One-liner: Valencia Digital Summit — Startup Valencia's flagship international tech event at the City of Arts & Sciences, running since 2018; positions Valencia as a business bridge between Europe, Latin America and the US, and the ecosystem's single biggest networking/funding-access moment of the year.
What a founder gets
- VDS Startup Competition: international competition (Top 100, drawn from 1,560+ applications across 87 countries in 2026) judged on innovation, scalability and impact; finalists get a Pitch Stage slot to present to investors live.
- 1:1 Meeting scheduling via the official VDS app — direct access to top international projects, partners of Startup Valencia, high-profile investors and leading corporations attending the summit.
- Capital4Startups: investor-matchmaking run with SpainCap — a dedicated funding-access track layered onto the event.
- Startup Exhibition Booth: a dedicated stand for visibility, lead generation, and connections with investors/industry experts/potential partners.
- Track-based content: 8 thematic tracks — AI & Deep Tech, Climate & Energy, Defense & Aerospace, Talent & Future of Work, Health, Mobility & Logistics, Digital Wealth, Policy — so founders can target the sessions/investors most relevant to their niche.
- The Challenge: a university-facing 12-hour hackathon competition run within the VDS framework, building an innovation culture pipeline among students.
- Reported outcome: participating startups have reported €50.7M+ in expected post-event funding from prior editions.
Who it's for
- Any-stage startup, but the highest-value use is for growth/scale-stage teams raising capital or seeking corporate partnerships — the ticket cost and competitive-application format make it a bigger lift for pre-seed/idea-stage founders than, say, a free municipal accelerator.
- Corporates seeking open innovation/deal-flow access, and investors (800+ attend, managing €300B+ AUM) seeking dealflow.
How to engage
- vds.tech — tickets: Attendee Pass (all stages + 1:1 meetings + exhibition access), Business Pass (dedicated networking areas, faster entry), Investor Pass (dedicated investor lounges + Startup Competition finalist access). Early-bird pricing available (50% off cited for 2026).
- VDS 2026: 9th edition, Oct 21–22, City of Arts & Sciences, Valencia.
- Startup Competition, sponsorship/exhibitor applications, and speaker "Call for Speakers" all route through vds.tech.
Key facts
- 2026 edition (9th): 12,000+ attendees from 120+ countries; 3,000+ startups and scaleups; 1,500+ corporates; 800+ investors (€300B+ assets under management); 600+ speakers; 2,500+ meetings; 45+ sponsors; 80+ collaborators.
- Strategic partner: TNW (a Financial Times Company) — supports the International Ecosystem Forum and the VDS Startup Competition, and assists international/global expansion.
- Confirmed 2026 speakers include Chris Cunningham (Co-Founder, ClickUp) and Dmytro Voloshyn (Co-Founder/CTO, Preply), alongside investors, founders and public leaders.
- Speaker lineup expanded (re-verified 2026-07-05): newly listed speakers include Nikiara Purmambietova (CEO & Founder, ModestBeauty), Teemu Seppälä (Technology and Innovation Director, DEFINE Finland), Mehnaaz Abidi (CPTO, Urban Sports Club), Vykintas Maknickas (CEO, Saily), Jacky Abitbol (Managing Partner, Cathay Innovation), Christoph Klink (General Partner, Antler), Carmen Köhler (Analog Astronaut/CEO & Founder, P3R GmbH), Víctor Claver (former NBA player, Spain's Golden Generation, startup investor), Linda Hong Cheng (Founder & CEO, Lychee Labs).
- Core attendance/scale figures (12,000+ attendees, 3,000+ startups, 800+ investors, 600+ speakers, 45+ sponsors, 80+ collaborators) UNCHANGED on re-check 2026-07-05 — matches the 2026-07-04 wiki state exactly.
- Designated an Event of Exceptional Public Interest — signalling institutional/government backing beyond a purely private trade event.
- VDS Defense — a defense/dual-use-tech track/sub-brand exists within the event, aligning with the region's growing defense-tech accelerator push (see Defense Tech Accelerator (Program)).
Relations
- Run by: Startup Valencia
- Runs: VDS - Valencia Digital Summit
- See also: Capital4Startups
- See also: Defense Tech Accelerator (Program)