TL;DR
- GooApps® and GooVentures attended WebSummit 2025 in Lisbon to strengthen connections with Venture Capital, Corporate Venture, and corporate innovation teams across Europe.
- The mission focused on identifying AI-driven startups, exploring emerging technologies, and opening new opportunities for dealflow, strategic intros, and future pilots.
- With AI dominating the event and investor presence increasing by 74% vs. 2024 , WebSummit reinforced the accelerating role of applied AI in health, sport, and wellbeing.
- Across three days, the team met corporates, founders, and innovation institutions shaping Europe’s technological future.
Fresh from a successful mission to San Francisco and TechCrunch Disrupt, our team headed straight into another global innovation hotspot: WebSummit 2025. Held in Lisbon from November 10–13, the event convened more than 2,700 startups, 1,857 investors, and leaders from 108 countries.
It was a global stage where AI clearly dominated the conversation and set the tone for what comes next. We were joined by other corporations forming part of the mission, Grup Mediapro, Hinojosa Packaging Group, Roca Group, and Suara Cooperativa.
WebSummit 2025 was an opportunity to:
- understand emerging AI trends affecting health, sport, and wellbeing
- connect with global VC and CVC partners
- explore pilot-ready technologies
- learn about public initiatives that drive innovation
- expand cross-border collaboration with Southern European corporates and startups
Our goal was to listen, learn, and connect, bringing back insights and relationships that accelerate our mission to co-create technology that improves people’s lives.
“We came to learn from one of Europe’s most dynamic innovation ecosystems and to strengthen alliances with organizations that share our vision: innovating to improve people’s lives. Our connections with leading VCs and CVC teams, along with new dealflow opportunities, help us build long-term relationships that support the growth of our startups.” – Eric Garcia, CEO & CTO of GooApps® and GooVentures
Exploring Portugal’s innovation ecosystem during WebSummit 2025
EDP: Open innovation and a model for corporate venture at scale
The first day began with a strategic visit to EDP, meeting Vasco Costa Cabral (Corporate Innovation Manager) and Tomás Moreno (Head of Innovation Ecosystem) to explore how the company accelerates the adoption of innovative solutions. Through programs like Energy Starter and Free Electrons, EDP has built a global open innovation model that merges sustainability with startup collaboration, setting a strong benchmark for corporate venture building.
EDP also shared insights into their structured innovation pipeline, which reflects one of the most mature scouting models in Europe:
- 750 startups identified,
- 120 pitches,
- 75 pilots,
- 15 investments alongside other corporates.
Their approach is to validate first through pilots, scale through business units, and invest only when strategic value is demonstrated. This alignment between innovation, sustainability, and real operational needs resonates strongly with the way GooApps® and GooVentures build and evaluate venture opportunities.
IAPMEI: Portugal’s strategic engine for startups and international talent
At IAPMEI, I.P. – Agência para a Competitividade e Inovação, we met with José Vale (Head of Innovation and Entrepreneurship) to delve into Portugal’s fast-evolving startup landscape. The conversation highlighted national programs such as Startup Visa and Tech Visa, designed to attract international talent and strengthen collaboration across incubators, digital hubs, and European clusters.
IAPMEI also outlined the broader structure of Portugal’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, supported by 130 certified incubators, 21 competitiveness clusters, and national policies that aim to accelerate startup creation and internationalization.
These frameworks open meaningful opportunities to expand cross-border dealflow, source emerging startups aligned with health, sport, and wellbeing, and build collaborative bridges between Southern Europe’s innovation hubs.
LabX: Public-sector innovation shaped by design thinking
Later in the day, the mission met João Lopes, Rui Martinho, and Jorge Lagarto at LabX – the Center for Innovation in the Public Sector, discovering how design thinking istransforming public services through experimentation and collaboration. Supported by a network of 13 innovation labs and European initiatives, LabX trains public teams, guides challenge definition, and facilitates national-scale implementation through structured bootcamps.
For GooApps® and GooVentures, LabX offers a powerful example of people-centered innovation: start with real needs, validate solutions early, and scale responsibly.
