Web Summit kicks off in Portugal today, welcoming guests including the pioneer in cryptography and digital cash, David Chaum, Mitchell Blake, chairwoman and CEO of Mozilla, father of modern linguistics and author Noam Chomsky, and knowledge preserver, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales. The four-day event will host key panels featuring privacy-first founders and CEOs like Proton’s Andy Yen, Brave’s Brendan Eich, and Signal Foundation’s Meredith Whittaker, as well see key heads of security, intelligence, and design from Soundcloud, TikTok, and Google.
More than 70,000 attendees will experience different content tracks on subjects ranging from Autotech to future societies, sports, health, and the planet. Conference delegates will learn lessons and hear commentary from some of the biggest players in today’s tech world.
Portugal’s prime minister António Costa, Ukraine’s first lady Olena Volodymyrivna Zelenska (wife of Volodymyr Zelensky), Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, Web Summit co-founder and CEO Paddy Cosgrave, and Misan Harriman, creative and chair of SouthBank Centre, among others, will be present during the opening night festivities.
The sold-out event features over 1,000 investors, 2,000 startups, and 2,500 journalists who will converse with the hopes of addressing important issues and finding commonality and solutions so desperately needed.
Alex Kantrowitz, author of Always Day One, will dive into the reinvention of Big Tech and how AI is driving our cultural milieu, while Cathie Wood will lend perspective to the ever-evolving investment infrastructure seen in venture capital. A panel featuring The Markup’s Julia Angwin and Google’s chief decision scientist Cassie Kozykrov will dig into end-users’ data, with focus on controlling and maintaining ownership of one’s data.
Below are some of our top sessions to attend should you be so lucky to have a ticket for the hybrid event. For all those without a ticket, fret not, there will be plenty of clips and posts to still feel the excitement.
Wednesday, November 2
If a Mini could fly
https://websummit.com/schedule/ws22/timeslot/if-a-mini-could-fly
Speakers: Patrick McKenna, CMO Mini USA BMW Group; Rob Lambrechts, chief creative officer at Pereira & O’Dell
Alexa’s next AI trick: Disappearing
https://websummit.com/schedule/ws22/timeslot/alexa-s-next-ai-trick-disappearing
Speakers: Rohit Prasad, senior VP and head scientist for Alexa Amazon; Nick Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic
The future of OnlyFans: Who we are and where we’re going
https://websummit.com/schedule/ws22/timeslot/the-future-of-onlyfans-who-we-are-and-where-we-re-going
Speakers: Amrapali Gan, CEO of OnlyFans; Yasmine Gagné, associate editor at Fast Company
The fight for privacy by default
https://websummit.com/schedule/ws21/timeslot/the-fight-for-privacy-by-default
Speaker: Andy Yen, founder and CEO of Proton
Why big tech keeps kicking your butt
https://websummit.com/schedule/ws22/timeslot/why-big-tech-keeps-kicking-your-butt
Speakers: Alex Kantrowitz, founder of “Big Technology Podcast”; Matthew Champion, editor-in-chief for VICE World News
Rising stars: How do you make it to the top?
https://websummit.com/schedule/ws22/timeslot/rising-stars-how-do-you-make-it-to-the-top
Speakers: André Villas-Boas, Football Manager, Race for Good; Andy Mitten, editor-at-large FourFourTwo
Preserving humanity’s most important information: Then and now
Speakers: Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia; Marta Belcher, chair of Filecoin Foundation
The future of publishing
https://websummit.com/schedule/ws22/timeslot/the-future-of-publishing
Speakers: Nick Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic, Allison Trowbridge, CEO of Copper Books, Eric Shurenberg, podcaster and former CEO of Inc. and Fast Company
Thursday, November 3
How to grow your open source community from scratch
https://websummit.com/schedule/ws22/timeslot/how-to-grow-your-open-source-community-from-scratch
Speakers: Didier Lopes, CEO and Founder OpenBB
Supercharging the EV
https://websummit.com/schedule/ws22/timeslot/supercharging-the-ev
