosis: global technological leadership is shifting. With the United States hit by trade wars, Europe facing economic uncertainty, and Russia entrenched in ongoing conflict, Asia and the Middle East are emerging as the new centers of capital, research, and implementation speed.
Cosgrave highlighted China’s rise in R&D and the scale of Arab investment — and, in a symbolic contrast, pointed to Brazil’s PIX, which has become a global reference for low-cost, high-efficiency digital payments infrastructure.
Portugal’s ambition also drew attention. As the country celebrates its tenth Web Summit edition, it is staking its claim as a global hub for AI and applied science. “Portugal is now a hub of global connectivity,” said Gonçalo Matias, Minister of State Modernization.
AI: From Hype to Infrastructure
If 2023 and 2024 were years of expectations, 2025 was the year of real deployment. AI permeated virtually every discussion — from chip architecture and generative software to creative industries, logistics, health, energy, and cities.
Sassine Ghazi, CEO of Synopsys, summarized the industry’s sentiment by flipping the narrative around an “AI bubble”: “The opportunities are significant because AI will change everything we know going forward.” For Ghazi, debating valuations or drawing parallels to the dot-com bubble misses the point: the infrastructure being built now — semiconductors, AI models, integration platforms — will underpin the next decade of transformation.
In a more human and inspiring lens, former tennis star Maria Sharapova argued that AI applied to physical training, biomechanics, and performance tracking could extend elite sports careers by five to seven years — especially for women who face distinct biological cycles and pressures.
Across the venue, the diagnosis was the same: there are no serious conversations about the future of business today that do not involve, to some degree, a strategic understanding of AI.
AI and Traditional Media
The News Media Summit, one of the event’s parallel tracks, brought an urgent discussion on the impact of AI on journalism and public-interest information. David Rhodes (Sky News), Pedro Vargas David (Euronews) and Rachel Corp (ITN) emphasized that AI expands newsroom capabilities, but does not replace the critical judgment of professional journalists — nor the ethical foundations that sustain journalism.
As TikTok now surpasses all UK media outlets in time spent — operating with virtually no regulation — the speakers argued that responsible journalism demands limits, governance, and contextual understanding. “AI won’t grab a beer with a source or notice when a story starts going in the wrong direction,” said Pedro David, underscoring the irreplaceable nature of the human perspective.
Brazil Expands Its Presence in Europe’s Startup Scene
One of the busiest areas in 2025 was the Brazil Pavilion, which brought 380 companies — one of the largest delegations since Web Summit moved to Portugal in 2016.
APEXBrasil, which already maintains an office in Brussels, also announced the opening of a Lisbon office, strengthening the bridge between Brazilian and European innovation ecosystems. The new hub will host an international acceleration program created with Plug and Play and Sebrae, which selected ten standout Brazilian startups from Web Summit: Aiper, Beeviral, Bio Linker, Just Travel, Hope, PixNow, SleepUp, SST, WoodChat, and 593 ican. Beginning in January 2026, the nine-month program will offer weekly mentoring, dedicated infrastructure, and access to investors and European tech hubs.
“Innovation and climate action are at the top of the global agenda. Our presence here is about presenting Brazil to the world and generating new business,” said Jorge Viana, president of APEXBrasil, at the opening of the Brazilian pavilion.