The best of Web Summit 2024

Welcome to the 30th issue of the Tech Wrap-Up Europe newsletter.

Every month, we'll be sharing interesting stories and expert insights from LinkedIn members.?

In this issue, Sam Shead, LinkedIn's tech and innovation editor for the UK and Europe, reflects on some of the main highlights from this year's Web Summit .?

Another year, another Web Summit.?

The organisers said this year was bigger than ever, with more than 70,000 people flying in from around the world for the sellout tech conference in Lisbon.?

Founders, CEOs, investors and politicians all turned up in droves to Paddy Cosgrave 's tech extravaganza, which has been going since 2009. It used to be held in Dublin but the event got too big for the Irish capital's infrastructure to handle.

Hot topics this year included artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, fintech, gaming, competition and more, with some of the biggest names in the industry turning up to share their insights and words of wisdom with attendees.?

Brad Smith , the president of Microsoft (LinkedIn's parent company), and Thomas Wolf , the cofounder of buzzy AI startup Hugging Face , were among the speakers, as were dozens of CEOs and other high-profile executives from big name companies.?

The rise of sovereign AI?

Sovereign AI emerged as one of the hot topics at this year's show as European politicians and regulators continue to express concerns about where citizens' data is being stored and processed.?

"This concept, which has emerged in the last year or so, refers to the idea of building AI technologies – everything from machine learning algorithms to advanced large language model-based generative AI tools – locally in the countries and regions they're being served up to consumers and business users," CNBC tech correspondent Ryan Browne wrote on LinkedIn.

"Several tech companies – from 英伟达 to Amazon Web Services (AWS) – are increasingly prioritising the building of all-important computing infrastructure in Europe to localise the storing and processing of data behind today's AI systems."

Here's what other LinkedIn members are saying about sovereign AI:

European Google rivals team up

European search engine providers Ecosia and Qwant announced they're teaming up on a new joint venture as they look to take on 谷歌 .?

The duo, headquartered in Berlin and Paris respectively, said the European Search Perspective will aim to serve improved French and German language search results.?

"Move over, big tech: we’re building a European search index," Ecosia CEO Christian Kroll wrote on LinkedIn. "If you’ve been following Ecosia, you know we’re always pushing for tech that’s fairer, more competitive and more democratic. This is a big step towards independence for alternative search engines."

Here's what Kroll and other LinkedIn members are saying about the European Search Perspective:?

Language startup touts AI translator

Portuguese startup Unbabel announced a new translation service powered by AI.

Dubbed Widn.AI, the translator is based on Tower, the company's proprietary large language model, which allows AI translation in 32 languages.

The company has traditionally used machine learning, a form of AI, as well as human editors to do translation.

"When we started in Unbabel 10 years ago, AI was not at the stage that it is now, and so we were very much focused on creating hybrid solutions that would combine AI and human," Vasco Pedro , Unbabel CEO's, told CNBC.

"But I think for the first time, we believe that translation is now fully in the realm of AI capabilities, and that you can do a lot of things without needing humans at all in the case of translation."

He warned that humans may not be needed for translation at all in three years time.

Here's what LinkedIn members are saying about Unbabel's new translator:?

Elsewhere at Web Summit:

• 阿里巴巴 released an artificial intelligence search tool for small businesses in Europe and the Americas that can be used to help source suppliers.
• IBM shared its first State of Sustainability Readiness Report, revealing that 88% of business leaders surveyed are planning to increase investment in IT for sustainability over the next 12 months.
• Visa unveiled new commitments to digital creators, recognising them as small businesses in their own right.

?? Spotify 's video expansion. The music streaming giant Spotify has launched a major push into longform video as it looks to muscle in on what has traditionally been YouTube 's territory. Read more from CEO Daniel Ek and other LinkedIn members.

?? OpenAI readies AI agent release. The AI startup plans to debut its new artificial intelligence agent, codenamed "Operator," in January, Bloomberg reports, citing anonymous sources. Weigh in here.

?? Just Eat Takeaway.com takes a hit on Grubhub sale. The European food delivery firm is planning to sell Grubhub to US firm Wonder for $650m (€612m; ￡510m). It bought Grubhub for $7.3bn at the peak of the pandemic-driven food delivery boom in 2021. See the conversation here.

?? 'Squid Game 2' tests Netflix mettle. "Squid Game" will be back for a second season in December, and that has Netflix facing its own daunting challenge: Will it be able to recreate the first season's remarkable global success? Join the discussion.

?? 苹果 faces ￡3bn lawsuit. Consumer group Which? has accused Apple of charging UK consumers "rip off prices" as it launched a legal claim against the tech giant for breaching competition law. Here's what LinkedIn members are saying.

Ben Alldis – Ben is an instructor at Peloton Interactive .

Darren Hardman – Darren is the new CEO of 微软 UK.

Karen Kwok – Karen is a columnist at Reuters Breakingviews .

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Finance Wrap-Up UK – The latest financial news and insights from LinkedIn News UK finance editor Manas Pratap Singh.

Retail Wrap-Up UK – The latest retail news and insights from LinkedIn News UK retail editor Aaron Toumazou.

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