Web Summit Vancouver: dates, who attends, and how founders get in
Web Summit Vancouver gathers the people and companies writing the next chapter of global innovation.
Verified ·30 official sources·Organised by Connected Intelligence (Canada) Ltd, the Web Summit Group entity named as seller and organiser for Web Summit Vancouver
- Next edition
- May 25–28, 2027 · Web Summit Vancouver 2027 source
- Where
- Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver, Canada source
- Format
- in-person · 4 days (2026 edition: May 11–14)
- Tickets
- CA$ 0–CA$ 38,095 (2027; CA$ 0 is the accepted Investor ticket; General Attendee is displayed at CA$ 295 promotional beside CA$ 795). source
- Startup pass
- Apply to the Web Summit Vancouver startup programme; selected applicants receive the programme package. The organizer groups startups as ALPHA (early-stage), BETA (mid-stage) and GROWTH (scaling). source
- PITCH (brought to you by KPMG)
- The 2026 organizer announcement calls the win the “top prize”; no cash amount is published. The 2025 winner announcement says the winner received the PITCH trophy. source
- Cadence
- Annual, in May: held in 2025 and 2026; the next edition is announced for May 2027.
AIHealth & biotechFintechB2B SaaSPre-seedSeedGrowthFoundersInvestorsPressCorporatesPolicy & government
Next edition
| Dates | May 25–28, 2027 source |
|---|---|
| Edition | Web Summit Vancouver 2027 |
| Venue | Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver, Canada source |
| Tickets | vancouver.websummit.com source |
Ticket tiers as published
| Tier | Price | Includes | Edition |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Attendee source | CA$ 795; CA$ 295 promotional (2027) | Exhibition floor; speaker content across 32 industries (2027); tailored networking recommendations, curated Meetups, Night Summit, masterclasses, downloadable contacts, partner perks, personal schedule builder and searchable attendee list. | 2027 |
| Executive source | CA$ 1,895 (2027) | General Attendee benefits plus fast-tracked registration, catered food and drinks, and Executive Lounge access. | 2027 |
| Chairperson source | CA$ 38,095 (2027) | General Attendee benefits, fast-tracked registration, catered food and drinks, Executive Lounge, evening receptions, meeting spaces, all exhibition-floor lounges and speaker lounge access. | 2027 |
| Investor source | Free access upon acceptance (2027) | General Attendee benefits, startup discovery tools, Investor meeting area, Investor masterclasses and curated content. | 2027 |
| Investor Platinum source | CA$ 1,895 (2027) | Investor benefits plus exclusive lounge, invite-only investor side events, fast track, dedicated success manager and exclusive sign-up to investor activities. | 2027 |
How founders get in
Web Summit Vancouver launched in 2025 as Collision’s successor after Collision’s Toronto run. The organizer describes the completed 2026 Vancouver edition (2026-05-11–2026-05-14) as drawing 20,235 attendees, 1,197 startups and 768 investors (2026), and announces a Vancouver return for 2027-05-25–2027-05-28. No cancellation or postponement notice appears on the event pages consulted. Selected startup-programme companies get investor meetings, masterclasses, Mentor Hours and activations.
- For the next announced edition, Web Summit Vancouver 2027, apply to the organizer’s startup programme using its business-email application form. The programme has ALPHA, BETA and GROWTH categories.
- The startup team reviews applications and describes contacting applicants to discuss their company and goals, followed by assessment and selection. No 2027 application deadline is printed.
- If selected, complete your startup profile and apply separately for activations such as PITCH, Startup Showcase, 40 Words and Mentor Hours. The programme includes three tickets (2027) and access to investor-to-startup meetings.
- Use the startup programme’s meetings, sessions and masterclasses; PITCH participation is something to apply for, not automatic entry.
