[1][2] Founded in 2009 by Paddy Cosgrave, David Kelly, and Daire Hickey, Web Summit was held in Dublin, Ireland until 2016, when it moved to Lisbon.

Web Summit's partners range from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups, with attendees representing all levels and sectors of the global high technology industry.

Web Summit's partners include Fortune 500 companies, government entities, and private foundations, such as Google, Meta, Amazon, Cisco Systems and Microsoft.

[14]" In October 2023, a number of sponsors and technology companies like Meta, Google, and Amazon cancelled their participation[15] due to the founder's statement on X (formerly Twitter) regarding the Israel–Hamas war, in which he asserted that he was "shocked at the rhetoric and actions of so many Western leaders and governments, with the exception in particular of Ireland’s government, who for once are doing the right thing"[16] following the Irish Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, saying that solidarity with Israel "will fall apart" if the response to Hamas' assault "goes too far.

[19] Cosgrave resigned as CEO on October 21, 2023, stating that "my personal comments have become a distraction from the event, and our team, our sponsors, our startups and the people who attend".

[24] Pertaining to the Web Summit 2022 here is item 21 from that year's revitalised Irish Annals, called De Reir Book of Moytura regarding an argybargy in which Mr. Cosgrave supported certain gentlemen of the press against pressured opinion.

[27] Some of the speakers included Edward Snowden; former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair; former professional boxer Wladimir Klitschko; Jaden Smith; Guo Ping (Rotating Chairman of Huawei) and Katherine Maher (former CEO of Wikimedia Foundation).

Speakers included former world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, actress and activist Sophia Bush, former Portuguese professional football player and Ballon D'Or winner Luis Figo, Vogue international editor Suzy Menkes, former chess world champion Garry Kasparov, musician Wyclef Jean, and Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham.

[39] In September 2015 Web Summit co-founder and CEO Paddy Cosgrave announced that the event would be held in Lisbon for three consecutive editions, from 2016 to 2018.

[40] Cosgrave cited the local startup scene and a "cosmopolitan city with better infrastructure conditions and a larger number of hotel rooms" for the decision.

[41] The three-day event held from November 7–10 at the Altice Arena, site of Expo '98, drew 53,056 attendees from more than 150 countries and more than 1,500 start-ups spread over 21 venues.

Also speaking at the event were prominent figures from non-tech areas, such as actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Salil Shetty of Amnesty International, and Mogens Lykketoft, president of the general assembly at the United Nations.

Footballer Luís Figo and both the Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister António Costa spoke as well.

Following the announcement, organisers released email correspondence between the Irish Government and Web Summit CEO Paddy Cosgrave about hotel costs, traffic, and other issues surrounding the infrastructure in Dublin.

The RDS defended their technical set-up with CEO Michael Duffy saying, "The WiFi has successfully responded to the exceptional demands placed on it.

[59] Panelists and speakers included Iain Dale, the political blogger, Ben Hammersley of the Guardian, and Ian Douglas of the Daily Telegraph.