Record number of startups and 70,236 attendees at Web Summit

Web Summit witnessed a historic surge in startup participation, with a record-breaking number of new ventures and a staggering attendance of 70,236 individuals.

The 2023 Web Summit in Lisbon, the world's largest tech conference, is breaking records with 70,236 attendees from 153 countries and 2,608 startups, the highest ever.

● 70,236 attendees from 153 countries
● 43 percent of attendees are women, while 38 percent of speakers are women
● 2,608 startups exhibiting, almost one in three of which are woman founded
● 321 partners are taking to the exhibition floor
● More than 85 percent hotel occupancy expected across the city of Lisbon

70,236 attendees from 153 countries

Web Summit has brought 70,236 attendees from all over the world to the Altice Arena in Lisbon to discuss and debate ideas for the future. The cohort of CEOs, startups, investors, media, policymakers and creatives will be taking part in 1,180 investor to startup meetings, 70 masterclasses, 17 PITCH competitions rounds, 25 evening events, and Night Summit parties around the most exciting neighbourhoods of the city.

Web Summit has creatively expanded the total floor space of the event by five percent to approximately 215,000 square metres – the equivalent of 1,099 tennis courts.

Katherine Maher, CEO of Web Summit, took to the stage in front of a crowd of 11,000 people in the Altice Arena at the event’s Opening Night: “Over the last decade, as Web Summit has grown, we’ve brought together tens of thousands of people who have used this week in Lisbon as a springboard to do remarkable things – to launch companies, find investors, unveil projects, advance a vision of the world worth debating. As the new leader of this organisation of incredibly committed staff, and as a long time advocate for technology as a driving force for

good for humanity and society, Web Summit will continue to be the most important place to

bring together and connect people and advance critical conversations about technology,

society and innovation.”

2,608 startups from 93 countries

A record-breaking 2,608 startups from 93 countries will showcase their innovations and the businesses of tomorrow over the coming three days. These promising startups were chosen from thousands of applicants, and represent more than 30 different industries.

More than 250 startups will attend Web Summit as part of the Impact programme – startups that work to have a positive impact on their communities, industries and ecosystems.

More than 800 startups will learn from leaders and experts through nearly 100 Mentor Hours sessions. The industries most represented among startups include SaaS, AI and machine learning, healthtech and wellness, fintech and financial services, and sustainability and cleantech.

Stay tuned with us, our team is at Web Summit.