Web Summit 2022: taking stock of the event from the numbers
In our Web Summit 2022 launch post, we focused mainly on two aspects of the event: one more general and one more related to our own journey in Aptus.AI. Starting with the first, we talked about a return to normalcy of the Web Summit after the last two years, heavily marked by the Covid-19 pandemic. Well, right back home from Lisbon, we can say that this prediction has come true. Indeed, probably the expectations we had with respect to the Web Summit were even exceeded in terms of meeting opportunities – with potential partners, funders, customers – and growth – thanks to very interesting sessions and masterclasses. But not only that. The Web Summit 2022 definitely amplified the already exciting experience of 2021. And to express this, it suffices to cite some of the event’s numbers. This year’s Altice Arena & Fil in Lisbon was populated by more than 71.000 attendees from more than 160 nations. But there were also more than 1.000 speakers and the same number of investors. Not enough? Along with them there were also more than 340 partners and 2.300 startups, followed by about two thousand media representatives. In short, the 2022 edition of the Web Summit represented not only the return to normalcy, but a further growth. If you are curious to see the highlights of this just-concluded edition in Lisbon, we suggest you watch the one-minute video posted on the homepage of the official website of the Web Summit. Which is already pointing to the 2023 edition – just like us.
Aptus.AI’s experience in Lisbon: many new contacts and opportunities
It is time to move on to the other aspect that we anticipated a few lines ago, namely the one more related to our growth path. As we wrote before we left for Lisbon, the Web Summit 2022 was a great opportunity for us to show our SaaS created for the RegTech market – to potential investors and partners and also to get feedback about the platform. In addition to this, another goal that we had – and which we’re still pursuing – was to extend our horizon from the area of traditional banks compliance to the growing ecosystem represented by digital banking, FinTech and also the world of cryptocurrencies. The latter two areas in particular are experiencing a crucial transition from a regulatory vacuum to ever-increasing regulation, so they will necessarily have to allocate more resources and attention to the regulatory aspect of their business, probably exploiting RegTech solutions, just like our solution. Therefore the assumption about these new business opportunities turned out to be valid, the same as our intentions to collect new contacts of people interested in our work in Aptus.AI. Beyond that, it was obviously great to be able to share the Web Summit 2022 with thousands of other people from all over the world. And also without the requirement of masks. Finally, as usual, being able to share such an intense week helped us come back home more united and stronger as a team, after sharing experiences and thoughts that strengthened our convictions.
From FinTech to Crypto, via digital banking: it’s all about RegTech
Going more into what happened during the conference, we can say that the Web Summit 2022 gave us many insights and confirmations even from the sessions we attended. Going in chronological order, many interesting elements came from Maximilian Tayenthal, Founder & Co-CEO at N26, who pointed out how FinTech did not attract much interest in its early days, in 2013, until what he called a moment of craziness in the last two years. A journey during which the N26 Founder described the regulatory aspect as “one of the most challenging ever”, especially in relation to the banking regulatory differences in different countries. A crucial issue for global realities like N26. Carolyn Rodz, Founder at Hello Alice, also spoke about the relationship between banking regulations and the FinTech world. In particular, she focused on the fact that “banks and governments have tons of power, but they need to find a way to work together with FinTech companies“. Obviously starting with a regulatory common plan. The same can be said for an area as complex and still unregulated as the cryptocurrencies one. Michael Gronager, Co-founder and CEO at Chainalysis, stressed that “the private sector and regulators need to work together to face the issues raised by cryptocurrencies” calling compliance a “necessary cost” as “regulations will also help the crypto industry itself, both on the consumer and business side”. Emma Joyce, CEO at GBBC Digital Finance, also noted how “companies in the crypto world are engaged with regulators and policymakers”, even talking about a “legislation time” for cryptocurrencies. Moving from companies to academia, great insights on the state of the banking ecosystem also came from the session with Richard Werner, professor of Banking & Finance at Oxford University. He especially emphasized that “banks have a huge impact on society” and that they “affect people’s lives”, raising again the issue of financial regulations – both for traditional banks and otherwise. Finally, moving from the sessions focused on the area of banking, FinTech and cryptocurrencies to the more general area of technology regulation, it was very interesting to listen to the debate between Keith Sonderling (member of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, U.S. EEOC), Darren Jones (member of the British Parliament) and Gry Hasselbach (Co-founder at DataEthics.eu). Without analyzing the entire discussion, the message left from this session was once again highlighting the importance and the need to regulate all the latest technological frontiers – from Artificial Intelligence to cryptocurrencies – to make them helpful to humans and not dangerous for them. In short, the Web Summit 2022 left us with many authoritative messages, all confirming our journey within the RegTech world.
Web Summit also means investors and media: interviews, videos… and more
To close our review of the Web Summit 2022, we also want to briefly tell about the meetings we had at our booth, this year available for all the three days of the exhibition. First of all, we noted with satisfaction how Aptus.AI is now well-known names to VCs and investors of different kinds, who came to meet us. In addition to them, the media also showed interest in our work. Starting with AziendaBanca, which, through its financial journalist Alberto Grisoni, conducted an interview with our CEO Andrea Tesei, addressing what was our 2022 and what are our plans for the future. The same topics were discussed with Alessandro Ravanetti, editor of the newsletter for the FinTech area at Techstars Startup Digest. But not only that. The international media also passed by our booth. In particular, the it.com team conducted a video interview, which will be published soon and which we will post on our channels. In addition to investors and media, also representatives from financial institutions, FinTech and crypto companies, as well as those from other startups, stopped by to meet us, allowing us to tell them about Aptus.AI and how we are revolutionizing compliance. In short, our Web Summit 2022 left us satisfied and with stronger convictions, as well as opening the doors for new ideas and business opportunities. Want to know more about us? Contact us!