Digital Transformation

Web Summit returns to Lisbon on 9 November, with Chinese AI and robotics prominent on the programme

3 min read

Illustration: a low-poly arena at dusk, with small faceted figures crossing a bridge towards a glowing domed hall.

Web Summit 2026 runs 9-12 November at Lisbon's MEO Arena. Organisers expect more than 70,000 people and Web Summit's biggest delegation of Chinese tech leaders yet. Who is speaking and who should go.

In brief

Web Summit 2026 runs from 9 to 12 November at the MEO Arena in Lisbon, according to the organiser's official event page. GessyMorgan reports that the event also uses the neighbouring FIL exhibition halls in Parque das Nações.

Organisers expect more than 70,000 participants, according to Web Summit's 9 October announcement. For scale, the 2025 edition drew 71,386 attendees from 157 countries and a record 1,857 investors, according to organisers' figures reported by Via News.

Who is on the programme

  • A large Chinese delegation. Executives and humanoid robots from Chinese firms including Tencent, Pony.ai, Manus AI (whose co-founder Tao Zhang is on the speaker list), Xiaomi, XPENG, Hisense, AgiBot and Galbot will speak, alongside delegations from China's Ministry of Commerce and the Cyberspace Administration of China, according to the organiser's 9 October announcement reported by Essential Business.
  • Robots on the speaker list. Humanoid robots are listed as speakers alongside company executives: Web Summit's speaker page includes AgiBot's A3 and Galbot's G1, and GessyMorgan counts four in total.
  • Western tech and policy names. Web Summit's programme lists Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince, Atlassian CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes, Replit president Michele Catasta, Prosper CEO Danielle Perszyk and European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen. Perszyk speaks on new AI research labs at the AI Summit on 11 November. The European Commission says Virkkunen will join a fireside chat on Europe's technological sovereignty on Centre Stage on 10 November.
  • Themed summits. The official schedule lists strands including an AI Summit, an Energy Summit and a Future of Work Summit, with sessions on AI-generated actors, hiring and fusion energy.

What to watch and who should go (ByteNib editorial analysis)

This section is ByteNib's interpretation, not reporting.

  1. Watch the China–Europe framing. A European flagship event headlined by Chinese model, robotics and car makers, with China's internet regulator in attendance, puts tech sovereignty on stage. Listen for what Virkkunen says about it.
  2. Treat "physical AI" demos as demos. Robots on stage show intent, not deployment readiness. Ask exhibitors for production references before shortlisting them.
  3. Go if you are buying, partnering or hiring. Web Summit is mainly a deal-flow and networking event. CIOs scouting startups, corporate venture teams and policy leads will get the most from it.
  4. Skip it for deep technical evaluation. Engineering teams wanting hands-on depth are better served by specialist conferences such as KubeCon, which runs the same week.

Sources and scope

Scope: speaker names and session times were checked on Web Summit's speaker and session pages on 4 November 2026. Attendance is an organiser expectation, not a count. The "What to watch" section is ByteNib editorial analysis. Programmes change; check the official schedule before you travel.

Drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by the editor before publication.

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