Startup Portugal & Unicorn Factory Lisboa: A gateway to global scaleups
The day concluded with the “Welcome to the Global Stage” event organized by Startup Portugal, followed by a visit to Unicorn Factory Lisboa with Patrícia Romeiras Santos. Located in the ambitious Beato Innovation District, this 50,000 m² project brings together entrepreneurship, global scaleups, and creative industries, positioning Lisbon as a rising European hub for technology and creativity.
This final stop reinforced the idea that Portugal has become a strategic bridge for new dealflow, collaboration opportunities, and innovation platforms that align with our mission to co-create technology with purpose.
AI discoveries, startup dealflow, and global collaboration
The second day was all about exploring the exhibition area, and this is where we discovered one of the most promising innovations at WebSummit 2025: an eye-tracking system developed at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (Qatar) that claims to detect early signs of autism in only four minutes. If validated, this technology could represent a major step forward for neurodevelopmental healthcare — an area directly connected to La Ruta Azul, our applied-AI initiative focused on autism and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Conversations with global AI startups
Throughout the day, the team met founders pushing the boundaries of applied AI, including:
- Breakthrough (United States) – AI transforming B2B sales and decision-making.
- Sensay (Singapore) – AI to understand consumer behavior and enhance customer experience.
- GetVocal AI (France) – conversational AI adopted by global companies.
- Kalimera.ai (Cyprus) – intelligent communication for businesses and clients.
- VR NeuroLink AI (Poland) – combining VR and neuroscience to empower patients.
- Startup Portugal – strengthening connections across Iberian innovation ecosystems.
Many of these startups echoed WebSummit’s strongest trends:
- dominance of AI/ML,
- growing interest in digital process automation,
- expansion of no-code + AI (“vibe coding”),
- and increased focus on strategic partnerships with corporates rather than production-only models.
For GooApps® and GooVentures, these conversations surfaced new dealflow opportunities and potential AI-driven pilots relevant to our core verticals.
The day closed at the Barcelona–Catalonia Networking Cocktail organized by ACCIÓ, an event that brought together startups, corporates, and investors from both sides of the border.
Closing with enterprise AI, corporate innovation, and shared purpose
The final day of WebSummit 2025 brought another major discovery: Omnix AI – Value Chain Automation, led by Aaron Cassorla. Omnix is an AI-powered SaaS platform that enables the cognitive automation of complex business processes, giving enterprises real-time agility and visibility across their operations.
Backed by Plug and Play Tech Center and Wayra Hispam, Omnix reflects the strength of Latin American and U.S. innovation in reshaping the future of intelligent enterprise systems. This encounter opened new conversations around AI-driven automation and potential synergies with GooApps® and GooVentures’ applied-AI initiatives.
Key takeaways and next steps after WebSummit 2025
- AI dominated the event and led startup representation.
- Investor attendance surged to 1,857 (+74% YoY).
- Startup–corporate collaboration accelerated, with growing demand for pilots and co-development.
- Digital process automation and “vibe coding” (no-code + AI) gained momentum.
- Portugal’s ecosystem strengthened, with 2,725 startups from 108 countries and notable diversity (40% founded by women).
“When startups, corporates, and public institutions collaborate with purpose, innovation accelerates. The trends at WebSummit confirmed that AI is reshaping every sector, and they strengthen our resolve to build AI-driven startups and spinoffs that improve lives in health, sport, and wellbeing.” — Eric Garcia, CEO & CTO of GooApps® and GooVentures
Following WebSummit 2025, GooApps® and GooVentures will:
- Advance follow-up meetings with AI startups aligned with our venture-building roadmap.
- Explore venture-client opportunities with corporates across Southern Europe in health, sport, and wellbeing.
- Continue strengthening the Iberian innovation ecosystem corridor by connecting VCs, CVCs, incubators, and scaleups.
- Evaluate new dealflow streams generated through WebSummit and integrate them into our scouting and validation processes.
Our mission to co-create technology with purpose, anchored in responsible AI and meaningful collaboration, is stronger than ever.
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Are you a corporate or startup exploring AI-enabled pilots or early-stage projects in health, sport, or wellness?
Let’s connect and explore how we can co-create meaningful impact together. Reach out to the GooApps® and GooVentures team to discuss investment, pilots, or venture-building opportunities.
