Sesame Summit 2026 – application open

“Inspiring the Good Future”

The City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia is one of the most unique venues for a Tech summit. What inspired you to choose this location?

The City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia is the perfect location for a Tech event. Within this emblematic place, the Oceanogràfic offers us the possibility of expanding our theme of ‘Inspiring the Good Future’. The objective of this fourth edition is to show how technology, innovation and digitization can impact society, playing a crucial role in building a better future. To this, we need to add the recent announcement of Valencia being chosen as the most desirable city to live in and the healthiest city in the world, standing out thanks to the balance between quality of life, cost and access to unique talent.

One of the added values of this new edition is the expo area where we will find exhibitions of the latest technological trends as well as presentations of new trends and disruptive products.

This Tech event fosters innovation by generating new business opportunities, promoting entrepreneurial culture and boosting the technological and innovative European ecosystem. Attracting and retaining talent and investment, encouraging international alliances between ecosystems and positioning the Valencian community as an international tech hub are the main goals of Valencia Digital Summit 2021.

blank
Startup Valencia

Notable celebrities Nieves Alvarez & David Mecca are on the list of speakers for the Summit. Other than them, are there any other speakers you are looking forward to hosting in Valencia?

In total, more than 300 speakers from 20 different nationalities will participate in the event, allocated across 4 themed stages with more than 60 hours of content. More than 400 startups from 15 different countries signed up to participate in the startup competition that has selected the 10 best startups who will present their projects to national and international funds worth more than 5 billion euros in 2022. Additionally, the Expo Village is an area where more than 40 startups will showcase their projects with the latest technologies in robotics, VR/AR, drones and much more.

Regarding speakers, the majority are founders from startups and well-known people from the innovative and tech ecosystem such as Elias Veris, Global Strategy & Operations Lead of Google for Startups; Christian Lindener, Global Head of Innovation of Airbus; Jaime Rodríguez de Santiago, Regional General Manager France, Spain & Portugal at FREE NOW; Indiana Gregg, CEO of Wedo; Sebastian Gunningham, Chairman of Santander Consumer Finance & Vice Chairman of Openbank; Sunny Bates, Founder & CEO of Sunny Bates Associates and Magdalena Szuszkiewicz, General Manager of Gorillas – among many other speakers that will offer their experiences and advice to attendees.

blank
Startup Valencia

How does the Capital4Startups Pitch Competition help startups gain recognition, given that noted international brands like Airbus & EQT Growth will be a part of the Summit?

During the past few weeks, more than 400 startups from 15 countries have participated. The 10 finalist startups selected to participate in Capital4Startups Pitch Competition (Nect GmbH, Zeleros Hyperloop, BusUp, Dative_, 1millionbot, Streamion, Wenalyze, Decoditive, Fauna Smart Technologies and Breeze Technologies) will have the opportunity to present their projects to key funds, corporates and other stakeholders at our Investors Day on December 14th at Valencia Digital Summit 2021 in the City of Arts and Science.

The members of the jury are distinguished and recognized experts from the entrepreneurial ecosystem. They are part of the Board of Directors of different organizations such as Startup Wise Guys, BIGBAN, Plug & Play and DraperB1.

Jury members will analyze and study each proposal to choose the winning startup for each category: Best Seed Startup & Best Growth Startup. They will take part in Capital4Startups Pitch Competition to encourage innovation and talent at the main Tech event in the region of Valencia.

blank
Startup Valencia

How does this Digital Summit cater to attendees around the world? Can remote audiences catch the Summit online?

Valencia Digital Summit, the main Tech event in the Valencian community, will host on December 15th and 16th more than 4,000 attendees in the facilities of the Oceanogràfic and more than 5,000 attendees via streaming. People from more than 25 different countries have already signed up to follow the event. In fact, 2 out of every 10 attendees are from any country but Spain and 60% of the enrolled attendees are CEOs or founders. Thanks to this hybrid edition, attendees will be able to enjoy Valencia Digital Summit from wherever they are in the world!


