Rise (conference)

Rise (conference)
Name	Rise (conference)
Status	Active
Genre	Technology, Startups, Venture Capital
Frequency	Annual
First	2015
Organizer	Web Summit
Country	Portugal
City	Lisbon

Rise (conference)

Rise is an annual technology and startup conference held in Lisbon, Portugal, organized by Web Summit. The event convenes founders, investors, corporate executives, journalists, and policymakers from across Silicon Valley, Shenzhen, London, Beijing, New York City, Berlin, and São Paulo to showcase startups, discuss venture capital trends, and explore innovations in software, hardware, fintech, and artificial intelligence.

Overview

Rise functions as a nexus for entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, incubators, accelerators, and corporate partners including Y Combinator, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, SoftBank Group, and Accel Partners. The program includes keynote addresses, panel debates, startup pitch competitions, exhibition floors, and networking sessions with participation from institutions such as Techstars, 500 Startups, Plug and Play Tech Center, European Investment Fund, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Media coverage comes from outlets like The New York Times, The Guardian, Financial Times, Bloomberg L.P., and TechCrunch. Governmental delegations from Portugal, Ireland, United Kingdom, United States, and Japan attend alongside corporate delegations from Google, Microsoft, Amazon (company), Apple Inc., and Facebook (Meta Platforms). The conference highlights sectors represented by startups from Shenzhen, Tel Aviv, Stockholm, Berlin, and Singapore.

History and Development

Rise was created by founders of Web Summit as part of an expansion following the growth of the main summit in Dublin and later relocation to Lisbon. Early editions featured partnerships with accelerators such as Y Combinator and investors from Kleiner Perkins, Benchmark (venture capital) and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Notable developments include the introduction of stage formats inspired by SXSW, collaborations with trade missions like those organized by UK Trade and Investment and delegations from China Investment Corporation. The conference evolved with technological shifts driven by companies such as OpenAI, NVIDIA, Intel, ARM Holdings, and Spotify (service), and policy debates referencing institutions like European Commission, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Expansion of satellite events paralleled similar moves by Mobile World Congress and CES (consumer electronics show).

Notable Speakers and Sessions

Speakers have included founders and executives associated with Elon Musk-linked ventures, Jack Dorsey-affiliated companies, and leaders from Alibaba Group, Tencent, Stripe (company), Robinhood Markets, and Shopify. Sessions have hosted speakers from Microsoft Corporation such as executives associated with Satya Nadella, panels featuring investors from Sequoia Capital and Benchmark (venture capital), and debates with policymakers linked to European Commission representatives and OECD delegates. Startup competitions have seen participation by alumni of Startup Grind, winners from TechCrunch Disrupt, and startups backed by Index Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, and GV (company). Workshops and roundtables have included leaders from NASA, European Space Agency, MIT Media Lab, Stanford University, and Harvard Business School.

Locations and Attendance

Rise takes place at venues in Lisbon such as the Altice Arena and the FIL Lisbon Exhibition and Congress Centre, attracting attendees from hubs including San Francisco, Beijing, Shenzhen, Tokyo, Seoul, Mumbai, Sao Paulo, and Toronto. Attendance figures have ranged from thousands to tens of thousands, comparable to events like Web Summit (Lisbon), Collision (conference), and Slush (startup conference). Delegations have come from multinational corporations like IBM, Oracle Corporation, SAP SE, Siemens, and Bosch (company) as well as sovereign wealth funds and venture arms such as Temasek Holdings, Qatar Investment Authority, and GV (company).

Themes and Impact

Recurring themes include artificial intelligence, blockchain, fintech, climate tech, healthtech, and future of work, with discourse referencing technologies developed by OpenAI, Chainlink, Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Ripple (company). The conference influences deal-making among firms represented by SoftBank Vision Fund, Tiger Global Management, and Insight Partners and informs product roadmaps at companies like Google LLC, Meta Platforms, Amazon Web Services, and Microsoft Azure. Rise has catalyzed startup fundraising, acquisition discussions with firms such as PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, and strategic partnerships involving Samsung Electronics, Huawei Technologies, and Xiaomi. Academic and policy impacts tie to research from University of Oxford, Imperial College London, Tsinghua University, and position papers from European Central Bank and Bank of England.

Controversies and Criticism

Critiques mirror controversies seen at other major conferences, including debates over founder representation, staging parity noted in critiques of SXSW, and sponsorship influence similar to disputes at CES (consumer electronics show). Specific criticisms have targeted ticket pricing analogous to concerns raised about TED Conference access, diversity and inclusion deficits compared against initiatives by Grace Hopper Celebration, and regional imbalance in startup selection criticized relative to Africa Tech Summit aims. Regulatory and ethical debates at Rise have echoed controversies involving Cambridge Analytica, Clearview AI, and policy reactions from European Commission and Data Protection Commission (Ireland). Environmental impact concerns reference comparisons to travel footprints discussed at COP (Conference of the Parties) and offsets debated with organizations like Gold Standard and Verra.

Category:Technology conferences