Last week, our team at Zarego was in Rio de Janeiro for Web Summit Rio 2025 — one of the most dynamic tech gatherings in Latin America. Held at the Riocentro exhibition and convention center from April 27 to 30, this year’s edition broke records with over 34,000 attendees from 102 countries, including major innovation hubs like Brazil, the US, the UK, India, and Argentina. The event was a powerful reminder of why we do what we do: to stay at the forefront of technology, and bring that cutting-edge perspective to our clients. From AI breakthroughs and impact startups to real conversations on diversity, scalability, and the future of software, Web Summit Rio delivered — and we were right in the thick of it.
A Pulse Check on Tech: Why Web Summit Rio Matters
With 1,397 startups representing 43 countries (a 31% increase from last year), 657 investors, and 846 members of the global media in attendance, Web Summit Rio wasn’t just another tech event — it was the tech event for our region. For a company like Zarego, whose roots are in Latin America but whose client base is in North America, this event is where local insight meets global perspective.
Artificial intelligence, digital innovation, venture capital, and nearshore collaboration dominated the agenda. Industry leaders from Nvidia, OpenAI, Microsoft, TikTok, Meta, and IBM took the stage among 516 total speakers, laying out their visions for the next frontier of tech. And with women representing over 45% of all attendees and 46% of participating startups being women-founded, inclusion wasn’t just a theme — it was embedded in the very fabric of the event.
The sheer scale and diversity of the summit offered something else that’s increasingly rare in the tech world: a panoramic view. Whether you were talking about responsible AI, resilient teams, or startup investment cycles, you could feel the pulse of where things are heading. For Zarego, these conversations aren’t just inspiring — they’re practical inputs that shape how we serve our clients.
What We Learned: Insights That Matter
1. AI Maturity Is Accelerating — But Trust Is Lagging
Artificial intelligence was, unsurprisingly, everywhere. But what stood out wasn’t just the demos of generative models or talk of multimodal agents — it was the conversations around trust. In several sessions, thought leaders emphasized the need for explainable AI, especially in enterprise environments. This echoed our own internal discussions at Zarego, where our teams are building AI-enhanced features into products across finance, healthcare, and logistics. Seeing global leaders call for the same transparency and accountability reaffirmed our path forward: build smart, but build responsibly.
2. Latin America’s Startup Scene Is Booming — and Maturing
With $36 billion invested in Latin American startups between 2019 and 2023 — including $21.9 billion in Brazil alone — the region is no longer just “emerging” but actively leading innovation. Brazil now has over 13,000 startups, 24 unicorns, and ranks 15th globally in venture capital activity. As an Argentine company deeply connected to the region, we at Zarego see this growth as a sign of the incredible momentum across Latin America. It means more opportunities to partner with high-potential startups, more local talent entering the scene, and a thriving ecosystem that demands reliable software development, team augmentation, and strategic support from experienced tech partners like us.
3. Diversity Isn’t Just Talk — It’s Showing Up in the Numbers
This year’s event saw a 34% increase in women-founded startups compared to 2024, rising to 647 participants. Women also made up nearly half of all attendees. Community partnerships with organizations like TETO, Instituto GUETTO, and Vote LGBT were present throughout the event, fostering an atmosphere of inclusion that felt deeply intentional. As a company committed to building diverse, distributed teams, this emphasis was both energizing and validating. It’s one thing to advocate for inclusion; it’s another to see it integrated into the backbone of an event this size.
4. Early-Stage Innovation Is Thriving — and Structured
The ALPHA startup track brought structure and depth to early-stage innovation. With pitch competitions, mentorship, masterclasses, and curated networking powered by Web Summit’s proprietary Summit Engine software, the support for young startups was world-class. We left with the sense that even scrappy ideas had a roadmap to success — and that’s something we try to mirror in our own MVP and product discovery services. We’ve always believed that good ideas need a strong foundation. The ALPHA program reinforced that belief.
5. Deals Are Getting Done — Fast
Web Summit Rio isn’t just for inspiration — it’s where business happens. In 2024, $200 million worth of deals were signed during the event, and 46 participating startups raised a collective $106 million post-event. Judging by the buzz on the expo floor and the velocity of investor-startup meetings, 2025 could easily top that. As a partner to both startups and enterprises, we see the value of this kind of high-intensity dealmaking space. It shortens cycles, builds momentum, and sets a tone of urgency that the tech industry needs.
Zarego’s Experience: Connecting, Learning, Sharing
At Zarego, we believe in leading by doing — not just by watching. Our presence at Web Summit Rio wasn’t passive. We came to connect, to listen, and to share our perspective with a wider audience.
Our team attended sessions across all four days, with a focus on tracks that aligned with our core services: AI-powered platforms, nearshore staff augmentation, cloud-native solutions, and product strategy for startups. We networked with founders from across Latin America and North America, many of whom were actively looking for tech partners to scale fast and smart — exactly where Zarego shines.
While we didn’t take the stage this year, we were invited to multiple closed-door roundtables hosted by accelerators and VC-backed ecosystems, where we shared insights on how nearshore talent can accelerate go-to-market timelines. These intimate conversations often lead to the best collaborations — and we’re already in early talks with three startups we met at the event.
Web Summit’s matchmaking engine made this all the more effective, helping our team connect with investors, founders, and enterprise leads based on shared goals and vertical focus. In total, we had more than 50 meaningful one-on-one meetings — from fintech to edtech, and even a couple of sustainability-focused initiatives aligned with the UN SDGs.
The Power of Community
What makes Web Summit Rio special isn’t just the content — it’s the people. We met developers building AI tools for agriculture in Ecuador, startup founders tackling financial inclusion in Brazil’s interior, and ecosystem enablers working to bring more visibility to underrepresented founders in Chile and Argentina.
We especially appreciated conversations with other nearshore providers from Colombia, Uruguay, and Mexico. While we may sometimes compete, we also share a mission: to position Latin America as a world-class tech hub — not just for cost savings, but for quality, innovation, and cultural alignment.
And we’d be remiss not to mention the major players we crossed paths with: from Salesforce and Mastercard to Google Cloud and SAP, the big names showed up — and they were listening to what the startups and scaleups had to say.
Let’s Keep the Conversation Going
Web Summit Rio 2025 was more than a tech conference for us — it was a reflection of who we are as a company. At Zarego, we’re passionate about staying ahead of the curve, exploring what’s next, and bringing that knowledge back to the clients we serve. Whether we’re augmenting a fintech team in San Francisco, building an AI tool for healthcare in Brazil, or helping an early-stage startup in Chile validate their MVP, the insights we gain from events like this shape everything we do.
If you missed us in Rio but want to talk about scaling your team, launching a product, or unlocking the potential of nearshore development — we’re just a message away.
