China Leads US in AI Race, Claims Web Summit CEO, Paddy Cosgrave

Doha, Qatar—During a press conference at Web Summit Qatar 2025, Web Summit CEO Paddy Cosgrave revealed that this year's event has substantially grown in its second edition. 

Attendance reached 25,747 from 124 countries, and 1,520 startups participated.

Speaking to journalists at the Doha venue, Cosgrave addressed the ongoing AI competition between the United States and China, stating that most people outside America do not believe the US will win what he described as an AI race. 

"The only place where people think America is number one is in America," Cosgrave said, citing an informal poll conducted during the summit's opening night, in which only two attendees out of approximately 1,000 indicated they believed America would lead in AI development.

Cosgrave cited academic citations as evidence of China's AI dominance, claiming that "the vast majority" of breakthroughs and cutting-edge research are produced by China, with the United States "a really distant second." 

He suggested that this trend would continue for 10-20 years.

When questioned about the format of technology conferences during the press briefing, Cosgrave emphasized Web Summit's focus on creating software and designing environments that increase the likelihood of meaningful connections. 

He explained that their "North Star" internally is "engineering serendipity," particularly for startups with limited existing networks.

Regarding Qatar's selection as the event location, Cosgrave credited Sheikh Jassim's vision and described it as "maybe the best decision we've ever made." He mentioned that Web Summit seeks locations experiencing rapid growth, similar to their previous experience with Lisbon.

Cosgrave also discussed a significant shift in startup funding patterns observed at this year's summit, noting a "decoupling" between venture capital activity and startup creation. 

He observed that many participating startups are profitable without raising external capital, describing it as "a fundamental shift in the startup ecosystem" and "a great moment for entrepreneurship."

The 2025 summit reported impressive metrics, with 47.7% of startups being women-founded, marking more than a 50% increase from the previous year. Qatari startup participation grew by 140%, from 95 in 2024 to 228 in 2025. 

Artificial intelligence dominated as the leading sector among startups, followed by SaaS, health tech, and fintech.