Web Summit Rio a success for Portuguese startups

  • Lusa
  • 5 May 2023

"These 25 startups made the best of the opportunity," said António Dias Martins, adding that deals will be closed "certainly in the coming months".

The executive director of Startup Portugal told Lusa that the 25 Portuguese startups present at the first edition of the Web Summit in Rio de Janeiro “made the best of the opportunity” and will close deals.

“These 25 startups made the best of the opportunity,” said António Dias Martins, adding that deals will be closed “certainly in the coming months”.

During the event, which has become famous on the other side of the Atlantic, in Lisbon, the Portuguese startups were able to speed up talks and negotiations and establish partnerships, stressed the head of this non-profit organisation with Public Utility Status.

Another of the objectives of some Portuguese startups was to attract Brazilian talent to Portugal and Europe, something that was achieved, according to Dias Martins.

“This event can become a reference in South America,” he said, stating that Web Summit is applying a formula that has given results in Portugal since the first edition in 2016.

“If in Portugal we can function as a gateway for Brazilian investors and Brazilian startups to Europe, in Brazil this can function as a gateway to Latin America,” he stressed.

In relation to the 25 Portuguese startups present in Rio de Janeiro, the second largest foreign delegation at the event, Dias Martins stressed that they are quite robust, have work done, some with a presence in Brazil and that overall they have  raised €30 million.

BlockBee, Blue Insight Technologies, Deeploy.me, Dizconto, Enline, Frontfiles, Go Beesiness, Hoopers, IDE Social Hub, Infinite Foundry, ITERCARE, Knok Healthcare, LEADZAI, Mentorise, Modatta and Move, as well as My Data Manager, MyCareforce, ndBIM, Neroes, Sensei, SheerME, Swood, Vawlt Technologies and Wallstreeters were the Portuguese representatives, linked to areas such as software, education, sports or artificial intelligence.

The technology event, which began in 2010 in Ireland, moved to the Parque das Nações area in Lisbon in 2016 and will remain in the Portuguese capital until 2028. The company recently announced an expansion to the Middle East, with Web Summit Qatar planned for early 2024.

More than 21,367 participants from 91 countries and 974 startups representing 28 sectors took part in this edition in Rio de Janeiro.