Web Summit 2026: 10 talks and 10 side events, picked by locals

Is it just us, or does Lisbon start to feel a little different as November rolls around? Any day now, the metro to Oriente will be packed with lanyards by 8 am, and you won’t be able to cross Cais do Sodré without overhearing the words “pre-seed.”

Yes, Web Summit is back! From November 9–12, more than 70,000 attendees from 160+ countries, 900+ speakers, and 2,300+ startups will take over the MEO Arena and FIL in Parque das Nações. (And if you think it hasn’t started yet, the side events beg to differ.)

This year’s program doesn’t disappoint. Flying cars. A possible next financial crisis. Europe’s fight to build its own AI chips. Lovable’s Anton Osika back on Centre Stage with a bold claim about the future of software. And that’s all before the sun sets and the side events kick off, from startup pitch battles to an official reception at Lisbon City Hall.

Being based in this sunny city (and having survived a few Web Summits already), we did the homework for you. Out of 17 content tracks and hundreds of sessions, here are the 10 talks and 10 side events actually worth skipping the coffee line for.

Only coming for the side events? Jump straight to our side-event picks.

Top 10 Web Summit 2026 talks you shouldn’t miss 

1. The age of agents

• Why: To hear where AI agents are heading from one of the teams that made them mainstream
• When: Monday, Nov 9 from 18:20 (Opening Night)
• Who: Tao Zhang, Co-founder and CPO at Manus AI
• Where: Centre Stage

Opening Night is always the easiest session to justify, and this year it opens with agents. Manus became one of the most talked-about AI products of the past year by letting an agent take a task and run with it end to end.

If 2025 was the year everyone tried agents, Zhang’s talk should tell us what 2026 taught the people building them.

And if you miss Opening Night, you can still catch Tao Zhang’s “How Manus changed Manus” talk on November 10 at 15:00 on Stage 13. 

2. Taking the flying car from sci-fi to reality

• Why: To find out when flying cars will actually take off
• When: Tuesday, Nov 10 from 12:50
• Who: Deli Zhao, Founder and President at Xpeng Aridge, and Jianhua Li, Correspondent and News Anchor at CGTN Europe
• Where: Centre Stage

We saw it, you saw it, everyone saw it: Tesla’s new Roadster, which Elon Musk calls a flying car. We’d argue it was more of a marketing stunt than a real step forward, but it did bring back the big question: when will flying cars actually become a reality?

They’ve been “ten years away” for decades now. Xpeng Aridge, the flying-car company of Chinese EV maker Xpeng, is one of the companies trying to finally make them real.

Expect to hear what it takes to go from prototype to the road, and up into the sky. Possibly the most sci-fi 20 minutes of your week at Web Summit.

3. The future of enterprise software has no middleman 

• Why: To hear what Lovable’s CEO thinks will come after vibe coding
• When: Wednesday, Nov 11 from 10:00 
• Who: Anton Osika, Co-founder and CEO at Lovable, and Harry McCracken, Technology Editor at Fast Company
• Where: Centre Stage

Lovable topped our list last year, when Osika shared how the team reached $100M ARR in 8 months. He’s back on Centre Stage this year with a bolder claim: enterprise software no longer needs a middleman.

4. The next financial crisis: Are we ready for what’s coming?

• Why: To hear whether the global economy is heading for another crash
• When: Wednesday, Nov 11 from 12:05 
• Who: Mark Blyth, Economist and Professor at Brown University, Sinéad O’Sullivan, Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School, Adam Kobeissi, Founder and Editor-in-Chief at The Kobeissi Letter, and Amanda Aronczyk, Co-host of Planet Money, National Public Radio  
• Where: Centre Stage

Tariffs, record debt, and sky-high tech valuations have plenty of people asking if another crash is coming. Blyth, a bestselling author on economic crises, is one of the sharpest voices on the topic.

If you’re planning to raise, hire, or expand in 2027, this talk could shape your plans.

5. The open-source advantage

• Why: To understand why so many businesses now run on open AI models
• When: Tuesday, Nov 10 from 10:20
• Who: Eric Jing, Co-founder and CEO at Genspark, Dahai Li, Co-founder and CEO at ModelBest, Rohit Sharma, Partner at True Ventures, and Reya El-Salahi, Presenter/Journalist at CGTN Europe
• Where: Centre Stage

Open models now do a lot of the heavy lifting inside companies. Two founders, one journalist, and one investor will debate the case for them: more control over your data, lower compute costs, and faster building.

