File photo used for representational purposes
Doha, Qatar: Today, Web Summit, the world’s largest global technology event series, announced that Oscar-winning Hollywood superstar Will Smith will be speaking at the second edition of Web Summit Qatar, taking place at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre (DECC) from February 23-26, 2025.
Web Summit Qatar is set to gather over 25,000 technology and business leaders, founders, 600 world-leading investors, 600 media, and a record 1,500+ startups for its highly anticipated return.
As well as his onscreen stardom, Smith is also a business founder and entrepreneur.
In 2019, he and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith founded Westbrook, an entertainment venture company whose mission is to help established and emerging talent realize their creative aspirations across film, television, documentaries, new media, and consumer goods.
Smith will speak on Web Summit Qatar's Centre Stage, exploring the intersection of media, culture, health, and technology.
There, in conversation with global bestselling author and podcast host Jay Shetty, Smith will share the lessons he’s learned through his career, the challenges he’s overcome, and how he continues to push boundaries in entertainment, business, and life.
The conversation will explore what success truly means through the eyes of a global star - both on and off the screen.
Smith joins a lineup that includes tech and VC leaders like Alexis Ohanian, founder of Seven Seven Six and Reddit co-founder; Eduardo Saverin, co-founder of Facebook and B Capital; best-selling authors and podcast stars Malcolm Gladwell and Jay Shetty; Laura Chambers, CEO of Mozilla Corporation; Brian Robbins, CEO of Paramount Pictures and many more....
Up from 1,000 startups at its inaugural edition, Web Summit Qatar’s second edition will gather 1,500 of the most promising early-stage startups from 90 countries - 46 percent of which are women-founded and 85 percent of which are global.
85 percent of the startups attending are global and 15 percent are from Qatar, highlighting both the strength of the Qatari ecosystem and its international appeal - as well as Web Summit’s reputation as the global showcase for the world’s most promising new businesses.
These startups will take part in Web Summit Qatar’s Startup Programme, exhibiting across the show floor and connecting with hundreds of partners from countries such as Qatar, the United States, Egypt, Brazil, Italy, Nigeria, the UK, India, and beyond.
Partners include Meta, Huawei, Snap, Microsoft, TikTok, Qatar Airways, Snoonu, Palo Alto Networks, and more.
More than 600 Investors from around the world, including Global Ventures Managing Partner Noor Sweid, Greycroft Partner, COO, and CFO Kevin Gasque, Altimeter Partner Vivek Goyal, Cherry Ventures Founding Partner Christian Meermann, Qatar Investment Authority Head of TMT Mohammed Ahmed Al-Hardan, Peak XV Managing Director GV Ravishankar and 500 Global Partner Amal Dokhan will be connecting with the world’s most promising startups.
Will Smith boasts a career that spans over three decades, during which he has earned critical acclaim as an actor and musician, enjoyed massive commercial success, and exerted huge cultural influence. He has won 4 Grammy Awards as a rapper, starred in multiple blockbuster films (including the Bad Boys and Men In Black franchises) and also won an Academy Award in 2022 for Best Actor (playing Richard Williams, father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams).
His music career began as a rapper under the name The Fresh Prince, forming the duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince in the late 1980s, with hit songs like Parents Just Don't Understand and Summertime winning Grammy Awards.
Smith’s breakthrough in television came with the 1990s sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air", which became a cultural phenomenon.
Smith quickly moved into Hollywood superstardom via global box-office hits such as Bad Boys, the action franchise with Martin Lawrence which spawned three sequels; Independence Day –one of the highest-grossing films of the '90s - and the Men in Black sci-fi comedies.
In addition to his 2022 Oscar win, he secured two other Academy Award nominations - for Ali, where he played Muhammad Ali, and The Pursuit of Happiness.
