Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences is preparing to host the ninth edition of VDS, the international tech event organized by Startup Valencia, taking place on October 21-22. Juan Luis Hortelano, President of Startup Valencia; Nacho Mas, CEO of Startup Valencia and VDS; Paula Llobet, Councilor for Tourism, Innovation and Investment Attraction at Valencia City Council; and Ana María Ortells Miralles, General Director of the City of Arts and Sciences, have officially kicked off the countdown to the event, posing alongside the VDS 3D logo installation at this iconic city landmark.
Over two days, VDS 2026 will turn Valencia into a meeting point for the international technology and innovation ecosystem, bringing together startups, investors, major corporations, institutions and innovation leaders to create new opportunities for business, investment and collaboration.
The ninth edition of VDS will feature more than 600 speakers and representatives from 17 unicorn companies, including prominent figures such as Carl Lewis, nine-time Olympic gold medalist and recognized as World Athlete of the Century; Chris Cunningham, Co-Founder of ClickUp, the productivity software company that reached a $4 billion valuation; and David Shim, Co-Founder and CEO of Read AI, an artificial intelligence platform with more than five million monthly active users. Space exploration will also take center stage with Carmen Köhler, PhD in Physics and analog astronaut at the Austrian Space Forum, who has participated in simulated Mars missions. They will be joined by Yasmina Benkhoui, Agentic AI Strategist at NVIDIA; Ana Sandra Ruiz, a senior executive at Spotify, the platform with 777 million monthly active users; and Dong-Su Kim, CEO of LG Technology Ventures, alongside representatives from companies including IBM, AstraZeneca and Rolls-Royce, among others.
Under the theme “GENESIS. Origin of What’s Next” VDS 2026 will focus on a new era for the technology industry, where artificial intelligence is beginning to become essential infrastructure and advanced technologies are moving beyond experimentation into real-world applications. With more than 200 sessions covering artificial intelligence, defense and aerospace, health, energy, talent and mobility, the event will bring together startups, major corporations and investors to foster new partnerships, investments and international business ventures, further strengthening Valencia’s role as a connecting point for the global technology industry.
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