VDS 2025: Valencia becomes the European Capital of Tech Innovation

Record-breaking attendance, global collaboration, and an enduring message of transformation defined the eighth edition of VDS, held on October 22-23 at the City of Arts and Sciences and organized by Startup Valencia. Over two days, the international tech event brought together more than 12,000 global leaders, investors, and founders from 120 countries, confirming its status as one of Europe’s leading international technology gatherings and establishing Valencia as a world-class innovation hub.

A record-setting edition

VDS 2025 marked a new milestone in global participation, with 45% of attendees traveling from outside Spain, a 41% increase from last year. More than 3,000 startups, 1,500 corporations, and 800 investors managing over €300 billion in assets gathered under the theme “Collaborate Today. Transform Tomorrow.”

Across seven stages and 600 speakers, the summit explored how technology and human purpose can work in symbiosis to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges — from climate change and AI governance to cybersecurity, health, and sustainable cities.

Human purpose at the heart of Technology

This year’s edition was deeply inspired by solidarity after Storm DANA, which devastated parts of the Valencia region in 2024. Startup Valencia’s President Juan Luis Hortelano reflected on how the community’s response through initiatives like DANA Help and Adopt a School exemplified resilience through collaboration. That spirit guided the event’s narrative, positioning innovation as a force for both progress and empathy.

Scientist and entrepreneur Pilar Mateo presented the Woman Paint Too initiative, which empowers women to transform adversity into invention. Diversity and sustainability were woven into every aspect of VDS 2025, with over a third of speakers being women and numerous sessions addressing equitable growth, inclusion, and environmental impact.

Global Voices, Local Impact

From Hollywood actress and investor Kelly Rutherford discussing purpose-driven entrepreneurship to Sol Campbell, former England captain, reflecting on resilience, VDS 2025 featured an extraordinary lineup of visionaries bridging technology, business, culture and innovation.

Unicorn founders including those from Creditas, Glovo, Remote, letgo, Mews, Exoticca, Qonto, and ElevenLabs shared the stage with leaders from Booking.com, Just Eat Takeaway.com, and Adyen. All tech giants that began as startups themselves. Panels on startup scaling featured Gillian Tans (former CEO of Booking.com), Sacha Michaud (Glovo), and Enrique Linares (letgo, Plus Partners), who offered real-world insights on growth, grit, and reinvention.

Meanwhile, Aubrey de Grey, pioneer in longevity research, explored the science of rejuvenation, while Ana Peleteiro, VP of Data & Applied AI at Preply, showcased how “human-first, AI-enabled” education is transforming learning. Minh Le, creator of Counter-Strike, discussed the future of gaming and creativity in the digital age.

AI, DeepTech, and scalability take Center Stage

Artificial intelligence dominated the agenda, with sessions like “AI as the New Infrastructure: Investing Beyond the Hype” by Christian Teichmann (Burda Principal Investments) and Iñaki Berenguer (LifeX Ventures, Coverwallet) examining AI’s evolution across sectors such as healthcare and education. Blockchain, cybersecurity, and defense also emerged as core themes shaping the future of innovation.

The second day featured Scalability Day, organized by Adigital and EsTech with the support of ICEX, which brought together international founders and investors to share best practices for scaling sustainably. The event underscored the strength of Europe’s scaleup ecosystem, highlighting 22 fast-growing startups with annual growth rates above 20%.

Valencia’s rise as a European Tech Innovation Hub

During the opening ceremony, Mayor Mª José Catalá announced the City Council’s continued support for VDS for two more years, declaring that the summit places Valencia ahead of Madrid and Barcelona as a magnet for international tech investment and talent. The collaboration agreement between Startup Valencia and e-Residency of the Government of Estonia was also renewed, deepening ties between two of Europe’s most dynamic digital ecosystems.

New data presented in the Valencian Startup Observatory 2025 revealed the city’s accelerating momentum: 1,689 startups, up 11.34% from 2024, with €160 million raised in 2025 — a 66% increase in funding activity. More than 70% of Valencian startups received investment this year, reflecting a thriving and increasingly global ecosystem.

Awards and Recognition

The VDS International Startup Competition crowned Spacebackend (Luxembourg) as winner in the Early Stage category and Zibra AI (Ukraine) in the Growth Stage. Honors were also given to the Startup Valencia DANA Help initiative, Marina de Empresas for its post-DANA recovery project “Alcem-se,” and Espai Aero CV for advancing aerospace innovation. Iñaki Berenguer received the VDS Honorary Award, recognizing his contributions to global entrepreneurship.

Institutional and corporate backing

VDS was supported by Banco Santander as main sponsor, Valencia Innovation Capital as host partner, and e-Residency of Estonia as partnering country. A strong coalition of partners, including Wayra Telefónica, EY, Fundación LAB, CaixaBank DayOne, PowerCo, Volkswagen Group Services, IBM, OVHcloud, Mobile World Capital, Bit2Me, Adigital, EsTech, Opentop (Valenciaport), and MAPFRE, contributed to its success. Technology partners Microsoft, Amazon, Google for Startups, and HubSpot for Startups further reinforced VDS’s global reach.

Institutional supporters such as Spain’s Ministry of Industry and Tourism, Generalitat Valenciana, ICEX, CDTI, ENISA, Renfe, and major universities cemented the summit’s reputation as a benchmark for innovation and technology in Europe.

Collaborate Today. Transform Tomorrow.

The closing ceremony, led by Spain’s Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant, underscored how collaboration remains the foundation for global progress. “The symbiosis that emerged from VDS 2025 will endure,” said Hortelano, “as we have become a global platform driving a better future.”

From the renewal of international partnerships to the launch of new scaling initiatives, VDS 2025 has proven that technology, driven by purpose and collaboration, can transform the world, starting from Valencia.