Vancouver, May 27, 2025 (Lusa) - The Web Summit in Vancouver is geopolitically important and positions Canada as a gateway to North America for Portuguese start-ups, the executive director of Startup Portugal said on Tuesday.
António Dias Martins was speaking about the Portuguese presence at the event, which runs from 27 to 30 May in Vancouver.
This is the first edition of the technology conference on Canadian soil, following the “Collision Conference”, which took place from 2019 to 2024 in Toronto.
Portugal is represented by 20 start-ups, selected by the Business Abroad programme, Unicorn Factory Lisboa, or registered independently, operating in areas such as artificial intelligence, fintech, sustainability, and technology applied to health.
"Portugal's presence at Web Summit Vancouver reinforces the internationalisation and business opportunities of our startups. Canada is an important market for innovation, and this participation allows us to build bridges between the two countries and, in this way, promote Portugal and attract international startups," Gil Azevedo, executive director of Unicorn Factory Lisboa, said.
Ricardo Lima, head of startups at Web Summit, pointed out that "Web Summit events help build bridges between technology ecosystems around the world, from Europe to the Middle East, South America and now North America."
"We are excited to welcome some of Portugal's most promising startups to Vancouver," he added.
Among the companies participating in the initiative are Enline, which uses digital twins and AI to monitor energy assets; GoParity, a collaborative financing platform for sustainable projects; Trustful Clinical Budgeting, with financial solutions for clinical trials; and Pix Force, specialising in artificial intelligence (AI)-based image analysis.
The delegation also includes startups such as BridgeIn, SIDIS, Sqill, Vericasa, Aidvize, Sentivue, Bandora, Archreall, Sparkzz, Qualitymap, Blueprint, Allos Solution, Web3 Antivirus, Loopa, Ativo Labs and Jsonify.
In addition to participating in Web Summit, the national delegation will attend the EU Startup Ecosystem in Canada - Networking Event on Thursday, 29 May, promoted by the European Union Delegation to Canada and the EU Chamber of Commerce in Canada-West. The meeting will bring together representatives from several European countries and investors from North America.
Since its launch, Startup Portugal's Business Abroad programme has supported the presence of more than 320 startups at international events. The non-profit organisation's mission is to promote entrepreneurship in conjunction with public and private entities in the national ecosystem.
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