How to Web 2025: Two days of tech inspiration, investment opportunities, networking, and innovation
The How to Web Conference gathered over 3,000 visionaries this year, transforming Eastern Europe into the region’s most significant tech hub for two days. Founders, investors, and global technology leaders converged where “capital, innovation, and expertise came together.”
More than 150 international speakers represented industry giants including OpenAI, Amazon, Google, IBM, Booking.com, Alibaba Cloud, and Canva. Investment funds like Northzone, Creandum, Seedcamp, and 20VC presented across four dedicated stages: Build & Grow Stage, Focus Stage, Startup Stage, and Broadcast Room.
Monica Zara, Head of Conference How to Web, emphasized the event’s evolution: “The way the How to Web conference has developed over the years has gone beyond the role of a simple event. We all contribute—organizers, participants, partners—to a phenomenon that keeps this region alive and brings together all the representatives capable of building a more optimistic future through technology.”
How to Web: Two days of ideas, collaborations, and impact
The conference facilitated over 2,000 meetings and attracted more than 200 international investors, establishing itself as a connection hub between Eastern European founders and global capital. Investors who backed companies like UiPath, Revolut, Spotify, Bolt, and ElevenLabs attended, highlighting the region’s growing potential.
Over 550 early-stage startups accessed specialized programs designed to accelerate growth and investor connections. These included the Spotlight competition, mentoring sessions, fundraising boot camps, and the Dealflow matchmaking platform.
Slovenia’s LynxCraft claimed the Spotlight competition victory with their algorithmic construction platform that automates housing design and supply chain. Their prize package included a €180,000 investment from GapMinder Ventures and V7 Capital, €25,000 in Infobip platform credits, €100,000 in OVHCloud credits, and a €15,000 visitor pass to the European Startup Embassy in San Francisco.
The agenda tackled critical topics including large-scale AI integration, product-led growth, fundraising strategies, team resilience, and global market scaling opportunities.
Strategic satellite events expand the conference’s impact
How to Web 2025 extended beyond the main program with strategic satellite events. Venture in Eastern Europe 2025 gathered over 200 investors interested in regional market opportunities. The Founders Networking Event connected tech ecosystem leaders to stimulate collaboration among innovation drivers.
In-conference events generated industry-relevant discussions, including Bytes & Bills, which focused on entrepreneur-friendly policy development, and Leap of Tech, which explored the region’s evolution from an outsourcing hub to a product development center. The Defense & Dual Use session opened dialogue on dual-use technologies and Eastern Europe’s strategic innovation role.
Startup delegations from the Republic of Moldova, Serbia, and Slovenia strengthened the conference’s regional dimension. These emerging ecosystems reinforced How to Web’s position as Eastern Europe’s innovation meeting point, where founders presented projects, met investors, and explored regional collaboration.
The conference launched “The State of Romanian-born Early Stage Startups” report, providing current market insights and highlighting opportunities and challenges for Romanian founders in the European context.
How to Web Conference 2025 operated in partnership with BRD – Groupe Société Générale, Underline Ventures, Google Romania, Showpad, and received support from numerous technology companies and investment funds, including Infobip, Stripe, Bitdefender, and TechAngels.
