Under the glittering lights and amid towering skyscrapers pf Doha, the inaugural night of Web Summit Qatar 2025 set the stage for what is said to be one of the largest tech gatherings in the Middle East.
With more than 25,000 attendees and more than 1,500 exhibiting startups, the buzz was hard to miss energy as entrepreneurs, investors, and tech enthusiasts filled the halls, eager to uncover the latest tech that will redefine the future.
This year's Web Summit edition, running from February 23 to 26, the spotlight will be on artificial intelligence (AI). Generative AI, in particular will dominate conversations, with industry leaders likely to dissect its potential and pitfalls.
The opening night was inaugurated by Paddy Cosgrave, the CEO of Web Summit.
Among those in attendance were two major figures shaping the AI and startup ecosystem — Alexandr Wang, Founder & CEO of Scale AI, and Alexis Ohanian, founder of Seven Seven Six and co-founder of Reddit.
“The amount of pushback I got when I said that investing in women’s professional team could one day be worth a million dollars looked so different from when I said that bitcoin could be soaring in value. It goes to show that in this industry VCs get paid or compensated to be early and right but there are some prejudices and preconceived notions that hold people back from opportunities that could have done very well,” Ohanian, who is married to tennis legend Serena Williams, said on February 23.
The Reddit co-founder added he bought his first franchise Angel City FC and the team is now worth more than $300 million. “It is the most valuable team in the women’s professional sports and it is just 4.5 years,” he added.
Ohanian made his mark by co-founding Reddit in 2005. He stepped away in 2020 to focus on a new mission—empowering the next generation of startups especially in women’s professional sports. That mission took the form of Seven Seven Six, the venture capital firm he founded in 2020.
Ohanian has invested in a diverse portfolio of companies, including Coinbase, Patreon, and Instacart, with focus on crypto, fintech, and Web3 and women’s sports. His high-profile marriage to Williams has also made him a familiar face beyond the tech world.
Entrepreneurs on the hunt for investors and mentors
The summit, which has CNBC and CNBC TV18 as media partners, will have a sea of young, budding entrepreneurs — those who have already started their companies or are looking to launch — seeking both mentorship and funding at this summit.
After all, Uber, the ride-hailing giant, secured its Series B funding of $26.5 million in 2011 at the same Web Summit event in Dublin. Many startup founders walking the halls, too, are hoping of their Uber moment.
Apart from startup founders and VCs, many tech enthusiasts, AI CXOs, and corporate leaders are in attendance, eager to discuss the latest trends, forge new partnerships and explore opportunities.
Key speakers lined up at Web Summit Qatar 2025
Top tech entrepreneurs, investors, and global icons are set to take the stage during the four-day event.
Some key names include bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell, who is expected to share his insights on innovation and human behaviour, Eduardo Saverin, co-founder of Facebook and now leading B Capital, Jay Shetty, author and popular podcaster, Laura Chambers CEO of Mozilla and Hollywood actor Will Smith.
Other prominent names include Molly He, CEO of Element Biosciences, Carla Zakhem-Hassan, Chief Marketing Officer, JP Morgan Chase & Co, Hosam Arab, co-founder and CEO of Tabby and Andrew Feldman, CEO of Cerebras.
Top investors who will speak at the event include GV Ravishankar, managing director at Peak XV, Noor Sweid, founder and managing partner at Global Ventures, Huda Al-Lawati, founder and CEO at Aliph Capital, Jalak Jobanputra, founding partner at FuturePerfect Ventures, Amal Dokhan, managing partner at 500 Global, and Fadi Ghandour, managing partner at Wamda Capital.
Beyond AI, other key themes shaping the summit include how technology can be harnessed to save the planet, the rise of the Middle Eastern tech economy, and the shifting patterns of venture capital investments.
(The reporter is in Doha for the Web Summit 2025.)
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