The pace of VDS activities has accelerated in March. Throughout this month, we have announced two significant milestones related to this international tech event, which has established itself as one of the most distinguished in Southern Europe. The seventh edition, scheduled for October 23 and 24 at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, is expected to surpass previous records with over 12,000 attendees from more than 100 different countries; more than 700 investors managing assets worth over 30 billion euros, and the involvement of over 600 renowned international speakers and more than 2,500 startups.
VDS2024 has opened its Call for Speakers, with applications accepted until June 16. Presentations should address a current issue and explore the role of technology in tackling the contemporary challenges faced by society and the economy. The call is open to C-level executives, entrepreneurs, investors, and inspiring international leaders.
The VDS Startup Competition call has also been launched. This international startup competition seeks the world’s most disruptive emerging companies. Startups worldwide can submit their applications until June 29, with the sole requirement of having at least a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and developing an innovative solution that embraces the technological evolution currently underway. The 10 finalist startups chosen by the international jury will have the chance to showcase their projects during VDS2024, with the competition’s winning startup emerging from this group.
Keeping the focus on VDS, on March 12, Juan Luis Hortelano and Ángela Castelló, the president and CRO of Startup Valencia, respectively, discussed the seventh edition of the tech event in an interview for Levante-EMV. That same day, Karina Virrueta, Head of the Innovation Ecosystem, and Marta Gironés, Account Executive, welcomed a delegation from the British Embassy in Madrid.
Furthermore, we gathered representatives from corporates and partners of Startup Valencia to discuss the potential of the Valencian innovation ecosystem and the latest news about VDS2024, against the backdrop of the mascletà at Valencia’s Town Hall Square. The day concluded with an afterwork event with the international community and partners at Nomadon.
March began with the Investors Reverse Pitch by Startup Valencia, held on the 1st at the Work Café of Banco Santander and promoted by the Seed Committee of Startup Valencia. The event brought together representatives from leading investment funds to explain the types of startups they invest in and the requirements these firms must meet.
We also attended Forinvest on March 6 and 7, where we energized the participation of 24 startups across four pitch sessions and took part in a panel alongside Demium, Draper B1, CaixaBank Day One, and Valencia Plaza, to discuss the Valencian innovation ecosystem. Additionally, the president of Startup Valencia had the opportunity to speak about the digitalization of sports.
On March 8 and 9, we organized the Cybersecurity Hackathon with INCIBE, as part of the Cybersecurity Startup Program. The 25 participants, divided into four teams, worked to find solutions to current and sustainable challenges in the field of cybersecurity, with VeriHub emerging as the winner.
The DeepTech Workgroup of Startup Valencia held its inaugural meeting on March 13. This group was established with the goal of making the Valencian DeepTech ecosystem a global reference and promoting collaboration among its members.
We concluded the month with the signing of an agreement with ValgrAI (Valencian Graduate School and Research Network in Artificial Intelligence) to enhance collaboration and knowledge exchange in the field of Artificial Intelligence.
