Valencia Digital Summit (VDS2022) has demonstrated in its fifth edition the exponential growth of the Valencian innovation ecosystem, confirming that the Valencian Community has established itself as a globally recognized technology hub. The event, organised by Startup Valencia and hosted at the City of Arts and Sciences, brought together startups, accelerators, investors and key players in the international innovation ecosystem and experienced a 140% growth in attendance compared to last year’s edition. A resounding success backed by record figures: more than 12,000 attendees from over 35 different countries, more than 450 world-renowned speakers, and more than 400 national and international investors – with a portfolio of over €6 billion euros to invest in the coming year – took part in VDS2022.
The conference was the scene of important announcements for the global tech and innovation scene. Stéphane Paillard, CEO of the French company Agily and speaker at VDS2022, announced during his speech the acquisition of an important French Corporate Venture Builder, founded as a business unit of the famous incubator “The Family”.
VDS2022 has served to give visibility to the projects being carried out in the Valencian Community and highlight the talent and technology being developed in the region. At VDS2022, the 2022 report from the Startup Observatory of the Valencian Community, developed by Startup Valencia, was presented. Teresa García, Head of Entrepreneurship and Cooperativism at the Regional Ministry of Sustainable Economy, Productive Sectors, Trade and Employment, and Virginia Sánchez, Managing Director at Zubi Labs, were responsible for presenting the data in this report, which highlights that this year the ecosystem has experienced a growth of 12.5% compared to 2021 and that it has birthed over 1,130 new startups – 12% more than the previous year.
The document also shows that 68% of Valencian startups have increased their workforce and created jobs with high added value.
Analysis of strategic sectors
VDS2022 analysed the latest tech and innovation trends in strategic sectors of the Valencian Community. This was the case of the Aerospace forum, designed in collaboration with AEROCAS (Castellón Airport), in which the potential of this infrastructure as a key for the implementation of business projects in the aerospace sector and as a business incubator for the development of R&D initiatives was presented.
Throughout three sessions participated in by the regional secretary of the Regional Ministry of Economy, Empar Martínez; the general manager of Aerocas, Blanca Marín; the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Espai Aero, Val Space Consortium, the College of Aeronautical Engineers (COIAE-AIAE) and the companies Arkadia Space, PLD, COMET Ingeniería and NAX Solutions, the attractiveness of the Valencian Community to the aerospace sector and the bases for the development of this industry were analysed. In addition, research experiences and success stories of Valencian companies were presented.
Also held today was the Ports and Logistics forum, a meeting point for investors, start-ups and corporations in the sector to analyse the challenges facing ports, promoted by Opentop, the Innovation Hub of Valenciaport.
Among the great challenges that the sector has to respond to are, firstly, the growth in the demand for logistics services that push the envelope of capacity and efficiency, and secondly, the pressing need to reduce the carbon footprint of port operations. Tech and innovation are emerging as the optimal tools for meeting these challenges, but the traditional nature of ports could mean that the adoption of these disruptive solutions will be slower than desired.
VDS2022 also hosted the Health Forum, organised by the Regional Ministry for Innovation, Universities, Science and Digital Society, with the participation of Sonia Tirado, the Ministry’s Head of Innovation.
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