If you’re choosing an AI stack for your team, this one is worth the early start.

6. The agentic internet: who controls the web?

• Why: To find out what happens to the open web when agents do the clicking
• When: Tuesday, Nov 10 from 11:50
• Who: Matthew Prince, Co-founder and CEO at Cloudflare, and Nick Thompson, CEO at The Atlantic
• Where: Centre Stage

More and more online activity happens without a human ever clicking a link. So who gets credit, who gets paid, and who decides what agents can access?

Cloudflare sits in front of a large share of the internet, which makes Matthew Prince one of the best people to answer. Nick Thompson, a regular at Web Summit, will push from the other side.

7. The new geopolitics of venture capital

• Why: To see how politics is changing where investors put their money
• When: Tuesday, Nov 10 from 11:50 (keep in mind this one clashes with #6)
• Who: Philippe Tibi, Head of Initiative at Tibi Initiative, Larry Li, Founder and Managing Partner at Amino Capital, and Elena Casas-Montanez, Reporter at Reuters
• Where: Stage 5 (Venture Summit)

Last year we checked the pulse of European VC. This year the question is bigger. Sovereign AI mandates, trade barriers, and shifting supply chains are changing how investors deploy capital and which founders they back.

If you’re raising in 2027, you’ll want to hear this before your first pitch.

8. Can Europe win the AI chip war?

• Why: To find out if Europe can compete on the hardware behind AI
• When: Wednesday, Nov 11 from 10:20 
• Who: Mathias Stamm, Editor-in-Chief at Deutsche Welle, and Matt Robinson, Partner at Accel
• Where: Centre Stage

Accel has backed some of Europe’s biggest tech success stories, so Robinson knows what it takes to fund a challenger. Expect Stamm to push on the hard questions: money, talent, and how far behind Europe really is.

9. Building profitable neobanks at scale

• Why: To learn how a neobank gets to real profitability
• When: Wednesday, Nov 11 from 11:15
• Who: Raman Bhatia, Group CEO at Starling Bank, and Chris Newlands, Executive Editor at the Financial Times
• Where: Stage 8 (MoneyConf)

The era of buying customers with venture money is over. Neobanks now have to prove their unit economics, and Starling is one of the few that has been profitable for years.

A useful talk for anyone in fintech, and for any founder who has been told to “show a path to profitability.”

10. Founders building in Portugal meetup

• Why: To connect with founders who have moved to Portugal or are building a company here
• When: Thursday, Nov 12 from 13:30 to 13:55
• Who: Web Summit attendees building (or planning to build) in Portugal
• Where: Pavilion 5 (Meetup 6)

Like last year’s Walk and Talk, this isn’t a talk per se, but we couldn’t leave it out. If you’ve just relocated to Portugal, or you’re thinking about it, this is the room to swap notes on visas, hiring, taxes, and finding your people in Lisbon.

P.S. Need help with accounting, payroll, and compliance for your Portuguese startup?

We’ve handled the accounting, payroll, legal, and compliance for scale-ups, unicorns, and listed companies running their operations in Portugal.

Now we’re bringing that same world-class experience to Portuguese startups. 

P.P.S. Expanding beyond Portugal and looking to hire in Spain or Italy too? BRIDGE IN can help you build your team there, without opening a local entity.

Top 10 Web Summit 2026 side events you shouldn’t miss 

Web Summit doesn’t only happen inside the MEO Arena and FIL. During Web Summit week, startups, VCs, incubators, and embassies host events all across Lisbon (and beyond). One side-event tracker alone lists over 250 of them.

Here are our top 10 picks, listed chronologically:

1. Portugal Tech Week

• When: Friday, Nov 6, to Sunday, Nov 15
• Where: All over Portugal
• Organizer: 351 Portuguese Startup Association

While we list it as one side event, Portugal Tech Week is really a festival of events happening the week before, during, and after Web Summit:

• 300+ free events
• 20 cities
• Around 50,000 participants

Many of the Lisbon sessions take place at the PTW Palace in Anjos. You can check out the full agenda here.

One highlight from Portugal Tech Week we can’t skip is the Elétrico Pitch on Sunday, November 8. Twelve startups hop on one of Lisbon’s famous yellow trams and pitch to investors between stops. Instead of slides, they have their voices and the rattle of the tracks. The best pitch takes home €5,000.

If you’re a founder who can pitch on the move, applications close on November 5 at 23:59, so there’s still time to apply.

