From artificial intelligence to space, including longevity, cybersecurity, and smart cities, VDS 2025 has unveiled the agenda for its eighth edition, featuring an extensive program of activities across seven stages, three of them set over the lake of Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences.
The conferences and panel discussions will feature more than 600 speakers, including founders of 300 international startups that have secured over €8.5 billion in investment.
For the first time in Spain, the founders of eight global unicorns valued at over $1 billion will take part: Creditas, the leading Brazilian fintech in Latin America; Glovo, the Spanish platform that revolutionized delivery in Europe; Remote, a U.S. company specializing in distributed work and global talent; and letgo, founded by Spanish entrepreneurs and a pioneer in digital secondhand trading. They will be joined by Mews, a Czech tech company transforming hotel management; Exoticca, one of Europe’s most innovative travel companies; Qonto, the French fintech leader in financial services; and ElevenLabs, a U.S. unicorn at the forefront of generative voice AI.
In addition, VDS 2025 will feature three companies that, after reaching unicorn status, have now become major publicly listed tech giants: Booking.com, now part of Booking Holdings with a market capitalization exceeding $100 billion; Just Eat, which went public and later merged with Takeaway.com in 2020 to form Just Eat Takeaway.com; and Adyen, the Dutch payments company listed on the stock exchange with an estimated market capitalization between €30 and €40 billion.
The eighth edition of VDS will also bring together 22 European scaleups growing at rates above 20% annually, including Clidrive, Sequra, Maisa AI, Penguin, PLD Space, Voicemod, PlayFilm, Red Points, Loop Earplugs, Pasqal, TaxDown, Multiverse Computing, PowerUP Energy Technologies, Einride, Sesame HR, BEONx, Internxt, Genially, Clikalia, and DetraPel. Among the Series A startups, Shakers, which has raised €14 million, and PropHero, with €16 million in one of the largest Series A rounds in Spain’s proptech sector, stand out.
The 12,000 attendees of the international tech conference will enjoy a program featuring over 600 speakers —45% of them international— who will gather in Valencia on October 22 and 23. The agenda will unfold across seven stages: Main Stage, Santander Stage, Innovation Stage, Future Stage, Pitch Stage, Discovery Stage, and Workshop Room.
These stages will address the major trends shaping global technology —from smart cities and digital infrastructure to cybersecurity, space, and defense— as well as next-generation consumer technologies, talent and the future of work, health and longevity, the energy transition, and scientific innovation and deeptech.
Under the motto “Collaborate Today. Transform Tomorrow” and with Symbiosis as its central narrative theme, the annual event organized by Startup Valencia invites collective reflection on how technology, when connected to human purpose, can provide real answers to today’s most pressing global challenges.
VDS will also strengthen its commitment to sustainability and diversity, with more than 35% women speakers and a focus on collaboration within the startup ecosystem to address climate challenges such as the DANA storm that hit Valencia in October 2024. In this context, the event will showcase the winning proposal of the international hackathon Hack the Future, promoted by Estonia’s e-Residency program and Startup Valencia, with the collaboration of the City Councils of Tallinn and Valencia, Valencia Innovation Capital, and Garage48, aimed at developing sustainable tech solutions for disaster resilience and urban innovation.
More than 25 international corporations will also take part, including Microsoft, LinkedIn, IBM, PowerCo, Mapfre, Volkswagen, Amazon, Google, HubSpot, Hitachi, Just Eat, Booking.com, EHang, and Hexaware Technologies, among others.
Featured Panels
On the first day, Sacha Michaud, Co-founder of Glovo, will take the Main Stage alongside Enrique Linares, Co-founder of Plus Partners and letgo, in the talk “The Real Road to Unicorn: Grit, Chaos and Everything in Between.” Afterwards, Pablo Fernández (Clidrive), Sergio Furió (Creditas), and Paloma Vila (Endeavor Spain) will share insights on dreaming big, scaling fast, and reinvesting success. Minh Le, Co-creator of Counter-Strike, will discuss the creation of one of the most influential video games in history.
The morning will continue with “From Screen to Strategy: Purpose, Passion and Investing in What Truly Matters”, featuring Hollywood actress Kelly Rutherford, Benjamin Buthmann (Koalo), and Sam Eshrati (TechBBQ). The topic of inclusion will take the spotlight with a panel on technological impact and diversity featuring Ella McCann-Tomlin (Mews), Daniel Nieto (Remote), and Olivia McEvoy (Booking.com), moderated by Ingrid Tappin (Diverse Leaders in Tech).
In the afternoon, attention will turn to venture capital strategies across regions with Jacky Abitbol (Cathay Innovation), Fridtjof Berge (Antler), and Alejandro Rodríguez (IDC Ventures). Later, Gillian Tans (Booking.com) and Ingrid Tappin will discuss how to scale people-centered companies in today’s context.
On October 23, artificial intelligence will take center stage with “AI as the New Infrastructure: Investing Beyond the Hype”, presented by Christian Teichmann (Burda Principal Investments). Volodymyr Nosov (WhiteBIT) will deliver a keynote on blockchain’s role as the foundation of the new digital economy. Former Premier League champion Sol Campbell will join a conversation about resilience and success stories, followed by a panel on evaluating investor fit with Hugo Arévalo (ThePowerMBA) and Luis Garay (Samaipata).