Speakers: Dr. Doron Myserdorf, co-founder and CEO of StoreDot
Hidden robots of the supply chain
https://websummit.com/schedule/ws22/timeslot/hidden-robots-of-the-supply-chain
Speakers: Renaud Heitz of Exotec; Anne Gaviola, senior digital broadcast journalist at Global News
How to cut through the mass of healthcare data
https://websummit.com/schedule/ws22/timeslot/how-to-cut-through-the-mass-of-healthcare-data
Speaker: Justin Davies, founder Wondr Medical
Securing the future of our planet
https://websummit.com/schedule/ws22/timeslot/securing-the-future-of-our-planet
Speaker: Sophia Kianni, founder and climate activist at Climate Cardinals
The New Conspiracist
https://websummit.com/schedule/ws22/timeslot/the-new-conspiracist
Speakers: Co-host of The New Conspiracist; James Ball, global editor at The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
Human-centric security: Why stressed employees are a risk
Speakers: Jeff Shriner, CEO of 1Password; Mary-Ann Russon, weekend and late news editor at NBC News
Rethinking how the internet is built
https://websummit.com/schedule/ws22/timeslot/rethinking-how-the-internet-is-built
Speakers: Andy Yen, founder and CEO of Proton; Brendan Eich, founder and CEO of Brave; Jason Aton, contributing editor of Inc. Magazine
Friday, November 4
Startup Showcase – Future of content
https://websummit.com/schedule/ws22/timeslot/startup-showcase-future-of-content
Speakers:Max Giammario, CEO of MetaPals; Romana Dorfer, CFO of Factinsect KG; Andrin Renz, founder of EventScouts | Web 3; Marina Naperstak, CEO of imgproxy; Oyinkansola Adebayo, CEO and founder of Niyo; Ghassan Murad, co-founder and CEO of Flan; Jennifer Kruidbos, CEO of Blawesome; Diarmuid Daltún. Co-founder of DeepSquare; Shira Gal, co-founder and COO of Shufill; Felix Choi, CMO of WiredCompany; Adrian Patzi, co-founder and CTO of LucidWrite; Jeroen Jonkers, product innovation and UX lead, noobrll; Bohumil Pokstefi, CEO of Kontentino; Xavier Jameson, co-founder of Musiversal; Sam Hill, co-founder and head of product at Hello Lamp Post; Petar Šćepanović, DOO Softo, Madaleine Lawrence, Head of DACH Peak
Gm and censorship-proof social media, with David Chaum
https://websummit.com/schedule/ws22/timeslot/gm-and-censorship-proof-social-media-with-david-chaum
Speaker: David Chaum, founder and CEO of xx network/Elixxir
The rise of the digital nomad
https://websummit.com/schedule/ws22/timeslot/the-rise-of-the-digital-nomad
Speakers: Rita Marques, Secretary of State for Tourism, Commerce and Services, Government of Portugal; Paige Aarhus, director of DL News
Can fashion and Web3 coexist
https://websummit.com/schedule/ws22/timeslot/can-fashion-and-web3-coexist
Speakers: Pierre-Nicolas Hurstel, co-founder and CEO of Arianee; Giovana Graziosi Casimiro, head of Metaverse Fashion Week Decentraland; Mark Russel, European content operations director at British Vogue
How luxury fashion can make resale desirable
https://websummit.com/schedule/ws22/timeslot/how-luxury-fashion-can-make-resale-desirable
Speakers: Stephanie Crespin, co-founder and CEO of Reflaunt; Alison Loehnis, CEO at YOOX Net-a-Porter; Sara Deigado, style editor at TeenVogue
The data revolution
https://websummit.com/schedule/ws22/timeslot/the-data-revolution
Speakers: Till Faida, co-founder of eyeo; Carolina Abenante, founder at NYIAX; Cassie Kozyrkov, chief decision scientist at Google; Julia Angwin, founder and editor-at-large at The Markup
Quantum security
https://websummit.com/schedule/ws22/timeslot/quantum-security
Speakers: David Chaum, founder and CEO of xx network/Elixxir; Nuno Mateus-Coelho, a contributor to CNN Portugal
The next generation of gaming
https://websummit.com/schedule/ws22/timeslot/the-next-generation-of-gaming
Speakers: Ankur Bulsara, co-founder and CTO at Scopely; Karla Pequenino, a journalist at Publico
Searching for trees
https://websummit.com/schedule/ws22/timeslot/searching-for-trees
Speakers: Christian Kroll, CEO of Ecosia; Isabel Hilton, founder at China Dialogue
Debunking the great AI lie
https://websummit.com/schedule/ws22/timeslot/debunking-the-great-ai-lie
Speakers: Noam Chomsky, author; Gary Marcus, AI Scientist at NYU; Jeremy Kahn, senior writer at Fortune Magazine