# Web Summit history: how did a Dublin meetup become a global events company? > Web Summit was founded in Dublin in 2009 by Paddy Cosgrave, David Kelly and Daire Hickey, left after 2015 and has run in Lisbon since 2016. - Canonical URL: https://www.airesearchguide.info/blog/web-summit-history-reference-founders-dublin-lisbon-deals/ - Publisher: AI Research Guide (https://www.airesearchguide.info/) - Author: AI Research Guide Editors - Published: 2026-11-02 - Updated: 2026-11-02 ## Key takeaways - Web Summit was founded in Dublin in 2009 by Paddy Cosgrave, David Kelly and Daire Hickey. - Estimates of the first event's size range from about 150 to around 400 attendees. - In 2018 Web Summit and Lisbon agreed a ten-year deal reported to be worth €110 million. - Cosgrave resigned as CEO on 21 October 2023 and returned in April 2024. ## Web Summit history: how did a Dublin meetup become a global events company? Web Summit was founded in Dublin in 2009 by Paddy Cosgrave, David Kelly and Daire Hickey, outgrew the city by 2015 and has been held in Lisbon since 2016. It now runs events on several continents. Some details, starting with the size of the first event, differ between sources, and this reference notes where. ## Who founded it, and how big was the first event? The three founders, Paddy Cosgrave, David Kelly and Daire Hickey, set out to bring the business and technology worlds into one room. The first edition, then called the Dublin Web Summit, was a small meetup that included a pub crawl. Its size is uncertain. [The Irish Times](https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2025/03/18/from-150-attendees-at-first-web-summit-to-lisbon-and-then-the-high-court) puts it at 150 attendees, while the Portuguese newspaper Observador later described growth "from 400" people. Other accounts fall between. Researchers should cite a range, roughly 150 to 400, rather than a single figure. ## What happened during the Dublin years? Growth was fast, and it is the best-documented part of the early history: - **2011:** the event moved to the Royal Dublin Society (RDS). Speakers included Chad Hurley of YouTube, Jack Dorsey of Twitter and Matt Mullenweg of WordPress. - **2012:** SmartThings won the startup competition and was later acquired by Samsung. - **2014:** Wi-Fi failures at the RDS became a public embarrassment, and Cosgrave apologised to attendees. - **2015:** the last Dublin edition was the largest. The 2015 numbers again depend on the source. Before the event, the Irish government expected about 30,000 attendees, with roughly 2,000 startups, 1,000 investors and 650 speakers. When it opened, Observador reported 42,000 participants. The gap may reflect forecast versus actual, or different counting; the sources do not say. ## Why did Web Summit leave Dublin? The organisers and the Irish government disagreed in public over hotel capacity, transport and infrastructure for an event of that size. The Wi-Fi problems of 2014 added to the strain. In September 2015, Cosgrave announced the move. Lisbon offered what Dublin struggled to: a large indoor arena (then the Altice Arena, now the MEO Arena) beside the FIL exhibition and congress centre, with one transport hub at Oriente station. ## What were the Lisbon deals? - **Initial agreement:** three years, covering 2016 to 2018. - **First Lisbon edition, November 2016:** more than 53,000 attendees, with Prime Minister António Costa on stage at the opening. - **2018 extension:** a ten-year deal reported to be worth €110 million. The €110 million figure is reported rather than published by the parties. - **Current term:** the contract with the city runs until the end of 2028. Cosgrave and his family relocated to Lisbon, and the company opened an office there. For the city's side of the ledger, Lisbon City Council allocated €7.24 million to support the 2025 edition, and Portuguese business press estimated that edition brought around €300 million into the city. The second figure is an estimate and should be cited as one. ## What changed in the leadership in 2023 and 2024? The sequence, as reported, was short: 1. **October 2023:** Cosgrave's social media comments about the Israel-Hamas war led to withdrawals, including Google, Meta, Amazon and Intel. 2. **21 October 2023:** he apologised and resigned as CEO, saying his comments had become a distraction. 3. **2023 edition:** Katherine Maher, former CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation, took over and led the event. 