- If you are attending outside the startup programme, buy a General Attendee ticket. The 2027 ticket page displays CA$ 795 beside a CA$ 295 promotional price.
| Startup programme | Apply to the Web Summit Vancouver startup programme; selected applicants receive the programme package. The organizer groups startups as ALPHA (early-stage), BETA (mid-stage) and GROWTH (scaling). source |
|---|---|
| Includes | Three tickets (2027), Investor to Startup meetings, and eligibility to apply for PITCH, Startup masterclasses and Mentor Hours. The startup journey page also lists Startup Showcase and 40 Words as activations to apply for. |
| Eligibility | Web Summit’s 2026 selection guide defines ALPHA as pre-investment or under US$1 million in funding (2026 guidance). Vancouver’s FAQ describes ALPHA as early-stage, BETA as mid-stage and GROWTH as scaling. The startup team selects for growth potential, uniqueness and innovative ideas. No founding-date cutoff is printed on the Vancouver application page. |
| Scholarships / free passes | Published free-access routes include the selected startup programme (three tickets, 2027), the volunteer programme (free ticket, 2027), and the Investor ticket upon acceptance (2027). No Vancouver-specific student scholarship is listed on the current attendee ticket page. |
| Investor pass | Apply for the Investor ticket and receive access upon acceptance. Platinum Investor tickets are available to purchase. source |
| Investor eligibility | For investors actively investing in startups and venture funds; applicants must provide evidence of recent investments and company affiliation, and approval is at the organizer’s discretion. |
| Application required | No, tickets are purchased |
PITCH (brought to you by KPMG)
| Prize | The 2026 organizer announcement calls the win the “top prize”; no cash amount is published. The 2025 winner announcement says the winner received the PITCH trophy. source |
|---|---|
| Format | PITCH, brought to you by KPMG, is an onstage startup competition. In 2026, 35 initial contenders led to three finalists—CURA, Drive Hockey Analytics and DealStack.ai; the official result reports Cura at 46% of the vote and Drive Hockey Analytics at 35% (2026). |
| Eligibility | Apply to the startup programme first; startups selected for the programme can apply for PITCH. The competition is presented as an early-stage startup pitch competition. |
Winners
- Cura Climate (2026) — Web Summit Vancouver PITCH top prize; amount not stated, Sabrina Scott source
- Lite-1 (2025) — Web Summit Vancouver PITCH trophy; cash amount not stated, Roya Aghighi source
Meeting investors there
Startup-programme participants can meet investors through pre-scheduled Investor to Startup meetings. The organizer’s app lets attendees discover profiles, message people and plan meetings; investor accreditation is assessed and approved by the organizer. source
| Investors attending | 768 investors (2026) source |
|---|---|
| Matchmaking | Web Summit Vancouver app source |
| Formats | Pre-scheduled Investor to Startup meetings between investors and selected startups; the organizer’s published terms describe these as 15-minute meetings (2027 event information). · Investor meeting area and startup discovery tools; Investor masterclasses and curated content (2027). · Investor-specific meetups, Mentor Hours, Investor Lounge and invite-only investor side events for Platinum investors (2027). |
Investor firms the organiser lists (Web Summit Vancouver 2026 completed May 11–14, 2026, at the Vancouver Convention Centre; the next announced edition is May 25–28, 2027, at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Vancouver succeeded Collision as Web Summit’s North American event after Collision ran in Toronto. The cited official pages do not report a cancellation or postponement.)
Khosla VenturesBenchmarkFusion FundEclipse CapitalInsight PartnersAlumni VenturesWhite Star Capital
The full investor list is available to registered attendees; see the official investor page.
Before you go: the hub's cold email to VCs playbook covers the pre-event outreach that fills a meeting calendar, and Causo matches your stage and thesis to the funds in its database so you know who to ask for a meeting.
Who speaks (Web Summit Vancouver 2026 completed May 11–14, 2026, at the Vancouver Convention Centre; the next announced edition is May 25–28, 2027, at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Vancouver succeeded Collision as Web Summit’s North American event after Collision ran in Toronto. The cited official pages do not report a cancellation or postponement.)
- Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation · Government of Canada
- Joelle Pineau, Chief AI Officer · Cohere
- Sigrid Jin, Developer behind Claude Code; founding member · Sionic AI
- Kelly Day, Leads Amazon Prime Video outside the US · Amazon Prime Video
- Michelle Grady, President · Sony Pictures Imageworks
- Libby Liu, CEO · Whistleblower Aid
Full lineup: official speakers page.
