Doha Web Summit Qatar hits record scale

Web Summit Qatar opened on Sunday, February 1, with its biggest edition yet, drawing 30,274 attendees, 1,637 startups, and 931 investors from 127 countries to Doha’s Exhibition and Convention Centre. With record numbers of founders and funders on the ground, the event cements its place as the global platform connecting the Middle East to the

world.

The event has grown 100% in attendance, from 15,000 to more than 30,000 people in just two years, reflecting the growing appetite of entrepreneurs and investors from around the world to explore the opportunities Web Summit Qatar and the region have to offer, and the desire to connect and form partnerships that will advance technology and their businesses.

Opening night set the tone with His Excellency the Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani, who highlighted Qatar’s ambition to position itself as a global hub for innovation, announcing Qatar Investment Authority’s expanded $2 billion Fund of Funds Programme, and the introduction of a 10-year visa programme for international entrepreneurs.

His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani. His Excellency shared the stage with Issam Hijazi, CEO of UpScrolled. Launched just seven months ago, the social media platform has surged to the top of US app download charts as users seek social platforms built around transparency.

Also speaking on Opening Night was Mati Staniszewski, Co-Founder of ElevenLabs, who spoke about building human-like AI voice technology, and Midas List investor Larry Li, Founder and Managing Partner of Amino Capital, who unpacked the latest funding trends.

Key numbers :

30,274 attendees from 127 countries gather in Doha for Web Summit Qatar;
1,637 startups (85% international), up from 1,520 last year;
931 investors (29% increase YoY), as global capital turns its attention to the region.
22 government delegations, with Italy, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Switzerland, and the US making their Web Summit Qatar debut;
427 speakers will tackle today’s biggest topics, including AI, chip wars, tech geopolitics, quantum’s leap to commercial reality, and the creator economy, with 841 international members of the media covering it all;
Global partners at the event include IBM, TikTok, Google, Microsoft, Meta, Snapchat, Huawei, McKinsey, Cisco, and Dell. Media partners include Al Jazeera, Euronews, Forbes, CNBC, Axios, and Dow Jones;
180 meetups, powered by AI-driven recommendations, will connect attendees around shared interests, from scaling tech in emerging markets to AI in education, fintech, and closing the gender gap in tech;
Web Summit remains committed to closing the gender gap. 38% of startups at Web Summit Qatar have a female founder. This has risen from 31% in 2024 following last year’s focused drive for the Web Summit women in tech programme’s 10th anniversary. The programme, now entering its second decade, keeps pushing for parity with dedicated networking sessions and meetup spaces. Speaking on opening night, Web Summit CEO Paddy Cosgrave reflected on the event’s rapid growth:

“It feels like only yesterday that we launched Web Summit Qatar, and yet here we are twoyears later with the biggest, and more importantly, one of the most impactful technology events in the world”, Paddy Cosgrave said on stage.

Web Summit’s CEO highlighted the startup presence: “I cannot wait to meet some of the 1,600 startups exhibiting on our floor over the next three days. It’s a record number, and also an astonishingly globally diverse group: 85% of startups joining are from outside Qatar.”

Speaking about recent geopolitical changes, he added. “We’ve seen a significant increase in the number of investors attending this week, to almost 1,000. These investors recognise that the future of technology is no longer the preserve of Silicon Valley: the future of global technology has shifted. Some might fear this depth of change. I don’t: I believe the new world order, the multi-polar world we have entered, is the biggest global opportunity of several centuries.”