Web Summit PITCH 2025: The Finals That Point to What’s UpNext
A look inside the Web Summit PITCH 2025 finals with the winner the runners up and the standout startups shaping what happens next in tech.
Web Summit hit a different gear this year. More people. More energy. More global perspectives colliding in the same rooms. Lisbon became a true meeting point for founders, operators, investors, students — anyone building what’s next.
What stood out most was how intentionally the organizers leaned into community. The Community Space ran nonstop with over 30 meetups, from women founders in AI to Black innovators to climate-focused NGOs. Web Summit also celebrated 10 years of its Women in Tech programme, and you could feel the impact. The rooms were full, the conversations were honest, and the energy was strong.
And then there were the students. More than 8,000 from across Portugal came through the INSPIRE programme, alongside 200 university students flown in from across Europe. Whether you love or hate the phrase “future of tech,” you couldn’t ignore it — they were everywhere, asking questions, taking notes, and diving into every meetup they could.
But the moment that cut through all the noise was the PITCH finale. Out of 2,725 startups, only 105 reached the stage throughout the week, and on the final day, one team took the top spot.
Below is the winner, followed by the two runner-ups who delivered some of the most compelling pitches of the entire event.
PITCH 2025 Winner & Finalists
This year’s PITCH cohort was one of the strongest I’ve seen — technical founders, clear problem statements, and real traction across every stage. Out of 2,725 startups, only three made it to the final round, and each brought a distinct, future-facing take on their category. Here’s a closer look at the winner and the two runner-ups who defined the competition.
Winner: Granter
Founder: Bernardo Seixas
Pitch: Granter is an AI grant consultant that helps companies instantly find the right public funding opportunities, check eligibility, write complete applications, and manage reporting and compliance after approval. Their agent is trained on official criteria and expert-reviewed workflows, providing companies with a faster, more reliable path to capital.
What stood out: A brutally clear pain point matched with a vertical AI agent that feels like the future of government funding.
Traction: €400K in sales in just nine months, with customers across Portugal, Spain, Germany, Belgium, and Austria — plus 20% of inbound demand already coming from the US.
Why they won: Granter delivered a pitch that felt both inevitable and scalable. They’re building the missing infrastructure layer for how companies access public capital.
Runner-Up: VarsityScape
Founder: Daniel Idiare
Pitch: VarsityScape is an operating system for universities and academies that enables them to launch scalable online programs with real-time cohort learning, peer engagement, and completion rates above 70 percent — far beyond industry averages.
What stood out: Daniel’s storytelling and clarity were standout moments of the entire competition. He made the problem, the opportunity, and the impact undeniable.
Traction: 140 academies onboarded, 5,000 learners trained, three cohorts completed, and MOUs signed with major universities across Africa.
Why they placed: A powerful mission, a validated model, and a category that is only going to grow, VarsityScape is positioned to build the future of online education on the continent.
Runner-Up: SegmentStream
Founder: Pavel Petrinich
Pitch: SegmentStream is an AI-powered marketing intelligence platform that predicts future ad performance and automatically reallocates ad spend across channels using agentic AI. It finally closes the loop between analytics and optimization.
What stood out: This is a technical founder solving a technical problem with precision. The platform merges forecasting and execution into a single feedback loop.
Traction: $1M ARR with customers across the UK, US, and Europe, driven by a lean team and strong organic demand.
Why they placed: A mature market with real budgets, a compelling new approach, and impressive traction for such a small team.
Standout PITCH Startups
And while the finalists anchored the stage, the depth of talent across this year’s PITCH program was impressive. So many founders came in with clarity, conviction, and real progress.
Here are the ones that stood out to me — whether through the problem they’re solving, the way they pitched, or the momentum they’re building.
Arbling - Yevgeniy Makhmutov
Pitch: AI-powered jewelry search and configuration that lets customers find pieces from a photo and customize them in a smooth visual interface.
What stood out: Clear vertical focus and a path to real commerce adoption.
Bloom Biotech - Pedro Vicente
Pitch: Microalgae-based biomaterials that serve as a sustainable, high-performance alternative to conventional leather.
What stood out: Strong scientific foundation paired with obvious commercial use cases.
DeltaGen AI - Rene Bystron
Pitch: Real-time technical answers surfaced directly inside sales calls through an AI agent trained on company-specific knowledge.
What stood out: A practical copilot that actually supports deal progression.
