Startups: Web Summit “packed” to land in China?

For a long time, the pattern at many “global” technology events hasn’t changed much: replicate and respond to trends seen in Silicon Valley. However, for the founder and CEO of Web SummitPaddy Cosgrave, the emergence of markets like China and even Brazil shows that global trends can come from elsewhere and challenge the Valley’s hegemony. And, in this momentum, the Web Summit should soon be published in China.

“We are actively talking to several cities, and when we find the perfect match, like our wedding in Rio, we will share it”, highlighted Paddy, in a press conference during the Web Summit Rio.

He did not elaborate on when or where the Chinese edition of the Web Summit should happen, but he considered the possibility of taking the meeting to mainland China and not just in Hong Kong, where the organizer of the Web Summit already carried out the spinoff Risean event that should be repeated next year.

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“It could be Hong Kong, maybe Guangzhou or Shenzhen. It’s still being decided”, said the CEO, reticently, stressing that the Asian market is firm in its strategy. Web Summit. Currently, the brand has events in four cities: Lisbon, Rio de Janeiro, Vancouver (Canada) and Doha (Qatar).

Meanwhile, he is betting that the bridge with Asia passes through Rio itself: “I anticipate that, in the future, the Chinese presence will grow, but also that of other countries in the region that are doing well, such as Vietnam”, he added.

This tech rise in China, in fact, should dominate the next edition in Lisbon. “A big theme is going to be Chinese open source models versus closed Western models. We saw this week, with data from Rampwhich the DeepSeek already overcome OpenAI e Anthropic in use by American businesses. For me, this is an incredible fact”, he projected.

Silicon Valley “versus the world”

Asked about the possibility of Web Summit Being a kind of arena where ideas from outside Silicon Valley can gain strength to “battle” against big tech, Paddy preferred to be more diplomatic. “I wouldn’t see [o Web Summit] like a battlefield, like a UFC octagon. I believe it is another place for global meetings”, he said.

However, the event in the capital of Rio continued, even if on a more measured scale, the trend presented in the Summit Lisboa website last year, with the increased presence of Chinese companies. “As the event proved to be a very effective meeting place, more companies from other regions are here,” he added.

For more than 15 years at the helm of Web SummitPaddy signaled that this convergence is the portrait of a structural change in the geography of innovation. “17 years ago, almost all technology came from Silicon Valley, and there was the idea that the rest of the world could never compete with this magical place. All people could do was imitate, was copy. This fundamentally changed: the role of Silicon Valley declined and the rest of the world grew,” he said.

To illustrate this technological effervescence beyond the USA, Paddy cited the Chinese technology hub of Shenzhen. “If you mentioned Shenzhen in 2008 to most people, they would have no idea where that city is. Today, if you work in technology, it’s impossible to ignore a city like Shenzhen. It’s essentially some kind of miracle,” he said.

In the Brazilian case, Pix is ​​a great example of how it is possible to create technologies capable of dictating trends, and even disturbing international giants. It is worth remembering that, recently, even the North American government placed Pix under investigation, raising discussions about sovereignty and control of payment methods between governments and private companies.

“Brazil can revolutionize the entire world of fintechs, the entire planet, because of Pix. It’s incredible what Pix has achieved in an incredibly short time,” he said. “It’s a monopoly killer. It levels the playing field and removes this huge cost from the digital economy. Every time we transact online, should we give someone 2%? That’s completely crazy,” he criticized.

The CEO said, however, that the Brazilian system is still little known abroad. “People genuinely don’t know and are surprised when you show them (Pix’s) growth numbers,” he reported. “I know that the Banco Central is having meetings with many other central banks in the Southern Hemisphere, but I really hope this comes to Europe in some form.”

Asked if this wave of innovation outside Silicon Valley could, at some point, dominate the incumbents, Paddy revealed that big techs have been observing what happens outside their “little world” for some time, even if they don’t admit it.

“The hidden truth of Silicon Valley is that they have been watching, and they are also copying, because there is important innovation happening elsewhere in the world. I have no doubt that, in the fintech space, they are watching Pix and its consequences. It is so disruptive that it is not likely to stop in Brasilia: it will appear in different forms in other countries, with serious consequences for payments incumbents in Silicon Valley and the United States”, he concluded.

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