Web Summit has AI, cryptocurrencies, energy matrices and more: see highlights

Web Summit Rio has AI, cryptocurrencies, energy matrices and more: see highlights

The event taking place at Riocentro, between April 15th and 18th, will bring together technology startups and potential investors from all over the world. Among the speakers, highlights include the president of Google Brazil, Fábio Coelho, Tyler Li, president of BYD Brasil, and Gabriela Comazzetto, global solutions leader for TikTok in Latin America. Starting next Monday (15), Rio de Janeiro will be the capital of technology and innovation in Latin America. This is the proposal of the Web Summit Rio 2024, the largest event in the sector in the world, which reaches its 2nd edition in the city.

Rio City Hall’s expectation is that, every day, 40 thousand people will pass through Riocentro to learn, teach and develop new ideas. The organizers are betting on the Web Summit as a meeting point, an opportunity for new business on a global scale, as well as a connection tool between entrepreneurs, investors and those curious about an expanding market.

Tickets for this year’s event are already sold out. In total, there are more than 600 speakers and a thousand startups presenting their businesses and looking for a place in the sun. On several stages spread across Riocentro, global leaders and innovation personalities will address varied topics such as: marketing, artificial intelligence, health, cryptocurrencies, e-commerce, big data and much more. In this edition, the most relevant themes revolve around the application of artificial intelligence and the actions of governments to implement its regulation, in addition to the interference of geopolitics in technology and the use of energy matrices.

Among the hottest names are: the president of Google Brazil, Fábio Coelho; Tyler Li, president of BYD Brazil; Gabriela Comazzetto, global solutions leader for TikTok in Latin America; and singer and composer Gilberto Gil. Check out some highlights:

Jens Nielsen, CEO of the World Climate Foundation;
Mike Brock, TBD CEO and bitcoin supporter;
Daniel Moczydlower, CEO Embraer-X;
Luciana Santos, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation;
Martin Kocher, Minister of Labor and Economy of the Government of Austria;
Bianca Andrade (Boca Rosa), influencer;
Eduardo Paes, mayor of Rio de Janeiro;
Luiza Trajano, president of Magazine Luiza;
Gabriela Comazzetto, global solutions leader for TikTok in Latin America;
Tyler Li, president BYD Brazil;
Fábio Coelho, president of Google Brazil;
Txai Suruí, climate activist;
Gustavo Vitti, CHRO Ifood;
KondZilla, music producer
Gilberto Gil, singer and composer;
João Gomes, singer;
Bruno Gagliasso, UNICEF ambassador;
Marcos Senna, Flamengo’s marketing director;
Diego Ribas, former professional football player and founder of Podcast 10 e Faixa;
Gilberto Silva, former football player;
Flávia Alessandra, actress and presenter;
Otaviano Costa, actor and presenter;
Luccas Neto, content creator;
Mari Maria, influencer and CEO of Mari Maria Maquiagem;
Claudio Castro, governor of Rio de Janeiro;
Marcelo Braga, president IBM Brazil;
Tarciana Medeiros, CEO of Banco do Brasil.

R$33 million per day in Rio’s economy

The expectation of Rio de Janeiro City Hall is that the largest technology event in the world can inject around R$33 million into the local economy per day of the meeting. The municipality’s projection on the economic impact of the event points to a total of R$1.5 billion, adding up to the six editions of the Web Summit already scheduled in Rio’s calendar, between 2023 and 2028. The study “Potential Economic Impacts of the Web Summit Rio (2024-2028)”, prepared by the Municipal Secretariat of Urban and Economic Development of Rio de Janeiro also talks about the public projection in the coming years. The municipality expects to see the number of people present at the event double, compared to the 1st and 2nd editions. The three-day event could attract more than 120,000 people to the lectures that will take place at Riocentro, revealed the city hall survey. The city hall study made an audience projection for the coming years of the Web Summit in Rio. The municipality believes that the following editions will gradually grow, until reaching 70 thousand people per day in 2027, maintaining this level in 2028. In this sense, the estimated audience for the six editions of the event is 933 thousand people present.

Full hotels

The expectations of Rio City Hall began to come true this weekend before the Web Summit. According to a survey by HotéisRIO, the average hotel occupancy rate in the city is 72.36% during the event period, from April 15th to 18th. This performance is slightly above the average recorded due to the event in 2023, which was 72.25%.
As the event will be held in Riocentro, the greatest demand (86.78%) was for hotels located in the Barra da Tijuca and Recreio dos Bandeirantes regions, both in the West Zone and close to the event location. Next, the research shows greater demand in the neighborhoods of the South Zone, Ipanema and Leblon (75.81%), Flamengo/Botafogo (69.80%), Copacabana/Leme (67.03%).

By Raoni Alves, g1 Rio

Web Summit Rio
Web Summit Rio is the largest international tech event in Brazil. This year’s event will bring together over 1,000 startups, 45 percent of which are women founded. This is the highest ever proportion of women founded startups at a Web Summit event, and the largest gathering of women founders at an event in South America. These startups are joined by more than 700 investors, 200 partners, 600 speakers and 900 media from all over the World.

Web Summit Global
Web Summit runs the world’s largest technology events, connecting people and ideas that change the world. Half a million people have attended Web Summit events – Web Summit in Europe, Web Summit Rio in South America, Collision in North America, Web Summit Qatar in the Middle East and RISE in Asia – since the company’s beginnings as a 150-person conference in Dublin in 2009. In February, Web Summit held its hugely successful inaugural event in the Middle East. Web Summit Qatar welcomed more than 15,000 attendees and was supported by over 100 partners including the Qatar Investment Authority, Snap, Deloitte, TikTok, Huawei, Microsoft, Shell, Palo Alto Networks, EY, Builder.ai and Qatar Airways. Web Summit Qatar showcased the work of more than 1,000 startups from around the world, and helped introduce them to a network of more than 300 investors in Doha. Web Summit’s mission is to enable the meaningful connections that change the world. Web Summit also undertakes a range of initiatives to support Diversity, Equality and Inclusion across the tech worlds: this includes IMPACT; Women in Tech; AMPLIFY; the Web Summit/Qatar Foundation Scholarship Programme; and our Community Partnerships.