Wave by Vento summit in Torino draws 10,000 global participants

The 2026 edition of Wave by Vento concluded at OGR Torino, bringing together 10,000 participants from 117 countries and over 200 international speakers. The event, which marks the transition from Italian Tech Week, featured prominent figures including John Elkann, Nik Storonsky, Jony Ive, and Tim Berners-Lee.

During the summit, Revolut co-founder Nik Storonsky expressed the ambition to build a European technological champion comparable to Meta, Google, or OpenAI. Data from Dealroom highlighted that European venture capital investments are proceeding at an annualized rate of $89 billion in 2026, with the total value of venture-backed European companies reaching $4.4 trillion. In Italy, venture-backed companies have reached a value of $85 billion.

Diyala D’Aveni, CEO of Vento, noted that while startups and AI are growing, European companies often seek capital outside the continent once they reach certain development stages. She emphasized the need for better conditions to allow European firms to scale and secure funding within the region to ensure they remain key players in the future economy.