AI wobble casts shadow over ‘Davos for geeks’

The city of Lisbon in Portugal turns to tech next week, as it plays host to the annual Web Summit conference. The event, also known as the “Davos for geeks,” will feature some of the biggest names in technology at an interesting time for the sector. It attracted more than 70 ,000 attendees last year.

Main stage attractions include leaders from Meta, Lovable, Qualcomm and Microsoft to name just a few. CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal will be on the ground, speaking to big players, including the CEOs of Lyft, Oura, DeepL and Cohere.

The event comes as the AI-fueled market rally faces increased scrutiny from investors, big market voices, politicians and regulators. Concerns of a bubble in the sector spooked global markets into a rollercoaster week, after famed short-seller Michael Burry placed a massive $1.1 billion bet against AI darlings Nvidia and Palantir.

But can this take the shine off AI at Web Summit in Portugal this week? If the program is anything to go by, not only is AI the dominant topic, but also the answer to almost every question. Headline panels are titled “Smarter plays: How AI is changing the game,” “The age of AI,” “The Future of AI is visual,” and the “AI talent wars.” No mention of bubbles or over-inflated valuations.

The recent whiplash against major AI stocks from Silicon Valley to London to Tokyo will certainly cast a shadow on the event, but there is something else that’s also causing a headache to tech honchos as they look to arrive in Lisbon next week.

According to reports, there is a private jet logjam at Lisbon airport which has seen some planes forced to turn away and land at airports over 2 hours from the city. The Web Summit organizers reportedly told attendees, “Please be advised there is currently a shortage of private jet slots during Web Summit at Lisbon airport and surrounding smaller airports.”