Prime Minister opens Web Summit Qatar 2025
Published: 24 February 2025
Over 25,000 participants from 124 countries, more than 1,520 startups, and 600 investors at the summit
Qatar News Agency
Doha
Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani inaugurated Web Summit Qatar 2025, the second edition of the Middle East and North Africa’s largest technology event, at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center.
This year’s expanded edition welcomes over 25,000 attendees from over 124 countries, more than 1,520 startups, over 600 investors, and more than 380 speakers alongside 180 industry partners. The event has also drawn unprecedented media interest, with representatives from over 600 media outlets.
During his keynote address, HE the Prime Minister affirmed that Qatar’s continues to strengthen its position as a global platform for innovation and entrepreneurship while actively implementing regulatory reforms and creating new economic opportunities to empower the private sector.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman underscored Web Summit Qatar’s role in positioning the country as a bridge between East and West and as a crucial hub cultivating partnerships and innovations that address global challenges.
The Prime Minister announced that the Qatar Investment Authority has successfully fulfilled its Web Summit Qatar 2024 commitment, establishing a $1bn Fund of Funds to support startups and selecting six globally recognised investment firms to deploy capital, foster innovation and empower entrepreneurs locally and globally.
In his address, Paddy Cosgrave, Founder and CEO of Web Summit, commended the GCO Director’s efforts in bringing Web Summit to the region.
“It’s been the best decision that we’ve ever made. Before hosting our first Web Summit in Qatar, our ambition for a second year was 7,500 attendees. I’m delighted to say that more than 25,000 attendees are in Doha this week from more than 120 countries around the world. It is beyond anything we could have expected or planned for,” said Cosgrave.
He added that in partnership with Crunchbase, Web Summit has gathered investment data, which revealed that 148 companies who attended the inaugural edition have since raised nearly $30bn in investment.
The summit kicked off with panel discussions featuring leading entrepreneurs from around the world, including Alexander Wang, Founder and CEO of Scale AI, and Alexis Ohanian, Co-founder of Reddit and General Part-ner at Seven Seven Six.