Notable past speakers
- Gary Marcus, Professor and AI critic (2025)
- Amy Nordrum, Executive Editor · MIT Technology Review (2025)
- Jay Graber, CEO · Bluesky (2025)
- Katie Drummond, Global Editorial Director · WIRED (2025)
- Avery Pennarun, CEO · Tailscale (2025)
- Ivan Zhang, Co-founder · Cohere (2025)
- Jennifer Strong, Host · SHIFT Podcast (2025)
Sponsors and partners
Exhibitor; sponsor tier not stated 23
MicrosoftAmazon Web ServicesCloudflareGoogleIBMDell TechnologiesAMDRemitlyAccentureBellTurboTax CanadaHiiveDuploCloudTELUSOVHcloudFujitsu IntelligencePantheonSimplyAsk.aiLicenseSpringThinkificBoastMultiplierVanHack
PITCH competition partner; also listed as exhibitor 1
KPMG
Full list: official partners page.
Startups there
1,197 startups exhibiting (2026) · official startup directory
Alumni the organiser highlights
- Lite-1 (2025) — Web Summit Vancouver 2025 PITCH winner; Web Summit’s 2026 article notes it was later named one of Canada’s Top Moonshot Ventures of 2026. source
Programme
| Tracks | AI Summit · Marketing Summit · Gaming Summit · Film Summit · Corporate Innovation Summit · Fintech Summit · Government Summit · Growth Summit · New Energy Summit · New Media Summit · Planet Summit · Startup University · Creative Summit · New Venture Summit source |
|---|---|
| Side events | For 2027, the General Attendee ticket includes Night Summit; Platinum Investor access includes invite-only investor side events. The 2026 edition featured Night Summit and 157 curated meetups (2026). The 2027 schedule page still presents the 2026 schedule archive. |
| Awards | The published startup competition is PITCH, brought to you by KPMG. The latest completed Vancouver edition’s winner was Cura Climate (2026); the inaugural Vancouver PITCH winner was Lite-1 (2025), which the organizer says received the PITCH trophy. The organizer calls the 2026 result the “top prize” but publishes no cash amount or separate awards programme. |
| Hackathon | The organizer says Web Summit Vancouver 2026 hosted its first Web Summit Hackathon, open to attendees regardless of technical background. Teams were challenged to build something changing how people experience live events; the winning team received Chairperson tickets to Web Summit Vancouver 2027. |
| Call for speakers | Pick a Speaker is the organizer’s open call for ideas and speakers. The 2027 page does not print an application deadline or detailed submission rules. source |
| Volunteering | Register interest through the official 2027 volunteer page. The organizer offers a free event ticket, experience, opportunities to meet people, time at the event when off duty and behind-the-scenes access. Selection is not guaranteed; volunteers are not reimbursed for travel or accommodation. source |
| Official app | Web Summit Vancouver app |
| Hashtag | #WebSummitVancouver |
Past editions, as published
| Edition | Dates | Attendees | Investors | Startups | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 · Completed edition. source | May 11–14, 2026 | 20,235 attendees (2026) | 768 investors (2026) | 1,197 startups (2026) | recap · video |
| 2025 · Inaugural Vancouver edition; Web Summit announced that Vancouver would succeed Collision in Toronto, relocating and renaming its North American event. source | May 27–30, 2025 | 15,727 attendees (2025) | 650+ investors (2025) | 1,108 startups (2025) | recap |
Cities: Vancouver (2025–2026; 2027 announced)
Who attends
| Geography | Attendees from over 100 countries (2026) source |
|---|---|
| Roles | Founders, Investors, Press, Corporates, Policy & government |
| Stages | Pre-seed, Seed, Growth |
Official links and socials
Travel & apps
In the press
- Web Summit Vancouver welcomes 20,235 attendees with its largest investor turnout yet — Web Summit Vancouver (official newsroom) (2026)
- Canadian-based Carbon-capturing startup, Cura Climate, wins PITCH at Web Summit Vancouver 2026 — Web Summit Vancouver (official newsroom) (2026)
- Web Summit Vancouver debuts with record-breaking 1,108 startups from 117 countries — Web Summit Vancouver (official newsroom) (2025)
- Sustainable colourants startup Lite-1 wins Web Summit’s first-ever all-female PITCH final — Web Summit Vancouver (official newsroom) (2025)
- Web Summit Vancouver to succeed Collision in 2025 — Web Summit (official newsroom) (2024)
Prepare for it
- How to cold email VCs — book the meetings before you land.
- The 12-slide seed deck — what to have ready when a partner says "send me the deck".
