Reporter’s notebook: Tech community strikes a defiant tone in Europe

Web Summit 2022 had a dramatic start to its opening night when a bank of speakers came loose from the ceiling of Lisbon’s Altice Arena. No one was hurt, and after a short pause organizers kept calm and carried on—judging by the rest of the event, the tech industry is doing much the same.

By some margin, this seems to be the largest iteration of the Web Summit yet. Billed as the world’s biggest tech conference, this year’s gathering managed to pull in 71,033 attendees—just over one thousand of which were investors—from 160 countries. Remarkably, the enthusiasm and appetite on display during the week belied an industry that has been overshadowed by war in Europe and economic instability around the globe.

Glass half full

Just as at San Francisco’s TechCrunch Disrupt two weeks prior, the summit demonstrated that a rosy outlook is often the default setting among technologists and their backers.

Even when being realistic about rising inflation, slower dealmaking and valuation haircuts, speakers were often keen to put a positive spin on things: “Embrace it,” said Techstars CEO Maelle Gavet when asked about startups facing the prospect of a down round. “The reality is that a down round means there are still people out there who want to invest in you.”

When I asked another investor how they felt about the significant macroeconomic risks of the near future, they simply explained: “I am a venture capitalist, I have to be an optimist.”

Eyes on the bottom line

The word “profitability” is once again gaining prominence in the VC lexicon. No longer does the prevailing logic seem to be growth at all costs. Speaking on the main stage, VC heavyweight Tim Draper noted the change in industry sentiment, telling the attendees that startups needed to “get profitable” and focus on their customers. 

Yet, the other side of the coin—scale—is still a priority for some investors.

“Scale remains the lifeblood for startups,” said Sarah Guo, founder of early-stage firm Conviction, during a panel on the dichotomy of scale and profitability. “Without rapid compounding growth, you are irrelevant on the world stage.”

Innovation under fire

The sight of a robotic arm waving a Ukrainian flag in the center of one the Summit’s main pavilions— a kiosk by United24, a fundraising platform set up by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy—spoke volumes to the way an embattled Ukraine is looking to the tech industry as an ally.

A year ago, Ukraine’s tech industry was a very significant but also very understated part of Europe’s startup ecosystem—in 2022, the latter is no longer the case. This year, the country quite literally took center stage. 

Not only did Olena Zelenska, Ukraine’s first lady, appear on the main stage opening night, but there were no fewer than eight sessions on the topic of Ukraine during the week. These included talks not just on how tech, such as AI and blockchain, is being used for humanitarian efforts, but also as tools of war.

“I want to show you how technology lets you protect the entire democratic world,” Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister and minister of digital transformation, told the arena audience on the second day, “and how each of you can test your product in Ukraine, capitalize on your company and join our victory.”

Featured image by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Web Summit