Interested in finding out what you’ve been missing from all the buzz happening in Valencia? Grab your FREE ticket today

you might also like

blank
Events 2 days ago

AI is reshaping how people discover information. Search traffic, once the lifeblood of websites, is plummeting as AI tools provide answers and context immediately, eliminating the need to browse to websites for answers at all.  Understandably, companies are responding by going down avenues they can control: newsletters, podcasts, memberships and events. This reality is true for startups as well. You simply can’t rely on Google traffic or algorithms to build trust anymore. You need direct channels, and there are few ways to build trust more powerful than  meeting people face-to-face. Welcome to the ‘post-click’ era Startups have long played by the ever-changing rules set by Google and social media platforms, which are more often than not prone to changing their algorithms and leaving everyone scrambling to adapt overnight.  AI is not only accelerating this instability, it’s almost making Google referral traffic obsolete. Companies need to adapt to this new reality with strategies that let them talk directly to their prospective customers. The media industry, one of the most vulnerable to the changes, is proving to be one of the quickest to adapt. Morning Brew, for example, blends its newsletters franchises with events. In a recent interview, Sam Jacobs, TIME’s editor-in-chief, highlighted how the company went from organizing two to three events per year, to holding the same number of events monthly. Even digital-first players are embracing events. Podcasts like Acquired and All-In now host live events to bring their listeners together. Finimize has built grassroots meetups around its newsletter. The new defense tech media title, Resilience Media, born on Substack, is planning events to connect experts in its niche. Alex Konrad’s new Upstarts ecosystem includes live interviews, an upcoming podcast and curated events. These aren’t just extensions of the content; they’re ways to nurture communities. Startups should copy this strategy. They must consider where their credibility and relationships will be built in this new landscape, especially as visibility is no longer about simply appearing on top of search results or burning money with ads; it’s about building lasting trust in the spaces that matter. Events are singularly effective at doing that. Lessons from after the pandemic If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s that being present online is insufficient. Platforms like Hopin promised a future of global, scalable, online events. Even experiments in VR conferences were the subject of occasional hype.  All of that fell short, however. What founders, investors and marketers learned was simple: There is no substitute for shaking someone’s hand, catching their eye, and sharing time in the same space. When the pandemic ended, events came back with a bang. Companies large and small continue to invest in gatherings. Events still carry symbolic weight: just look at Apple’s meticulously choreographed product launches, or how scaleups like Helsing showcase new technologies.  For startups, events can also serve as tools for strengthening internal communications and bonds with their employees and their community. Here’s a great example: Italian travel scaleup WeRoad holds an annual, two-day global gathering of its travel coordinators and staff that strengthens culture and commitment in ways a Zoom call never could. Why startups need to show up Startups live and die on the strength of their relationships. Securing investors, signing first customers, and finding the right partners are all processes that depend completely on trust. These early relationships are crucial. In an AI-driven world where digital discovery is fragmented, saturated and noisy, events cut through the noise. They offer something AI and algorithms never will: human presence. Startups should think of events as essential investments in visibility and credibility. Whether it’s speaking on stage, hosting a breakfast or simply showing up to the right conference — being in the room matters. It’s OK to be selective. It’s OK to pass on events when priorities point elsewhere. And don’t take this to mean the digital realm and AI should be ignored. But in this era where we’re putting AI on a pedestal, founders should not underestimate the power of a physical meeting for establishing contact with investors, talent, or any other important stakeholder.

blank
New Materials 3 days ago

After a successful first edition, JEC Investor Day 2026 is now returning for its second year with expanded ambitions.

