Today, Web Summit – the world’s largest technology event, according to the Financial Times – announced that the event has reached maximum capacity with 71,033 attendees from 160 countries, and more startups and investors than ever before.
This year, Web Summit sold out earlier than ever before – three weeks ahead of the event. Event organisers have increased space to its absolute maximum, stretching to 204,386 square metres (1,046 tennis courts) in order to accommodate the growth. With the limited available capacity, additional structures have been built, extending onto Oceanos, taking over roads and other local spaces, and adding approximately 21,094 square metres of space for attendees within the site.
“The sheer scale of this year’s event is extraordinary. The event space is at maximum capacity, and we are welcoming more attendees, startups, speakers and investors than ever before. We are delighted to be back to full capacity, and are eager to continue to grow in the years to come,” said Paddy Cosgrave, founder and CEO of Web Summit.
2,296 startups and 342 partners from 94 countries
More startups and partners than ever before will exhibit at this year’s event. Web Summit’s exhibition space was sold out six weeks ahead of the event, with floor space increasing to its maximum capacity of 8,478 square metres for partners and startups – a 57-percent growth over 2019. For startups, the most represented industries are SaaS, fintech, AI, ecommerce and advertising. Top partners include Figma, Stripe, AWS, Google and Binance.
1,050 speakers and 2,000 – and counting – members of the media will be present this year
1,050 speakers – 34 percent of whom are women – will be talking on 26 tracks across 17 stages this year. Many will be interviewed on stage by a number of the 2,000 (and counting) journalists attending the conference. This year, Web Summit will host speakers on four new stages: Book Summit, Verified, Crypto and Security Summit.
Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska spoke at the Opening Night ceremony last night (Tuesday, November 1), highlighting the role of technology in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, while also emphasising the power technology has to keep people safe.
1,081 investors from 60 countries
Web Summit has welcomed 1,081 investors looking for the most interesting early-stage startups. Investors attending Web Summit have portfolios representing 30 percent of global deal value so far this year, according to PitchBook.
Web Summit has once again partnered with PitchBook on the annual investor survey, which revealed that nearly 80 percent of investors say geopolitical events have an impact on investment strategies – up from just 53 percent in 2020.
Women in tech
This year, nearly 30,000 attendees (42 percent) are women. 34 percent of speakers are women – the same as in 2021. While the overall gender balance has dropped from last year, Web Summit remains at near parity. As well as this, there are nearly 400 women-founded companies among the startup cohort.
Earlier this year, Web Summit carried out a study within its women in tech community, which found that 49.5 percent of respondents have experienced sexism in the last year, 66.9 percent feel they are paid unfairly compared to their counterparts who are men, and 62.9 percent feel pressure to choose between career and family at least some of the time. You can read the full press release here and report here.
