Web Summit Rio concludes with record-high attendence

China

Web Summit Rio concludes with record-high attendence

2025-05-02 18:34 Last Updated At：19:17

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Web Summit Rio, Latin American franchise of global tech and innovation, wrapped up Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, breaking attendance records for the third consecutive year.

The event brought together thousands of attendees looking to connect, learn and stay ahead with the latest digital technology advances and innovations since its launch in 2023.

This year's four-day edition brought a record of nearly 35,000 attendees from over 100 countries and regions, along with about 1,400 startups and over 600 investors.

Artur Pereira, the summit's manager, credits the jump in attendance to the 106 million U.S. dollars in investment for the top 40 startups raised in 2024, about 2.3 million dollars each.

“Startups know that [if] they want to get funded, [if] they want to do business, [if] they want to meet the biggest tech companies in the world, they [need to] come to Web Summit,” Pereira said.

Embraer, a global aerospace company headquartered in Brazil and one of the summit's main exhibitors and investors, held what it called a "startup marathon" in its search for partnerships. With a strong global market presence in commercial, executive, and defense aviation, the company also used the event to highlight how innovation remains central to its growth strategy.

"If we don't apply Artificial Intelligence, if we don't apply new technology to our products, if we don't offer these things to clients who are seeking certain profit margins, we lose our competitivity. So, innovation is not a choice. It is a necessity, and it has always been that way with Embraer,” said Leonardo Garnica, head of corporate innovation of Embraer.

While serious networking and deal-making were the main focus of the summit, there were also lighter sides to the event, for example, a digital rainforest experience, or stepping on the gas in a virtual 3D formula-one driver experience offered by racing giant McLaren.

The event has been extended in the same venue for another five years, until 2030.

Uganda suspends DRC flights amid efforts to prevent Ebola outbreak spillover

Uganda on Thursday announced the temporary suspension of flights to and from the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) following an outbreak of Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease that has killed dozens of people.

Diana Atwine, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Health, said in a statement issued in Kampala that the National Task Force (NTF), chaired by Uganda's Vice President Jessica Alupo, had resolved to suspend all flights between Uganda and the DRC, with the measure taking effect within 48 hours.

The move follows the detection last week of two imported Ebola cases in Kampala, the Ugandan capital.

A 59-year-old Congolese man died from the virus at Kibuli Muslim Hospital in Kampala, while the other patient remains in isolation at Mulago National Referral Hospital. A total of 127 contacts have been identified and are in institutional quarantine.

According to Atwine, the government has also temporarily suspended public passenger ferry services on the Semuliki River, cross-border bus operations and all public passenger transport between Uganda and the DRC for the next four weeks, while allowing the continued movement of goods and food supplies.

According to the ministry, weekly markets in border sub-counties across high-risk districts have also been suspended for four weeks.

The NTF has activated a series of preparedness and response measures, including the suspension of cultural celebrations and commemorative events that draw large crowds along the Uganda-DRC border.

Over the past 24 hours, health authorities in the DRC and the World Health Organization have reported a worsening outbreak across the central African nation, with around 600 suspected cases and 139 probable deaths recorded since the outbreak was officially declared on May 15.