blank
Events 6 days ago

TechCrunch Disrupt? Overrated. Web Summit? A $4,700 mistake I’ll never make again. I’ve burned $18K learning which startup events actually matter for B2B SaaS founders trying to close deals—not just collect business cards. Here’s what nobody tells you: the biggest events aren’t where B2B deals happen. Why “Best Startup Event” Lists Are Useless for B2B Founders Every January, tech blogs publish the same recycled garbage: “50 Must-Attend Startup Events!” They rank by size and buzz. What they don’t rank by: where your buyers actually show up with budgets. I learned this after exhibiting at a 70,000-person mega-conference. Spent $4,700 on booth space, flights, and hotel. Had exactly zero conversations with our target market. The attendees? Mostly consumer startups and the press are looking for the next Uber. According to Cvent, 81% of trade show attendees have buying authority—but only at industry-specific events. Generic “startup” conferences are networking theater. If you’re serious about finding the right startup event strategy, you need to think differently. The 5 Best Startup Events Where I’ve Actually Closed B2B Deals SaaStr Annual – Where SaaS Deals Actually Happen 13,000 SaaS professionals in San Mateo every March. APIDays – The Technical Depth You Need If you’re building APIs, this is your room. 2,000-3,000 API architects who can actually read your docs. Paris is the flagship, but they run 10+ cities globally. What makes APIDays different: it’s deeply technical. No marketing fluff. €3,000 gets you in, and European buyers are way less saturated than US markets. Big Data & AI Paris – Enterprise Buyers With Actual Budgets 15,000 enterprise CTOs and data engineers. I closed two partnerships here worth €400K combined—with French banks and telecom companies that had active Q4 budgets. The French government subsidizes AI adoption, so budgets are real. But your networking tactics need to adapt. Less aggressive, more relationship-focused. €800 for a pass and 3,200€ to exhibit as a startup, totally worth it if you’re targeting European enterprises. Track it on Sesamers so you don’t miss early bird pricing. MicroConf – Where Bootstrapped Founders Share Real Numbers 200-300 attendees max. Everyone’s profitable or trying to be. Zero VC hypergrowth bullshit. I’ve learned more in hallway conversations here than at conferences 50x the size. The attendees are other founders who share actual numbers—not vanity metrics. Churn rates, CAC, payback periods. This is how you measure real ROI from events. Worth every cent if you’re bootstrapped. Industry-Specific Trade Shows – The Secret Weapon Here’s the move nobody talks about: skip tech conferences entirely. Go where your buyers congregate. Healthcare SaaS? Hit HIMSS. Fintech? Money20/20. HR tech? HR Tech Conference. I watched a founder close a $400K deal at a healthcare event while competitors were posting selfies at Web Summit. These cost $3,000 avg, but attendee quality is 100x better. According to Statista, B2B trade shows hit $15.78B in 2024. This strategy works because you’re fishing where the fish actually are. The 3-Filter System I Use to Pick Events Filter 1: Who’s actually attending? Can you name 20 people who match your ICP? If not, wrong event. Use Sesamers to check historical attendee data before buying tickets. Filter 2: What’s your actual goal? Raising money? Go to investor-heavy events. Closing customers? Industry trade shows. Different goals need different event selection criteria. Filter 3: What’s the all-in cost? Ticket + flights + hotel + meals. If it’s over $3K, you need $30K in pipeline to break even. Most events don’t hit that unless you’re strategic. Events I Skip (And Why You Should Too) Web Summit: 70,000 people is networking hell. Consumer-focused despite the B2B claims. Pass unless you need Series A+ PR. CES: Consumer electronics show. Your B2B SaaS buyers aren’t here. I see founders at CES every year wondering why they’re not closing deals. Now you know. TechCrunch Disrupt: Great for press and VCs. Terrible for enterprise buyers. Worth it for launch PR, not pipeline. How I Track Everything Without Losing My Mind I track every event in a spreadsheet: cost, conversations, pipeline generated, deals closed. After three years of data, the pattern is crystal clear. Niche beats broad. Quality beats quantity—industry-specific crushes general tech. The best startup events for B2B SaaS are never on TechCrunch’s homepage. For API companies: APIDays and API World are superior to generic conferences. For AI/ML: Big Data & AI Paris provides European enterprise access that’s nearly impossible to achieve otherwise. Geography matters—European buyers at European events are way less saturated than US markets. Stop Wasting Money on the Wrong Events You have limited time and budget. Most founders can hit 3-5 events per year max. Choose wrong and you’ve burned $15K and 15 days for zero ROI. Choose right and one event generates $500K+ in pipeline. Use Sesamers to find events filtered by your industry and target attendees. See which ones similar founders recommend. Track ROI data. Set reminders for early bird pricing. Never waste another $4K on an event where your buyers don’t show up. Because the smartest way to pick events is learning from founders who’ve already tested them—and can tell you which ones actually matter. Ready to find your next high-ROI event? Start tracking on Sesamers and build your calendar based on data, not FOMO.

Subscribe to
our Newsletter!

Stay at the forefront with our curated guide to the best upcoming Tech events.