Road 2 Web Summit
Start your journey to the Web Summit!
Road 2 Web Summit is a joint initiative by Startup Portugal and Web Summit to select the best young startups to represent Portugal at one of the biggest tech events in the world, Web Summit, scheduled for November 11th to 14th in Lisbon.
Get to know the Class of 2024!
Our Road 2 Web Summit participants have successfully navigated through every stage of our program, culminating in the incredible bootcamps in Lisboa and Porto. Now, these startups are ready to join the Portuguese delegation at Web Summit 2024.
This year, Portuguese participation has grown by 10%, with many of the 125 projects focused on AI, Medtech, Fintech, and Environmental Tech. Notably, 60% of these startups are already operating internationally and have collectively raised €37 million in investment—an impressive testament to the strength and growth of Portugal’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Want to learn more about the startups from our R2WS program? Click the link and explore their groundbreaking projects!
Why should you join the Road 2 Web Summit program?
Or equivalent value discounted from different startup packs, with access to:
- Three (ALPHA) or four (BETA) tickets to Web Summit, giving you and your team access to the full event;
- Exhibition space for one day at the event;
- Access to Web Summit startup activations;
- Opportunity to apply for Web Summit’s PITCH competition and Startup Showcase;
- Company branding and profile feature on the website, and within the mobile application;
- Access to the Web Summit mobile and web apps to build connections prior to (and during) the event and to curate your own schedule;
- Startup success manager to help with preparations pre-event.
Access the 1-day in-person bootcamp with special guests such as Rita Vilas Boas (investor), Maria Ana Encarnação (Web Summit) or Xavier Jameson (R2WS alumni, Musiversal co-founder) helping honing the pitch and with tips for navigating the conference.
- Lisboa | 29 October
- Porto | 31 October
- ‘How to build a pitch that matters?’ with Mike Sigal (Advisor to Founders & Investor), July 30th
- ‘Stand Out in a Crowd: Selling Your Story Amidst the Noise’ by Elena Davidson (Liberty CEO), September 5th [new date]
- ‘Preparing my team for the Web Summit’, September 29th
Startup Portugal will be awarding prizes for:
- Most Promising Startup (15.000€);
- Startup With The Best Performance in the Bootcamp and Conference (5.000€).
Be part of the Portuguese Delegation at Web Summit, maximizing exposure to international investors, other delegations, and media.
Be part of the community of founders, establishing valuable partnerships with other startups to help you maximize opportunities.
Extra exhibition slot at the Portugal x Lisboa stand at Web Summit, in addition to the startup package.
If you are one of the 15 finalists, you’ll be pitching your startup on the Startup Portugal stage, during the Pitch Sessions at the Portugal x Lisboa stand at Web Summit.
Join the celebration after party!
It’s not all work – Road 2 Web Summit wouldn’t be a great program without a great party!
If you are looking to expand your startup internationally, our Business Abroad 2025 program can help you unlock new geographies and new markets, by supporting the presence of Portuguese startups in major international events and creating a more significant impact on representations abroad.
What do I need to apply?
- Information about the startup (business information, financials, social responsibility, access to public funds, and internationalization);
- Information about the founder(s) and the startup’s human resources (such as number of employees, educational background, % of women and ethnic minorities, average age, etc.);
- Startup registration in Startup Portugal’s Dealroom database;
- Startup website link;
- Startup logo (in vector format file, up to 10Mb).
Before submitting your application, please read the Terms & Conditions that apply to this program.
1. The Road 2 Web Summit program aims to support Portuguese technology-focused startups and entrepreneurs who develop projects with high growth potential, and who bet on innovative and unique products or services.
2. Candidates must be Portugal-based legal entities formed within the last 10 years that are developing technology-focused projects.
3. There is no limit to the area, vertical or field of presentation of the project.
4. Persons related to the staff of the promoters or partners of the initiative are excluded.
Disclaimer: Startup Portugal and Web Summit are unable to refund companies that have already acquired ALPHA or BETA program access for Web Summit 2024. Such companies can, however, still join the program and gain all other benefits, besides the discount.
1. The startup must, at a minimum, be launched and live with its own working website.
2. The startup must have a developed brand – at minimum, a logo in vectorial format.
3. The startup must have its own unique software product or solutions, or must be working on its own connected hardware devices, or have an innovative business model, easily scalable, and digitally-based.
4. Consultancies, agencies, developers, marketing/advertising agencies and public companies are not eligible to apply.
5. Startups must be an independent company and not a subsidiary of a larger organization.
6. The startup must have a valid Portuguese VAT (NIPC) number.
7. To submit the application, startups must be registered in Startup Portugal’s Dealroom database and grant permission for Startup Portugal to use the provided data to update the registration on the Dealroom platform.
8. Priority will be given to startups that have never participated in the Road 2 Web Summit program.
1. Applications will be evaluated by a joint team from Startup Portugal and Web Summit’s startup team.
2. The projects to be presented may correspond to a new product or service, or a new application of an existing product or service.
3. Startups will need to undergo a video interview as part of the selection process. It will assess numerous criteria, including the team, product, traction, investment and roadmap, and the startup’s expectations for the event.
About Web Summit
In the words of Inc Magazine, “Web Summit is the largest technology conference in the world”. Forbes says Web Summit is “the best tech conference on the planet”, Bloomberg calls it “Davos for geeks”, Politico “the Olympics of tech”, and the Guardian “Glastonbury for geeks”.
More about Web Summit at websummit.com
We spent one year developing the product for drones, namely location, and then at the end of that time we realized that we had to pivot and try to figure out where we could apply our technology. And that is where Web Summit helped us a lot. Receiving all that feedback was very important for us to shift to the product we have now.
José Valente
Azitek
The Road 2 Web Summit program helped us meet people with different ideas and that was great. In terms of scalability, participating in the Web Summit is always beneficial for any new company as it helps them reach new markets and customers. From this point of view, it helped us a lot.
Hélder Loio
Buildtoo
Unlike other startups whose goal was to raise investment, for us, Road 2 Web Summit was very useful for marketing and notoriety purposes. We had the opportunity to appear on the news, and I think this had a strong influence from the press office of Startup Portugal. This opened the door for strategic partnerships, some of which we are deepening right now, and that may lead to larger projects or perhaps new shareholders.
Carlos Magalhães
Wegho
Vawlt participated in Road 2 Web Summit, promoted by Startup Portugal, which allowed us to access the Web Summit at a reduced cost. Sometimes, it seems like an insignificant detail, but in fact, in the life of a startup, it makes a big difference.
But, above all, the major advantage we found in attending Road to Web Summit was that we could share it with other national startups and exchange synergies, challenges, different stages, and conversations between us all.
Bruno Santos Amaro
Vawlt Technologies
Startup Portugal, namely through Road 2 Web Summit, helped us get in touch with international contacts, which led to many crucial opportunities we wouldn’t have reached otherwise. In that sense, it undoubtedly helped us.
Joana Pinto & Gonçalo Chambel
Clynx