On October 22 and 23, the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia will host VDS 2025, the international meeting point for startups, investors, corporates, and policymakers. Now in its 8th edition, the summit is expected to attract more than 12,000 participants from 120 countries, including over 3,000 startups, 1,500 corporates, and 800 investors.
VDS has become one of the most important technology and innovation events in Europe, positioning Spain as a key connector between European, Latin American, and global markets. At the same time, the summit strengthens Valencia’s reputation as a fast-growing hub for entrepreneurship and investment, highlighting its role as a bridge city where international founders, investors, and corporates meet.
Unicorn founders, scaleups, and global tech leaders
For the first time in Spain, the founders of eight global unicorns will participate. Among them are Creditas, the Brazilian fintech leader; Glovo, the Spanish delivery platform; Remote, a U.S. company enabling remote work; and Letgo, the Spanish-born second-hand trading pioneer. Joining them are Mews, transforming hotel tech; Exoticca, an innovation-driven travel business; Qonto, the French fintech for SMEs; and ElevenLabs, a U.S. leader in generative voice AI.
In addition, VDS will feature three companies that, after achieving unicorn status, are now publicly listed tech giants: Booking.com, Just Eat Takeaway.com, and Adyen. Their presence underscores Europe’s capacity to build globally relevant companies. Beyond unicorns, the summit will highlight 22 European scaleups growing at over 20% annually, spotlighting names from sectors such as travel, AI, space, fintech, and sustainability. Rising stars at Series A, such as Shakers and PropHero, will also present.
Influential voices on stage
The global tech conference will also bring together some of the most influential voices in innovation and culture. Among them:
- Kelly Rutherford: Hollywood actress, startup investor, and style icon, will speak about aligning personal purpose with professional ambition, showing how passion and authenticity can shape meaningful investments and drive change.
- Sol Campbell: Legendary England captain, Premier League champion, and three-time World Cup player, will share his perspective on resilience and the winning mindset. From the Netherlands,
- Gillian Tans: Former CEO and Chairwoman of Booking.com, will offer insights on leadership, scaling growth, and digital transformation after having led the platform to become the world’s largest online travel company.
Other confirmed visionaries include Aubrey de Grey, gerontologist and President of the LEV Foundation, a pioneer in longevity therapies; Minh Le, creator of Counter-Strike, one of the most influential video games in history, with a vision for the future of gaming and esports; Ana Peleteiro, VP of Data & Applied AI at Preply, promoting a “Human-first. AI-enabled” strategy; Enrique Linares, co-founder of Letgo and partner at Plus Partners; Gwen Kolader, former VP DE&I at Hexaware and Global People & Culture Leader; and Ella McCann-Tomlin, VP ESG at Mews, who will showcase how to integrate sustainability and corporate governance in tech expansion.
Global investors managing €300 billion in assets
On the investment side, VDS 2025 expects more than 800 venture capital funds managing over €300 billion in assets. This includes more than 50 top-tier global funds such as Cathay Innovation (with over €2.5 billion under management), Flashpoint (~$500 million), Antler (over $1 billion), Burda Principal Investments, IDC Ventures, and Armilar Venture Partners. Also confirmed are Vsquared Ventures, Marvelous DeepTech VC, LUMO Labs, HV Capital, Earlybird, NGP Capital, and Brighteye. On the Spanish side, Samaipata, JME Ventures, Kfund, Kibo Ventures, Bonsai Partners, and Nauta Capital will play key roles, further connecting the local ecosystem with global capital.
Themes, diversity, and Valencia’s growing role
Keynotes, panels, and workshops will offer insight into everything from AI as new infrastructure to sustainable urban resilience. VDS 2025’s agenda will unfold across seven thematic tracks, addressing:
- Smart cities
- AI and infrastructure
- Consumer tech
- Health and longevity
- Energy and green tech
- Deep innovation
- Aerospace/cybersecurity
The summit also strengthens its commitment to diversity and sustainability, with over 35% of speakers being women and a focus on climate challenges. In particular, the event will present the winning solution from Hack the Future, an international hackathon promoted by Estonia’s e-Residency and Startup Valencia, in collaboration with the cities of Tallinn and Valencia. Its goal: tech ideas for urban resilience and disaster response in the wake of events like the DANA storm that hit Valencia in October 2024.
Institutional and corporate support in Spain and beyond
This year, VDS is supported by Banco Santander as the main sponsor, Valencia Innovation Capital (City of Valencia) as the host partner, and e-Residency of the Government of Estonia as the twinned country. In addition, numerous tech companies, startups, and organisations have joined as strategic partners, contributing to the event’s global success and reach: Wayra Telefónica, EY, Fundación LAB, CaixaBank DayOne, PowerCo, Volkswagen, IBM, OVHcloud, MWC GSMA, Bit2Me, Adigital, ESTECH, Opentop by Valenciaport, and MAPFRE. Among the tech partners supporting the event are Microsoft, Amazon, Google for Startups, and HubSpot for Startups.
VDS 2025 also enjoys the backing of leading institutions that reinforce its position as an international benchmark in innovation and technology. These include the Ministry of Industry and Tourism of Spain, the Regional Government of Valencia (Generalitat Valenciana) through the Department of Innovation, Industry, Trade and Tourism, the Valencian Institute of Finance (IVF), the City of Arts and Sciences, TechFabLab, the University of Valencia (UV), the Science Park of the University of Valencia (PCUV), the Science Park of the Miguel Hernández University (UMH), the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), ENISA, CDTI, ICEX, and Renfe.
Together, they actively collaborate to strengthen Valencia’s position as a global innovation hub and a key space for the exchange of ideas, talent, and technological solutions.
This is the heartbeat of #VDS2025
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2025/10/vds-2025-to-unite-8-unicorn-founders-top-scaleups-and-e300b-in-investor-assets-in-valencia-sponsored/