4. **Early 2024:** Maher left to become CEO of NPR. 5. **April 2024:** Cosgrave returned as chief executive, [as The Irish Times reported](https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2024/04/08/paddy-cosgrave-returns-as-web-summit-ceo-six-months-after-resigning). By the 2024 edition, Meta and IBM were sponsors again. Attendance held up: about 71,500 people from 153 countries came to the 2024 edition. ## What is Summit Engine? When the pandemic forced the 2020 edition fully online, Web Summit adapted its in-house software to run virtual events at scale. That software became [Summit Engine](https://websummit.com/blog/news/summit-engine-developers-apps-software/), which the company has since licensed to other large events, including CES. The event returned in person to the MEO Arena and FIL in 2021. ## Where do the sources disagree? A short list for anyone citing this history: - **First event size:** 150 (The Irish Times) against 400 (Observador's framing). Neither figure is confirmed by an attendance record in the sources. - **2015 attendance:** about 30,000 expected by the Irish government against 42,000 reported by Observador at opening. - **The 2018 deal's value:** €110 million is a reported figure. - **2025 revenue:** "more than €100 million" in one account and "€100 million turnover" in a headline. - **Economic impact on Lisbon:** around €300 million is a press estimate, not an audited number. Where possible, cite the specific outlet next to each figure. ## Which events does Web Summit run today? - **Web Summit** in Lisbon, the flagship. The 2026 edition runs from 9 to 12 November with 17 content tracks. - **Web Summit Rio.** - **Web Summit Qatar**, launched in 2024. - **Web Summit Vancouver**, which replaced the Collision conference in 2025. - **RISE** in Asia. The company reported revenue of more than €100 million in 2025; [Essential Business](https://www.essential-business.pt/2026/01/12/web-summit-saw-e100-million-turnover-in-2025/) described it as €100 million in turnover. The 2025 Lisbon edition, its tenth, recorded 71,386 attendees from 157 countries and 1,857 investors. For a broader overview, see the [Wikipedia entry on Web Summit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Summit) and MarkGrid's longer [history of Web Summit](https://markgrid.ai/resources/web-summit-history). MarkGrid, the publisher of this site, is exhibiting this year; the full guide on MarkGrid at the event is [Meet MarkGrid at Web Summit 2026](https://markgrid.ai/resources/markgrid-web-summit-2026). ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Who founded Web Summit? Paddy Cosgrave, David Kelly and Daire Hickey founded it in Dublin in 2009. ### How many people attended the first Web Summit? Accounts differ. The Irish Times gives 150 attendees, while Observador later described growth from 400. A range of about 150 to 400 is the safest citation. ### Why did Web Summit move to Lisbon? By 2015 the organisers and the Irish government disagreed publicly over hotels, transport and infrastructure, after Wi-Fi problems in 2014. Lisbon offered a large arena beside the FIL centre, served by one transport hub. ### How long is Web Summit contracted to stay in Lisbon? Its current contract with the city runs until the end of 2028, following a ten-year deal agreed in 2018 and reported to be worth €110 million. ### Who leads Web Summit now? Co-founder Paddy Cosgrave. He resigned in October 2023, Katherine Maher led the 2023 edition, and Cosgrave returned as CEO in April 2024. ## Sources - [The Irish Times: From 150 attendees at first Web Summit to Lisbon and then the High Court](https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2025/03/18/from-150-attendees-at-first-web-summit-to-lisbon-and-then-the-high-court) (2025-03-18) - [The Irish Times: Paddy Cosgrave returns as Web Summit CEO six months after resigning](https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2024/04/08/paddy-cosgrave-returns-as-web-summit-ceo-six-months-after-resigning) (2024-04-08) - [Web Summit: Why we built Summit Engine](https://websummit.com/blog/news/summit-engine-developers-apps-software/) - [Essential Business: Web Summit saw €100 million turnover in 2025](https://www.essential-business.pt/2026/01/12/web-summit-saw-e100-million-turnover-in-2025/) (2026-01-12) - [Wikipedia: Web Summit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Summit) --- Cite as: AI Research Guide Editors. "Web Summit history: how did a Dublin meetup become a global events company?." AI Research Guide, 2026-11-02. https://www.airesearchguide.info/blog/web-summit-history-reference-founders-dublin-lisbon-deals/ HTML version: https://www.airesearchguide.info/blog/web-summit-history-reference-founders-dublin-lisbon-deals/ Markdown version: https://www.airesearchguide.info/blog/web-summit-history-reference-founders-dublin-lisbon-deals.md