The day will also feature Aubrey de Grey, a world leader in longevity research, with the keynote “Taking Rejuvenation Research to Escape Velocity.” Later, Ana Peleteiro (Preply) will explore the future of personalized, AI-driven education. Laura Urquizu, CEO of Red Points, will lead a session on cybersecurity, and toward the program’s close, Iñaki Berenguer, Co-founder of CoverWallet and Managing Partner at LifeX Ventures, will share his vision of Europe’s role in global innovation in a talk moderated by Mounia Berrada-Gouzi.
Meanwhile, on the Santander Stage, Gwen Kolader (Hexaware Technologies) will speak about inclusive leadership in international environments.
The eighth edition of VDS will also welcome Sigma Squared Society, the global community connecting young impact-driven entrepreneurs worldwide. Five founders from the network will participate: Haz Hubble (Co-founder of Pally), Samuel Frey (Co-founder of Aeon), David Zamarin (Founder & CEO of DetraPel Inc), Amelie Binder (CEO of CargoKite), and Niklas Leck (Co-founder & Director of Penguin), joined by Julia Zhou, President of Sigma Squared.
Once again, VDS 2025 will feature strong institutional representation, with the participation of Diana Morant, Spain’s Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities; Mª José Catalá, Mayor of Valencia; and the Regional Ministers of Innovation and Finance of the Generalitat Valenciana, reinforcing the event’s position as a benchmark for public-private collaboration.
Flagship Forums and Programs
The VDS 2025 agenda also features a dedicated space for thematic forums that connect innovation, technology, and society from diverse perspectives.
Scalability Day will take place on October 22 as a meeting point for scaleups aiming to accelerate their growth. Organized by Startup Valencia, it will bring together founders, investors, and international experts for a day focused on scalability strategies, success stories, and key trends for expanding companies.
The Port Entrepreneurship International Congress (PEIC), driven by Opentop and the Valenciaport Foundation, will also be held as the largest international gathering on port innovation, addressing the challenges and opportunities faced by the maritime sector in a global context.
In addition, Women Paint Too, an initiative created by Pilar Mateo, will bring a transformative vision to VDS through urban art. The project, which connects science, technology, design, and creativity, seeks to give visibility to historically silenced women and reimagine public spaces as platforms for social innovation and inclusion.
Investment Attraction
VDS will bring together the world’s leading venture capital funds: more than 800 investors managing over €300 billion in assets, including more than 50 top-tier global funds.
Among the highlights are Cathay Innovation, with over €2.5 billion AUM across sectors such as artificial intelligence, fintech, health, and energy; Flashpoint, managing approximately $500 million focused on B2B, SaaS, and growth; and Antler, a global venture capital platform with more than $1 billion in assets. They will be joined by Burda Principal Investments, with around $500 million focused on digital media and e-commerce; IDC Ventures, managing over $800 million as part of the IDC Network platform exceeding $2.5 billion; and Armilar Venture Partners, with around €300 million specialized in deep tech.
Also attending will be Vsquared Ventures (€450 million, focused on science and deep tech), Marvelous DeepTech VC (€100 million dedicated to climate technologies), LUMO Labs (a strategic fund focused on social impact and emerging technologies), HV Capital (€2.8 billion AUM), Earlybird (€2.5 billion with a strong track record in early and growth stages), NGP Capital (€1.6 billion focused on deep tech and mobility), and Brighteye, a €150 million fund specialized in edtech.
At the national level, several of Spain’s most active venture capital funds will participate, including Samaipata (€150 million AUM, focused on fintech, SaaS, and marketplaces), JME Ventures (€120 million invested in early and growth stages), Kfund (€150 million with a multisector seed-stage approach), Kibo Ventures (over €200 million invested in early and growth-stage tech companies), Bonsai Partners (a consolidated player in digital and consumer internet investments), and Nauta Capital (over €600 million AUM focused on B2B software, with offices in Barcelona, London, and Berlin).
They will be joined by GoHub Ventures, Adara Ventures, Sabadell Venture Capital, Draper B1, Faraday Venture Partners, Wayra Ventures, Encomenda VC, and Caixa Capital Risk, whose participation confirms VDS’s relevance as a strategic meeting point for startups and investors from around the world.
Support from Leading Corporations and Institutions
This year, VDS is supported by Banco Santander as the main sponsor, Valencia Innovation Capital (City of Valencia) as the host partner, and e-Residency of the Government of Estonia as the twinned country. In addition, numerous tech companies, startups, and organizations have joined as strategic partners, contributing to the event’s global success and reach: Wayra Telefónica, EY, Fundación LAB, CaixaBank DayOne, PowerCo, Volkswagen, IBM, OVHcloud, MWC GSMA, Bit2Me, Adigital, ESTECH, Opentop by Valenciaport, and MAPFRE. Among the tech partners supporting the event are Microsoft, Amazon, Google for Startups, and HubSpot for Startups.
VDS 2025 also enjoys the backing of leading institutions that reinforce its position as an international benchmark in innovation and technology. These include the Ministry of Industry and Tourism of Spain, the Regional Government of Valencia (Generalitat Valenciana) through the Department of Innovation, Industry, Trade and Tourism, the Valencian Institute of Finance (IVF), the City of Arts and Sciences, TechFabLab, the University of Valencia (UV), the Science Park of the University of Valencia (PCUV), the Science Park of the Miguel Hernández University (UMH), the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), ENISA, CDTI, ICEX, and Renfe.
Together, they actively collaborate to strengthen Valencia’s position as a global innovation hub and a key space for the exchange of ideas, talent, and technological solutions.
