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Web Summit to Host Hundreds of Curated Community Meetups in Lisbon this November
Lisbon, September 10, 2024 – Web Summit, a leading technology conference, today announced that it will host hundreds of curated community meetups in Lisbon this November. Powered by Summit Engine, Web Summit’s proprietary software, these meetups aim to foster meaningful connections and communities among attendees.
With over 70,000 attendees expected, including 1,000+ investors and 2,750 startups, Web Summit 2024 promises to be the largest and most connected event yet. The conference will feature top speakers from companies like Meta, (link unavailable), Amazon Web Services, Adobe, Visa, and more.
In addition to the curated meetups, Web Summit will also host The Ukraine Tech Ecosystem initiative and welcome Novo Nordisk, the creator of Ozempic, for the first time.
“Our goal is to create a more intimate and connected experience for our attendees, despite our large scale,” said Paddy Cosgrave, Web Summit founder and CEO. “We believe that by bringing people with shared interests and backgrounds together, we can unlock new opportunities and collaborations that change the world.”
● Companies that will be partnering and/or speaking at this year’s event include Meta,
Alibaba.com, Amazon Web Services, Adobe, Visa, Wiz, KPMG, Zoom, LVMH, Salesforce,
Qualcomm and more. Web Summit will also host The Ukraine Tech Ecosystem initiative, and
welcome Ozempic creator and Europe’s most valuable company, Novo Nordisk, to the event for
the first time.
Lisbon, September 10
Web Summit has announced today that it will host hundreds of curated community meetups in Lisbon
this November, powered by its proprietary software, Summit Engine.
This initiative is part of Web Summit’s renewed mission to foster meaningful connections and
communities. By bringing people with similar backgrounds, interests and objectives together in
community meetups, Web Summit hopes to make the event feel smaller and more intimate for attendees,
as it continues to grow and scale across the world. Hundreds of these community meetups will take
place alongside signature challenging discussions on how technology is shaping the world.
So far, this year’s top speakers include Yinon Costica, co-founder of cybersecurity powerhouse Wiz,
which recently made waves by turning down a US$23 billion offer from Google; Julie De Moyer, LVMH’s
recently appointed chief data and AI officer; Lidiane Jones, CEO of popular dating app Bumble, which
harnesses AI to improve matchmaking; Cristiano Anon, CEO of Qualcomm, the company working to
create bigger, better, and more affordable AI chips; and Meredith Whittaker, president of encrypted
messaging app Signal, which is fighting against government measures to scan citizen’s private
messages.
Also taking to the stage will be Alibaba.com president Kuo Zhang; Škoda Auto CMO Meredith Kelly;
Amazon Web Services VP of AI Matt Wood; Meta’s global head of consumer marketing, Eshan
Ponnadurai; Manchester United CEO Omar Berrada, and much more. They will be joined, by world
comms@websummit.com
Web Summit HQ, Tramway House, 32 Dartry Road, Dartry, Dublin 6, Ireland, D06 XT86.
leaders and changemakers, including Germany’s Vice Chancellor, Robert Habeck; Portugal’s minister of
youth and modernisation, Margarida Balseiro Lopes, and exiled Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo
López.
Global tech companies, including IBM, Adobe, Intercom, Samsung Next, and Niantic Labs will exhibit
on the floor alongside financial giants such as Visa and American Express. Other notable partners
include Novo Nordisk, Bosch, EDP, and KPMG.
New for 2024: Hundreds of curated meetings
Of course, Web Summit isn’t just about the speakers – it’s about the connections. That’s why this
November, our curated meetups, powered by Summit Engine, will bring together attendees with shared
roles or interests in AI, fintech, crypto, food tech, sustainability, and more.
To do this, Web Summit’s data science team uses in-house software to group attendees who have
common interests and backgrounds, helping uncover emerging communities. This technology was tested
this year at Web Summit Rio in April, and at Collision in Toronto in June. From data scientists in Uruguay
and food tech startup founders and investors to public sector AI innovators, Web Summit wants to make
sure that the right people find each other at our events. Attendees can use the Web Summit app to easily
connect and stay in touch with those they’ve met long after the event ends in November
“This is going to be our biggest but also our smallest event yet … we aim to host thousands of
community meetups at the event and across Lisbon in November. We are evolving from being one large
event to becoming a collection of a thousand deep, interconnected experiences,“ said Paddy Cosgrave.
“Over the last 15 years, the world has changed in many ways, and we’ve always been committed to
adapting and re-evaluating our mission and goals to meet evolving challenges, ideas, and global
circumstances. We’re currently in an especially charged moment in time,” Paddy continued.
“We are bigger than ever, but our mission remains the same – connecting the people, companies and
ideas that change the word. Ultimately, the best event experience is when you walk away with a
stronger network than you came with,” added SVP of product Brian Flanagan.
Just announced
The full list of speakers at Web Summit is being announced today:
● Lidiane Jones, CEO of Bumble
● Anastasis Germanidis, co-founder and CTO of Runway
● Meredith Kelly, CMO of Škoda Auto
● Sarah Myers West, co-executive chair of AI Now Institute
● Patrick Kluivert, former footballer with Barcelona and The Netherlands
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Web Summit HQ, Tramway House, 32 Dartry Road, Dartry, Dublin 6, Ireland, D06 XT86.
● Paula Goldman, chief ethical and humane use officer at Salesforce
● Omar Berrada, CEO of Manchester United
● Hans Niemann, chess grandmaster
● Meredith Whittaker, president of Signal
● Munya Chawawa, actor and comedian
● Atul Bhardwaj, chief digital and technical officer at The Lego Group
● Smita Hashim, chief product officer at Zoom
● Alex Hirschi, founder of Supercar Blondie
New speakers are being added regularly on the Web Summit speaker page
About Web Summit:
Web Summit is a technology events company, bringing together a global community of founders,
entrepreneurs, business leaders, and investors to connect and exchange ideas about the technology
and trends shaping the world. Web Summit events – including Web Summit in Lisbon, Web Summit Rio in
South America, Web Summit Qatar in the Middle East, and RISE in Asia – have gathered nearly one
million people since Web Summit’s beginnings as a 150-person conference in Dublin in 2009. Its newest
event, Web Summit Vancouver, will launch in May 2025.
Useful Links:
Web Summit website: https://websummit.com/
Web Summit Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/websummit/albums/
Web Summit YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJtkHqH4Qof97TSx7BzE5IQ
comms@websummit.com
Web Summit HQ, Tramway House, 32 Dartry Road, Dartry, Dublin 6, Ireland, D06 XT86.
BY: BISMARK OKYERE ASANTE
