Qatari startup participation surges by 90% for Web Summit Qatar 2025

The Government Communications Office (GCO) announced that a record number of Qatari startups will join Web Summit Qatar 2025, marking a 90 percent increase from last year’s event. The announcement followed the latest Permanent Web Summit Organising Committee meeting, which focused on developments for the region’s largest tech gathering’s second edition, set to take place on 23-26 February.

Registration figures show 1,470 startups attending globally, with Qatari companies accounting for over 190—representing 13 percent of the total participants and double last year’s local representation. International participation has also grown by 37 percent, with 1,280 companies confirmed. Notably, 44 percent of these startups are women-founded.

Sheikh Jassim bin Mansour bin Jabor Al Thani, Director of the GCO and Chairman of the Web Summit Permanent Organising Committee, expressed confidence that this year’s summit would surpass expectations, citing strong global interest.

He stated: “The response has been remarkable from both domestic and international startups, as well as investors and attendees worldwide. With more than 20,000 attendees, over 440 investors, and 400 speakers confirmed—90 percent of whom are international—the summit is shaping up to be a landmark event. Moreover, we have reached full capacity for partnerships and the Women in Tech program.” 

He added: “The extraordinary interest in Web Summit Qatar underscores global confidence in Qatar as an innovation and technology hub,” he continued. “It marks a crucial step toward realising our Qatar National Vision 2030 by driving economic diversification and sustainability. It also underscores our commitment to nurturing our local tech sector, in line with our Third National Development Strategy, evidenced by Qatari participation in this year’s summit doubling compared to last year.” 

Participating startups span over 80 countries, led by Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Algeria, Germany and Egypt.

Dominating the fields of expertise, artificial intelligence and machine learning account for 17 percent, followed by software services, health technology, fintech, e-commerce and retail and education technology. 

Prominent industry leaders will headline the summit, including Almar Latour, CEO of Dow Jones; Alexandr Wang, founder and CEO of Scale AI and Brian Robbins, CEO of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon, among others. 

To guarantee seamless preparations, the Permanent Web Summit Organising Committee will hold regular meetings as they gear up for the premier event, which is set to unite entrepreneurs, innovators, investors and leaders from around the world.