When you read online statements like, “I went to Web Summit and it was EPIC,” or press quotes such as Politico: “Web Summit is the world’s biggest technology event,” you might think these are just marketing clichés. But it’s only when you arrive there—in the midst of hundreds of thousands of square meters of exhibition space, the endless registration lines, and the constant flow of people from every corner of the world—that you truly grasp the magnitude of the Web Summit phenomenon.
Web Summit Lisbon 2025 reached its tenth edition (one that broke all attendance records) and showed us that this event is no longer just a tech conference—it’s a map of the direction in which the digital world is moving.
A Global Ecosystem in Constant Motion
Web Summit 2025 brought together over 71,000 participants, according to official data, representing a diversity that is almost impossible to capture: doctors using apps to manage appointments, teachers interested in EdTech solutions, marketers seeking to understand how to attract customers in the new digital economy, designers, creators, researchers, investors, startups from all over the world—and perhaps most importantly, curious people—those who want to see for themselves what the next chapter of technology will look like.
Alongside them were hundreds of companies showcasing cutting-edge technologies and numerous countries with their own national pavilions. Romania and Moldova were also present, in a vibrant area where regional solutions drew significant attention.
Behind this diversity lies a simple truth: AI has entered the DNA of every digital initiative.
Everything AI: Transforming How We Live and Work
The dominant theme in 2025 required little interpretation: everything revolves around AI, which is no longer just a promise but a force transforming every sector, every human action, and every conversation. In one of the main sessions, Maria Sharapova highlighted the
transformation AI brings to people’s lives and, naturally, to sports—from training, to recovery, to personalized workouts. It was a moment that demonstrated that AI is no longer abstract technology but a tool shaping human society.
From this perspective, M247 Global’s participation in Web Summit achieved its goal: to discover innovative AI applications and connect with those developing them. Through our computing infrastructure and global edge access network, we can provide both the resources to develop applications and a practical, low-latency way to reach end users quickly and efficiently.
Another hot topic was vibe coding, a concept beginning to redefine software development: you tell the app what you want, and it builds the architecture, processes, and even the interface itself. Discussions about how this phenomenon will shape the future of developers were everywhere—from the Developer Summit to the Machine Summit.
Another standout moment was the presentation of an exoskeleton combining robotics, physical intelligence, and GenAI models, capable of helping people with reduced mobility stand, walk, and regain autonomy. Demonstrations like this showcase the power and applicability of modern technologies.
The Energy Challenge: No Energy, No Intelligence
For us at M247 Global, one of the most critical topics was AI energy consumption. Several panels addressed this subject, highlighting a hard-to-ignore reality: in 2024, data centers consumed approximately 415 TWh—1.5% of global electricity consumption—and in the past five years, consumption grew by 12% annually. This growth is directly proportional to the explosion of AI computing capacity. While AI computing capacity has increased 350,000 times since 2014, global energy production has grown only 1.56 times.
The conclusion is clear: AI needs energy—lots of it, cheap and green—because without energy, there is no intelligence. The coming years will be defined by investments in infrastructure, AI data centers, optical networks, distributed cloud, and energy efficiency. For us, it was an important confirmation: in 2024, M247 Global’s data center in Bucharest ran exclusively on renewable energy.
The Era of Agentic AI: From Models to Actionable Systems
Another highlight was the Agentic AI area—perhaps the most exciting direction for 2025–2026. While LLMs like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Mistral define the present, the future increasingly belongs to Agentic AI. These are not just models generating responses—they are systems capable of acting: making decisions, collaborating with each other, running and iterating code in their own containers, monitoring their behavior and costs, and, perhaps most interestingly, interacting directly with agents from other companies. In this world, software does not just respond; it organizes, cooperates, and evolves.
A conceptual study was even presented where agents from Airbnb, Expedia, and Booking.com negotiated among themselves to find the best deal for a user. A simple example, yet one that shows how close we are to a digital economy where inter-company flows are automated, transparent, and optimized in real time.
An Overwhelming Event—in the Best Sense
With 5 massive pavilions, 15 thematic stages, and dozens of parallel events—from New Media and Creative Summit to Fintech, SaaS, Growth, Government, Health, Sport, or New Energy—it’s impossible to see everything Web Summit offers.
We closely followed areas related to marketing, AI-driven apps, and innovations in digital infrastructure. The diversity of solutions is incredible: regardless of industry, you find at least three applications offering completely different approaches. And the fact that Lisbon reached capacity—“Lisbon Airport is experiencing difficulty managing the volume of traffic…”—says enough about the scale of the event. Web Summit is no longer just a place to see products; it’s a place to see directions.
In the end, Web Summit 2025 offered a highly coherent picture of technology’s trajectory. AI is not a single revolution but a set of parallel transformations, each influencing a different segment of the economy and society.
Its impact is visible in how digital infrastructure is built and operated, in data center architecture, in the performance of global networks, and in software development. Beyond technology, AI redefines organizations’ ability to create value. Every session reflected the same principle: utility, relevance, and impact must guide every implementation.
Web Summit 2025 sent a clear message: AI is no longer a concept in a distant horizon. It is present, operational, and already integrated into the strategies of companies preparing for their next growth phase.
And we, M247, are ready to be part of this “Everything AI” present, through our computing services (including AI servers), global network, and software architectures (including LLMs) offered to clients worldwide.