The organizers of Web Summit Vancouver 2025 have revealed the first 25 speakers for the major technology conference, including a mix of in-the-moment tech celebrities along with prominent business leaders, including key examples from Canada.
A rebrand of tech mega-conference Collision under the parent company’s name, Web Summit Vancouver will take place at the Vancouver Convention Centre from May 27-30.
Public and private organizations pledged $14.8 million to make the Vancouver event happen.
Jay Graber, CEO of Bluesky, the decentralized microblogging social media service that shot to prominence in the wake of the user exodus from Elon Musk’s Twitter (now X), is a marquee guest. Trevor Martin, the head of Mammoth Biosciences (the firm hoping to resurrect the woolly mammoth), is also slated to speak.
The Canadian contingent includes Clio chief Jack Newton, who headlined last year’s BetaKit Town Hall: Vancouver and will now present at Web Summit. Also presenting are leaders from Toronto self-driving tech startup Waabi (CEO Raquel Urtasun), authentication giant 1Password (co-CEO Jeff Shiner), business financial platform FreshBooks (COO Mara Reiff), and digital identity unicorn GeoComply (executive chairman Anna Sainsbury).
Other Canadian speakers include Grammarly co-founder Max Lytvyn as well as Telus data and trust chief Pamela Snively. Americans dominate the rest of the panel list and include Deep Space Initiative founder Sara Sabry, Cloudflare co-founder Michelle Zatlyn, and eBay global brand head Emily O’Hara.
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American venture capitalists like Andy McLoughlin of Uncork Capital, Steve Jang of Kindred Ventures, and Edith Yeung of Race Capital also have significant places in this early list. More announcements are due in the “coming weeks,” according to the Web Summit team.
Web Summit is set for at least a three-year run in Vancouver. When the company announced the move in 2024, it pointed to Vancouver’s status as a technology hub for fast-growing startups like Dapper Labs and Trulioo. A combination of public and private organizations pledged $14.8 million in funding to make the Vancouver event happen.
The decision was a blow to 2019-2024 Collision host Toronto, which has now filled the gap with Toronto Tech Week. Cube Business Media also cited Web Summit as the reason for cancelling INNOVATEwest in 2025, warning that the rival Vancouver show would “draw substantial attention and resources” that would hurt the quality of its own production.