Web Summit 2019 Summary

70,469 people from 163 different countries gathered in Lisbon, Portugal, between November 4 and 7, 2019. The city hosted yet another edition of Web Summit, Europe's largest event on technology, innovation, and startups.

Its impact was felt throughout the city's main streets — from metro signage to "Web Summit" banners at tourist landmarks, and special promotions at shops, bars, and restaurants welcoming attendees.

Web Summit simultaneously addressed the most pressing issues facing — and on the horizon for — the global technology sector. Quantum computing, 5G, data privacy — discussed by prominent figures such as Edward Snowden and Margrethe Vestager —, artificial intelligence, and robotic computing were recurring topics throughout the four days. "Simultaneously" because 1,206 speakers took the stage across 22 stages — choosing what to watch or listen to was no easy feat!

The five exhibition halls brought together more than 2,150 startups and 239 companies. According to the event organizers, the most represented sectors were software solutions, fintech, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.

Although fintechs from around the world turned out in force, Henrique Dubugras, Brazilian co-founder of Silicon Valley unicorn Brex, stated his belief that fintechs are "just getting started."

The sector is so heated that even major companies like Facebook are launching their own solutions — Kevin Weil, Vice President of Calibra, the company's digital wallet, envisions making a money transfer as easy as sending an email (and free of charge).

Brad Smith, President of Microsoft, listed artificial intelligence as one of the four technologies that will define the next decade. "We are the first generation of humanity that will empower machines to make decisions that would previously have been made by people," he said at the event.

It didn't take long for machines to appear on the main stage — Marc Raibert, CEO of Boston Dynamics, shared the spotlight with the robot dog Spot, which made its way unassisted from the audience onto the stage to dance and entertain the crowd.

 

"Portugal changed with Web Summit and the world changed with Web Summit. Because we are not afraid to discuss all topics democratically, freely, with people representing the entire world," said Portugal's President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, at the closing ceremony. "We must anticipate the key drivers of the future. We should not fear the future. We are 'unstoppable' — nothing will stop us," he concluded, met with enthusiastic encouragement and applause from the audience.

 

Want to know more about the most relevant highlights from Web Summit? Follow next week's news and videos from the event at www.startse.com!