GlobalTips - Dzmitry Khabibullin
Pitch: Tools that drive more revenue in hospitality by automating guest feedback and improving team performance through simple workflows.
What stood out: A straightforward solution operators can adopt without friction.
Green Power Plus - Sebastian Vognstølen
Pitch: A shared procurement platform for cleantech projects that improves transparency and speeds up decisions using structured data.
What stood out: Bringing order and clarity to a historically messy process.
healthStay.io - Sean Conaty
Pitch: Personalized wellness insights for hotel guests delivered through AI to elevate the in-stay experience.
What stood out: A timely take on hospitality that meets rising wellness expectations.
Infrafon - Christian Stanke
Pitch: A secure, purpose-built handheld device for frontline workers that merges operational data, alerts, and communication into one unified tool.
What stood out: Hardware designed with the actual user in mind.
Language Foundry - Chad Quinn
Pitch: Language Foundry is a mission-driven e-learning platform that gives communities the tools to revitalize and preserve their languages.
What stood out: A mission-driven platform with real traction, empowering communities to preserve their language and culture.
LIVSTICK - Olivier Adler
Pitch: A creator-focused livestreaming device that lets users film, upload, and publish instantly from a pocket-sized tool.
What stood out: Genuinely simplifies the creator workflow without extra gear.
Monnett - Christos Floros
Pitch: A social platform built for thoughtful, slower conversations instead of algorithmic engagement loops.
What stood out: A refreshing direction at a moment where digital noise is peaking.
Oraczen - Sameer Pakanaty
Pitch: AI agents that optimize marketplace operations by predicting demand, matching supply, and improving seller workflows.
What stood out: A grounded application of agentic AI with real operational lift.
raal.io - Mari-Liis Tamm
Pitch: A modern platform that helps companies manage, track, and optimize their IT equipment and assets across global teams.
What stood out: Clear focus on a universal operational pain point, strong UX, and an approach that scales with distributed companies.
ROODS -Paul Engelbert
Pitch: A location-based storytelling app that turns cities into open-air museums with GPS-triggered audio, curated walking routes, and multilingual stories from local cultural partners.
What stood out: A beautiful blend of tourism, culture, and tech with clear partner and city-scale potential.
Stackbob.ai - Ole Shved
Pitch: AI automation for developers that generates tasks, fixes issues, and removes repetitive technical work.
What stood out: A solid wedge: improving engineering velocity from day one.
TEMS.AI - Alexandra Podsekina
Pitch: An AI platform for operational resilience that automates detection, response, and continuous monitoring.
What stood out: Enterprise-ready thinking with a credible roadmap.
The Warming Surfaces Company - Jani-Mikael Kuusisto
Pitch: Energy-efficient heating systems built on conductive surfaces that improve comfort while reducing consumption.
What stood out: A rare hard-tech innovation with clear climate benefit.
Vetlyx - Olena Bufan
Pitch: AI tools that unite veterinary data to automate admin tasks and support diagnostics.
What stood out: A well-defined niche with clear operational ROI.
Vertassit - Iyad Kayrala
Pitch: Enterprise AI assistants that automate knowledge work using contextual models tailored for large teams.
What stood out: Crisp technical framing and clear enterprise relevance.
Visada - Giuseppe Tortorelli
Pitch: AI-powered fraud detection for insurers that produces verified, structured case reports.
What stood out: Direct, problem-first framing for a costly industry issue.
X1 Pipeline - Chris Coomes
Pitch: X1 Pipeline is the AI native platform that transforms how startups, investors, and corporations discover, connect, and grow together.
What stood out: A real-time deal flow engine that finally unifies how founders and investors connect and make decisions.
Yourney - Daniel Prieto
Pitch: Scalable leadership development for LATAM teams delivered through adaptive content and measurable progress tracking.
What stood out: Blends soft-skill development with practical, trackable outcomes.
ZeroPact - Luis Gonçalves Branco
Pitch: Automated carbon accounting that tracks, verifies, and reports emissions through modern infrastructure.
What stood out: A clear, confident take on a fast-emerging compliance category.
UpNext: Slush
What a week. From the finalists to the breakout teams across the floor, this year’s PITCH cycle felt bigger, more intentional, and full of founders shaping what’s next. Congrats to everyone who stepped up. See you UpNext at Slush Helsinki — the final stop of our 2025 run.