2. Tech Run Lisbon 2026

• When: Sunday, Nov 8 from 14:00 to 22:00
• Where: Unicorn Factory Lisboa, Beato
• Organizer: iOn live

What better way to warm up for four days of talks than a run? The Tech Run is a Web Summit week tradition, and it’s one of the easiest ways to meet people before the crowds arrive. Sign up here.

3. Lisbon Beyond Summit 2026

• When: Monday, Nov 9, to Friday, Nov 13 (opening session on Nov 9 from 10:20 to 12:40)
• Where: Myriad Crystal Center, Parque das Nações
• Organizer: IAPMEI – Portuguese Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation

Run by Portugal’s own innovation agency, Lisbon Beyond Summit brings startups, scale-ups, investors, and strategic partners together for pitch sessions, networking, and B2B matchmaking. It’s just a short walk from the Web Summit venue. Register here.

4. Entering a new market: what to establish before scaling sales

• When: Monday, Nov 9 from 18:00
• Where: PTW Palace, Anjos
• Organizer: Maximilian Gödecke

We’ll admit we’re a little biased on this one. If you’re planning to expand into a new country, this session covers what needs to be in place before you start scaling sales there.

It starts at the same time as Opening Night, so choose your evening wisely. RSVP here.

5. International Pitch Night

• When: Monday, Nov 9 from 18:00 to 22:00
• Where: Unicorn Factory Lisboa, Beato
• Organizer: Unicorn Factory Lisboa

If you skip Opening Night (we won’t judge), head to Beato instead. Lisbon’s startup hub is hosting an evening of pitches from international founders. RSVP here.

6. TOP AI & Deep Tech Startup Pitch Competition

• When: Tuesday, Nov 10 from 18:00 to 23:00
• Where: Lisbon (address shared after registration)
• Organizer: Sobremesa Agency, with Unicorn Factory Lisboa as ecosystem and venue partner

This invite-only competition puts pre-seed and seed AI and deep tech startups in front of a jury of VCs and operators. The jury includes Anand Chandrasekaran (Celesta Capital), Ben Joffe (SOSV), Gonçalo Gaiolas (DeepL), Tilman Ehrbeck (Flourish Ventures), and Philip Braddock (Atlassian).

The winner gets access to the Atlassian for Startups package, and all finalists get 90% off one year of HubSpot. Startups can apply to pitch, and spots are limited. Apply or RSVP here.

7. Connect Lisboa | Mayor’s Official Reception

• When: Tuesday, Nov 10 from 18:30 to 20:30
• Where: Câmara Municipal de Lisboa (Lisbon City Hall)
• Organizer: Lisbon City Council

How often do you get to network inside Lisbon City Hall? The city’s official reception is a great place to meet the people behind Lisbon’s startup ecosystem. Register here.

8. Barcelona Catalonia Networking Cocktail 2026

• When: Tuesday, Nov 10 from 18:30 to 21:00
• Where: Fintech House Lisboa
• Organizer: ACCIÓ – Catalonia Trade and Investment

Thinking about Spain after Portugal? Catalonia’s trade and investment agency is hosting a networking cocktail for anyone curious about Barcelona’s tech ecosystem. Register here.

9. Supernovas Breakfast: Women Founders & Investors

• When: Wednesday, Nov 11 from 8:30 to 10:00
• Where: Shared after approval
• Organizer: EIT Community Supernovas

An early breakfast that brings women founders and investors together before the day’s sessions begin. Spots are approval-based, so apply here early.

10. Bridging Capital Across Borders: Investors, Founders & Ecosystems in Portugal

• When: Wednesday, Nov 11 from 15:30 to 17:00
• Where: PTW Palace
• Organizer: ALBAN Global Network and Portugal Tech Week

If you’re an international founder or investor looking at Portugal, this session is about how capital, founders, and ecosystems connect across borders. A great fit if Portugal is part of your next move.

Apply here.

All the times and venues we’ve added above come from the organizers’ RSVP pages, so please double-check them before you go.

Let’s meet at Web Summit?

A good chunk of the BRIDGE IN team will be out and about all week. You’ll find us at Web Summit from November 9–12, and at the side events from the weekend before (yes, we start early).

Come say hi to talk about anything, from your favorite talk to how to scale your business into Portugal, Spain, or Italy. Or just to compare notes on who waited longest for an Uber outside the MEO Arena. (Pro tip: walk ten minutes away from the crowd first. You’re welcome.)

See you in Lisbon! 

Cover Image Source: Web Summit