- Pitch Deck Roaster — a slide-by-slide pass before you submit to PITCH (brought to you by KPMG).
- Accelerator deadlines — the application windows that open around the event.
Sources
Every fact above was read from one of these official pages on Oct 7, 2026:
- support-vancouver.websummit.com/hc/en-us/articles/35085942889757-Our-social-media
- support-vancouver.websummit.com/hc/en-us/categories/34065838550685-Visa-and-travel-guide
- vancouver.websummit.com
- vancouver.websummit.com/anti-harassment-policy
- vancouver.websummit.com/app
- vancouver.websummit.com/blog/news/pitch-winner-web-summit-vancouver-2026-cura
- vancouver.websummit.com/blog/news/sustainable-colourants-startup-lite-1-wins-web-summits-first-ever-all-female-pitch-final
- vancouver.websummit.com/blog/news/web-summit-vancouver-debuts-with-record-breaking-1108-startups-from-117-countries
- vancouver.websummit.com/blog/news/web-summit-vancouver-welcomes-20235-attendees-with-its-largest-investor-turnout-yet
- vancouver.websummit.com/blog/news/web-summit-vancouver-welcomes-20235-attendees-with-its-largest-investor-turnout-yet
- vancouver.websummit.com/essentials/tickets
- vancouver.websummit.com/essentials/venue
- vancouver.websummit.com/essentials/venue
- vancouver.websummit.com/faq
- vancouver.websummit.com/investors
- vancouver.websummit.com/media
- vancouver.websummit.com/partners
- vancouver.websummit.com/partners/event-partners
- vancouver.websummit.com/speaker-application
- vancouver.websummit.com/startups
- vancouver.websummit.com/startups
- vancouver.websummit.com/startups/pitch
- vancouver.websummit.com/summaries
- vancouver.websummit.com/tickets/attendees
- vancouver.websummit.com/tickets/investors
- vancouver.websummit.com/volunteers
- vancouver.websummit.com/web-summit-vancouver-2027
- vancouver.websummit.com/wp-media/2025/05/Web_SUmmit_2025_Press_Release_.docx.docx.pdf
- websummit.com/blog/news/web-summit-vancouver-collision-toronto
- youtube.com/watch?v=FrhFEl8yKGE
Web Summit Vancouver: frequently asked
When is Web Summit Vancouver 2027?
Web Summit Vancouver 2027 runs May 25–28, 2027 at Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver, according to the organiser's published dates.
How much does Web Summit Vancouver cost?
Published ticket prices run CA$ 0–CA$ 38,095 (2027; CA$ 0 is the accepted Investor ticket; General Attendee is displayed at CA$ 295 promotional beside CA$ 795).. Startups: Apply to the Web Summit Vancouver startup programme; selected applicants receive the programme package. The organizer groups startups as ALPHA (early-stage), BETA (mid-stage) and GROWTH (scaling)..
How do startups get into Web Summit Vancouver?
Apply to the Web Summit Vancouver startup programme; selected applicants receive the programme package. The organizer groups startups as ALPHA (early-stage), BETA (mid-stage) and GROWTH (scaling). Eligibility as published: Web Summit’s 2026 selection guide defines ALPHA as pre-investment or under US$1 million in funding (2026 guidance). Vancouver’s FAQ describes ALPHA as early-stage, BETA as mid-stage and GROWTH as scaling. The startup team selects for growth potential, uniqueness and innovative ideas. No founding-date cutoff is printed on the Vancouver application page.
How many investors attend Web Summit Vancouver?
The organiser reports 768 investors investors for the 2026 edition. Startup-programme participants can meet investors through pre-scheduled Investor to Startup meetings. The organizer’s app lets attendees discover profiles, message people and plan meetings; investor accreditation is assessed and approved by the organizer.
What is PITCH (brought to you by KPMG)?
Web Summit Vancouver's pitch competition. Prize as published: The 2026 organizer announcement calls the win the “top prize”; no cash amount is published. The 2025 winner announcement says the winner received the PITCH trophy.. Eligibility: Apply to the startup programme first; startups selected for the programme can apply for PITCH. The competition is presented as an early-stage startup pitch competition.
How big is Web Summit Vancouver?
20,235 attendees attendees (2026), 1,197 startups startups, from Over 100 countries countries, per the organiser.