The bumpy road to Web Summit: What to expect in Lisbon

Paddy Cosgrave is not expected to attend the event this week following his resignation as CEO, even though he still owns the company, writes Cáit Caden

In an interview with CNBC Web Summit CEO Katherine Maher said around 2,600 start-ups are expected to attend the conference next week as well as almost 1000 investors.

Web Summit’s journey to Lisbon this year has not been a smooth one. The company is expected to host a somewhat different experience this week in Lison than what previous attendees might be used to as a result of events that have unfolded in recent weeks.

An obvious change will be the absence of former CEO Paddy Cosgrave. Mr Cosgrave stepped down from his role at the helm of the company following posts made on his account with X, formerly known as Twitter, about the Israel-Hamas war.

A flood of major US-founded tech companies pulled out conference after Mr Cosgrave said he was “shocked” at the pro-Israel response from Western Governments in a post that remains on his X account which has been dormant since he released an apology over it.

Mr Cosgrave also stepped down from the board of Web Summit but still owns the vast majority of the company. However, the Irish Examiner understands Mr Cosgrave will not be attending the conference this year, not even as a regular audience member.

This leads to another change anticipated at the event this year. Many of the Big Tech firms that start-ups and investors look forward to hearing from each year will be absent. Stripe, Google, and Meta are among the names that have not made a U-turn on their decision to back out of the event.

Political commentary

Also, it is likely that overtly political statements, particularly about Irish politicians, will not be made by Web Summit speakers at the conference next week.

Web Summit's founder Paddy Cosgrave. Picture: Getty Images

Mr Cosgrave has previously used Web Summit as a vehicle to publicly voice his discontent with elected officials. Last year on opening night, Mr Cosgrave spoke on stage with an image of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and the words ‘law breaker’ displayed in the background.

A recent decision by Web Summit further indicated that Irish politics will not be as much of a talking point at the event. Earlier this week, Web Summit announced it would sever funding ties with online publication The Ditch, which has broken several stories on misconduct carried out by State bodies and politicians, as it “moves to focus on our core mission”.

It is unlikely the conference will be devoid of controversy though. One of the goals of the event will be to lure back some of the Big Tech names that dropped off attendance last month and this in turn could fuel further divisive conversation about the war in Gaza.

The decision taken by some of these Big Tech companies not to attend may have also been fuelled by US President Joe Biden’s pro-Israel foreign policy which is in direct opposition to the comments made by Mr Cosgrave.

This makes Katherine Maher a logical choice as a replacement for Mr Cosgrave as geopolitical tensions continue to rise. Ms Maher has experience leading a company, having served as Wikimedia CEO, but she has also received a bachelor's degree from New York University in Middle Eastern and Islamic studies and has lived in Lebanon, Syria, and Cairo. In addition, Ms Maher is on the US State Department's Foreign Affairs Policy Board which puts her in favour with US multinationals.

Attendees

There are still a number of industry leaders attending the event next week including Microsoft and Alibaba.

In an interview with CNBC, Web Summit's new CEO Ms Maher said around 2,600 start-ups are expected to attend the conference as well as almost 1,000 investors.

“We’re oversubscribed in terms of investor numbers,” she said.

“We had 100 registers just in the last couple of days alone,” she continued.

The event is still a valuable resource for start-ups, according to Irish entrepreneur Lucinda Kelly who previously set up a business for pop-up shops called Popertee before her latest venture Be Like Water — Fertility Support in the Workplace.

“Sometimes it’s good to get out of Ireland,” she said.

Ms Kelly is among several Irish companies that will attend the event despite the controversy and the price of tickets amid a cost-of-living crisis. Tickets to the event ranged from €1,595 to nearly €26,000.

Web Summit has come a long way from its beginnings in a cramped room in Dublin to conferences hosted in Lisbon, Rio, and Qatar However, the event next week may be one of the most important in its history in terms of its future.