Thousands of people packed in to the Convention Centre Tuesday evening for the kick off of the inaugural Web Summit Vancouver.More than 15,000 people from over 100 countries are expected to attend the event, which runs from May 27 to 30. .First to take the stage was Web Summit founder Paddy Cosgrave, who laid out his vision for the conference. "Web Summit, I hope, is a window into our shared and increasingly technology-driven future," he said, noting that over the course of the next few days, 250 speakers would be sharing their expertise in hopes of making the world a better place not just for those in the industry, but for everyone..He went on to explain that the decision to host Web Summit in Vancouver was made following a push from local officials, including BC NDP MLA Brenda Bailey and Mayor Ken Sim."Last year I came to Vancouver for the first time, and I genuinely was blown away," he said. "The city is stunning ... but what really stood out were the people and the momentum in the tech sector that I experienced first-hand.".Next up was Mayor Sim, who told attendees what makes Vancouver the perfect host city for the conference.."Water, sunshine. You know what, we're way more than that," he began. "This is a city built on bold ideas, on collaboration, and on the belief that the future doesn't just happen; it's something that we create together."Sim went on to note that Vancouver is home to almost 100,000 highly-skilled tech workers, and "one of the fastest growing tech pipelines in North America.""From AI to clean tech, digital media to life sciences ... augmented reality to blockchain to crypto, the list goes on and on," he continued. "Vancouver companies are solving real-world problems and defining entire industries."Sim touted the fact that over the last five years alone, over $40 billion has been invested in tech companies headquartered in Metro Vancouver — not just major international players, but local startups as well."It's that mix of international reach and homegrown talent," he said, "that makes our ecosystem incredibly special.".Among those slated to speak at the event are cognitive scientist and AI critic Gary Marcus, Cloudflare co-founder Michelle Zatlyn, Bluesky CEO Jay Graber, and Thiel Capital Managing Director Jack Selby.Also in the lineup is American philosopher and professor Dr. Cornel West, who will speak alongside Axios cybersecurity reporter Sam Sabin on "truth, technology, and democracy.".Thousands expected to attend Web Summit Vancouver as BC aims to boost tech sector.On the eve of the conference, the federal government announced a $1.8 million investment in Pacific Economic Development Canada, which will augment a $9.9 million investment announced in 2023 to boost the tech sector — namely artificial intelligence — in BC.
