This year’s expanded edition welcomed 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.
The second annual Web Summit held in Doha at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC) between February 23 and 26 had a bevy of tech entrepreneurs and financial backers who got together to assess and understand the future of artificial intelligence (AI).
His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, inaugurated the second edition of Web Summit Qatar, the largest technology event in the Middle East and North Africa.
In his opening speech, HE the Prime Minister emphasised Qatar’s continued efforts to cement its position as a global hub for innovation and entrepreneurship. He highlighted the nation’s commitment to improving regulatory frameworks and creating new economic opportunities for the private sector.
He stated: “Built on the back of our thriving energy sector, we are positioned for a private sector take-off. This launch will include even more transformative partnerships across key sectors, from pioneering fintech solutions to groundbreaking climate technologies.”
HE the Prime Minister emphasised that Qatar will continue to reinforce its commitment to supporting startups, stating: “We plan to renovate our entire economy to make Qatar the top regional destination for startups and create an ecosystem for startups to innovate and thrive.”
Qatar is seeking to use its gas wealth to help it become a regional AI leader amid rising competition from neighbouring Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Qatar had signed a five-year deal with Scale AI to deploy AI-powered tools and training in a push to improve government services in the country.
2025 Web Summit
The summit kicked off with a series of panel discussions featuring prominent entrepreneurs from around the world, including Alexandr Wang, founder and CEO of Scale AI, and Alexis Ohanian, Co-Founder of Reddit and General Partner at Seven Seven Six.
Leading entrepreneurs from around the world, including Alexander Wang, founder and CEO of Scale AI, and Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit and general partner at Seven Seven Six, took centre stage at the event on the opening day.
Key questions discussed at the summit were over the future of AI amid companies and investors that are changing that landscape more rapidly than what the players themselves expected.
The United States and China are leading in preparedness for AI, said Wang of US company Scale AI. DeepSeek, the Chinese AI company that develops large language models that are competitive with OpenAI’s, but cost less to create. demonstrated that it is a relatively close race between the two countries and that others will have to follow suit soon.
