Web Summit 2022: What You Missed and How To Get Ready For Next Year
“Where tech meets the world.” That’s how the founder of Web Summit, Paddy Cosgrave, described the glorious event, which took place in the capital of Portugal.
The Web Summit 2022 took over Lisbon from the 1st – 4th of November, reaching maximum capacity with 71,033 attendees from 160 countries. To get a sense of scale, the event space covered the equivalent of 1,000 tennis courts and featured 2,296 startup companies. It was simply monstrous.
The event gathered startups, investors, speakers, volunteers and other attendees to network, learn, follow the inspiring pitching competition and discover the future of tech and I was happy to be one of them. Now, here’s what you missed.
Women in Tech
This year, nearly 30,000 attendees (42 per cent) were women. 34 per cent of speakers were women – the same as in 2021. While the overall gender balance dropped from last year, Web Summit remained at near parity. As well as this, there were nearly 400 women-founded companies among the startup cohort.
This increase in female participants is mostly due to the grossly discounted “Women in Tech initiative”, which gives a 90% discount to female attendees.
Trending Topics of Web Summit 2022
Web3 can change everything
If last year cryptocurrencies and the metaverse were the stars, in this edition of Web Summit the most repeated word has been Web3. But what exactly is it? If Web1 was characterised by hyperlinks and Web2 by social networks, in Web3 the predominant technologies will be blockchain and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
The transition from Web2 to Web3 and the possibilities of the Metaverse are present in almost every industry. Many startups want to be the first ones to do what they do in the following virtual platform. The idea of a virtual world opens up various new opportunities for businesses and industries.
Fashion Tech at Web Summit
What I’ve learned is that the fashion industry is transforming to more digital space to be less environmentally harmful. Industry professionals can also take advantage of the tools and possibilities that technology provides them. A fashion tech startup called Fashable, for ecample, has found a way to design clothes with AI.
In addition to the virtual world of fashion, the physical form is changing as well. 3D printing of clothes is becoming more advanced, and the experimentation with alternative materials is increasing. More prominent companies are taking the example of startups and moving to be more virtual and sustainable.
AI’s New Horizons
AI, as a technology, was also one of the most talked about technologies of the event. Amazon’s Senior VP and head scientist for Alexa, Rohit Prasad, said that Alexa, a prominent face of AI technology, can do much more than its current capabilities.
He said, “Alexa is not just an AI assistant – it’s a trusted advisor and a companion,” and the upcoming upgrade will enable it to determine user patterns, based on which it will provide helpful guidance and suggestions. While Amazon explained how it would be integrated into people’s daily lives via “ambient intelligence,” other companies want to take it further by combining it with other technologies, such as Big Data and Machine Learning.
The father of modern linguistics, Noam Chomsky, joined scientist, author and entrepreneur Gary Marcus for a wide-ranging discussion that touches on why the myths surrounding AI are so dangerous, the inadvisability of relying on artificial intelligence tech as a world-saver, and where it all went wrong.
Some of the most popular talks from this year also included
- Marketing in 2023
- How to make products people love
- Giving F1 a tech edge
Web Summit’s most anticipated talks this year included marketing trends from Lego’s Julia Goldin, F1 insights with Toto Wolff, and a glimpse into the future of smart homes with Amazon Alexa’s Rohit Prasad.
How To Get Ready For Web Summit 2023
There were so many interesting people at different stages that we barely managed to see and hear all of the ones we wanted. And that is despite a good predetermined schedule! So, if you are a firstgoer like I was this year, here are some tips that might help you.
#1: Web Summit Tickets
Buy your tickets early, you wouldn’t want to pay 1000 Euro per ticket when you can actually pay 500 or even less. Web Summit encourages female attendees to join, therefore, they provide some significant discounts for them. Tickets can be found on the Web Summit website.
#2: Web Summit Registration
There are 2 options. The best one, in my opinion, is to register at the airport. It took less than 5 minutes and it requires your ticket (find it in the app) and your passport. The airport registration is available 2 days before the event. The other option is to register at the venue, this option is available strictly from the first day to the last day of the event. The lines were super long and most of the time people queue outside.
#3: Web Summit App
It can be said that networking is the most important feature of this event. You can grow your professional network, network with colleagues, and connect with the brightest stars in technology. You’ll have opportunities to connect and network with people of your industry and more. You can exchange new ideas and new approaches.
The key is downloading Web Summit App to reach these opportunities. You can join the community to share ideas and get contact information by chatting about events, the industry, and other issues. If you create an event profile, people may reach you out, send messages or set up a physical meeting. The connection you build at this event may last beyond this three-day event.
#4: Do your research
Use Web Summit app in order to pitch people, text them, introduce yourself and your company, schedule a meeting. Search for LinkedIn groups named “Web Summit Lisbon” or “Web Summit 2020”, get in touch with people, find out whether both of you could benefit from a catch-up, schedule it. And don’t forget Twitter. Search for the tweets that use hashtags related to Web Summit. If some companies or individuals are interesting to you, leave a comment under their tweet and wait for them to get back to you.
#5: Business Cards
The app’s main feature is the contact scanning, but the reality is that the app might get slow and work inappropriately at some moments, that’s why I would suggest filling up one of your pockets with the good old business cards.
Don’t forget to enjoy Lisbon!
Lisbon is a beautiful city, but unfortunately it was rainy during my trip. The weather doesn’t give it justice on my pictures. But I did enjoy some sun the last day! One of the things I liked the most (you can see it in Lisbon, but it is a Portugal thing) is the Azulejos. It is like a terracotta tile covered with an opaque glazing. They used it a lot to cover and decorate walls.
You will find some beautiful places where you can drink cocktails (this one is my favorite) and just watch people pass by (if you are a fan of that like me). But also, adorable little bookstores and vinyl shops. I would certainly recommend a visit to LxFactory, it is full of adorable little art retailers (I will certainly go back to Lisbon because of Lisbon Crooks) and unique restaurants (if you like to eat fish, you will definitely enjoy Lisbon). I hope you’ll find this article useful and that it will be of help if you decide to attend Web Summit in Lisbon in the coming years. Or maybe it already helped you decide whether you want to attend or not.
