Web Summit 2025 in Lisbon

Name: Web Summit 2025 in Lisbon
Start: 2025-11-11 00:00
End: 2025-11-13 18:00
Location: Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon, PortugalNovember 11—13th, 2025

Event

Web Summit 2025

Location

Lisbon, Portugal

On November 11—13th, Lisbon became a meeting point for business leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, and startups during the 10th edition of Web Summit, one of the leading global platforms for technology, innovation, and investment.

The Immigrant Invest team in Portugal joined the summit to connect with founders, policymakers, and investors, and to present practical residence and citizenship solutions for internationally mobile families and entrepreneurs.

The event brought together more than 70,000 participants, 2,500 startups and over 1,000 investors at the MEO Arena, which served as the main venue for the summit. A new Pavilion 5 — a large indoor networking space with an open garden — expanded the venue and provided additional room for meetings, product showcases, and informal discussions.

Senior leaders from global technology companies, European institutions, and scale-ups shared their experience and insights on some of the most important questions facing businesses today.

Immigrant Invest representatives at the summit

Célia Castilho

Head of the Portuguese office

Marielle Burti

Lawyer

Highlights of Web Summit 2025

Web Summit 2025 took place under the motto “Welcome to Portugal, a space where ambition becomes reality.”

The opening session featured Web Summit founder Paddy Cosgrave, Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas, and Minister of State Reform Gonçalo Matias, who highlighted Portugal’s ambition to position itself as a leading hub for technology and AI.

Over three days, the agenda covered more than twenty thematic tracks, including:

regulation of AI and content use;
next generation of semiconductors;
Europe’s technological sovereignty;
accessibility and inclusion in the digital economy;
health tech;
cybersecurity;
quantum computing;
space;
role of robotics in reshaping labour markets.

The startup ecosystem remained at the centre of the programme. More than 2,700 startups presented products and concepts in areas such as AI, fintech, health, space, and deep tech, while over 1,800 investors used the forum to identify emerging opportunities.

Alongside the main conference, side events, meetups, and the Night Summit created additional platforms for networking across Lisbon.

Day 1: AI, infrastructure, and Europe’s tech sovereignty

The first day set the tone with keynotes on AI governance, infrastructure, and Europe’s role in the global technology landscape. Speakers addressed the regulation of AI models and training data, the evolution of semiconductor architectures and the balance between innovation and security.

Sessions explored:

AI’s impact on education, content creation, and labour markets;
new approaches to chip design and data centres to support large-scale AI models;
Europe’s ambition to reinforce technological sovereignty through investment in AI, supercomputing, and startups.

Government representatives highlighted national strategies for AI, data centres, and sovereign cloud solutions. Discussions emphasised the need to align regulation with the speed of innovation and to ensure that digital transformation remains centred on people and skills.

Day 2: accessibility, robotics, and the future of work

The second day focused on accessibility, corporate innovation, and robotics. Panels examined how companies are adapting to the European Accessibility Act and redesigning products and services for people with disabilities.

On the main stage, robotics leaders demonstrated how humanoid and industrial robots support, rather than replace, human work. Case studies showed how automation removes repetitive tasks and shifts employees towards higher-value activities, with parallel investments in training and upskilling.

Day 3: space, digital health, and the next wave of innovation

The final day combined space technology, digital health, and reflections on the future of the web.

Sessions on commercial space stations and orbital infrastructure highlighted new opportunities for research and private missions after the International Space Station is retired.

In health tech, speakers discussed emerging “health operating systems” built on imaging, biomarker data, and AI algorithms, as well as the potential for wearables to act as early-warning systems for disease.

Debates on the “AI browser wars” and the future of the Internet brought together leaders from major technology companies to discuss control of the web in the age of AI, data ownership and user trust.

The closing stages of the summit featured the announcement of the PITCH winner and a discussion on the future of the internet with Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the World Wide Web, focusing on digital agents and the type of web that should be built for the next generation.

Immigrant Invest at Web Summit 2025

Participation in Web Summit 2025 allowed Immigrant Invest to position residence and citizenship planning within a broader conversation on innovation, investment, and global mobility.

The team engaged with founders, family offices, and international professionals who are considering relocation, diversification of residence options or second citizenship.

Discussions often centred on practical questions: how to structure a move for a family, how to reconcile lifestyle goals with tax and regulatory considerations, and how to secure clear, reliable guidance in an increasingly complex environment.