The Web Summit Rio, the world’s largest innovation and technology conference, returns to the Marvelous City for its fourth consecutive year, taking place from June 8 to 11 at Riocentro. As the event approaches, Rio’s innovation ecosystem gathered on Friday (May 29), from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM, at Instituto 12 — one of Rio de Janeiro’s leading business hubs — for the Web Summit Rio 2026 Warm-Up, the official event that previews the trends set to shape discussions throughout the four-day conference.
The warm-up event, organized by Invest.Rio — the investment promotion and attraction agency of the Rio de Janeiro City Hall — in partnership with Instituto 12, brought together executives, startups, investors, and innovation leaders. Throughout the evening, participants gained early insights into the topics that will drive conversations at Web Summit Rio 2026, while also building strategic connections in an environment designed for networking.
One of the highlights of the evening was the on-stage announcement of Invest.Rio’s program that will take 10 Rio-based startups to Web Summit Rio 2026. In addition to gaining privileged access to the world’s largest innovation event, this year’s selected delegation will benefit from a unique opportunity created specifically for this edition: for the first time, Invest.Rio will feature a dedicated startup showcase area within its booth, increasing the visibility of Rio-based companies before a global audience.
According to Sidney Levy, President of Invest.Rio, the Web Summit Rio 2026 Warm-Up reinforces the strategic role that Rio de Janeiro has been consolidating within the global innovation landscape.
“Rio has already proven that it is the innovation capital of Latin America, and Web Summit is the stage where the entire world gets to see that happen. The Warm-Up is the official event that marks the arrival of yet another edition of the world’s largest innovation and technology conference. The goal of this gathering is to ensure that every participant who comes through here arrives at Riocentro ready to turn connections into real opportunities for Rio. And this year, we have taken another step forward: for the first time, we will have a startup showcase area at our booth, putting Rio’s entrepreneurs face-to-face with global investors and partners,” said Sidney Levy.
Guilherme Carames, Deputy Country Manager of Web Summit, highlighted the strength of the local ecosystem and Rio’s growing relevance on the event’s global agenda.
“Rio de Janeiro is one of the most vibrant and creative cities in the world, and the innovation ecosystem here reflects exactly that. Seeing Invest.Rio expand its presence at Web Summit with a startup showcase area is one of the clearest signs that Rio is not only participating in the global conversation about technology — it is leading important parts of it. The Warm-Up demonstrates that the city is mobilized, engaged, and ready for what lies ahead,” said Carames.
Web Summit Rio is the result of a successful partnership between Invest.Rio and the event organizers, a collaboration that has been renewed for another five years, securing future editions in the city through 2030. This year, the conference is expected to bring together more than 34,000 attendees, 600 investors, and 1,500 startups. The economic impact generated by Web Summit Rio exceeds R$170 million per year for the city’s economy, with a projected return of R$1.8 billion by 2030, considering all eight editions of the conference.