AI wobble casts shadow over ‘Davos for geeks’

Lisbon, Portugal is going tech next week, hosting the annual Web Summit. The event, also known as ‘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 participants last year.

The main attractions at the theater include leaders from Meta, Lovable, Qualcomm and Microsoft to name a few. CNBC Arjun Kharbal He’ll be on the ground, talking to the big players, including the CEOs of Lyft, Oura, DeepL, and Cohere.

The event comes as the AI-fueled market rally faces increasing scrutiny from investors, big market voices, politicians and regulators. Fears Bubble in this sector It spooked global markets into a volatile week, after popular short-seller Michael Burry placed a massive $1.1 billion bet against AI darlings Nvidia and Palantir.

But could this dampen the shine of AI at the Web Summit in Portugal this week? If the software is anything to go by, AI is not only the dominant topic, it is also the answer to almost every question. The headlines are “Smarter Plays: How AI is Changing the Game,” “The Age of AI,” “The Future of AI is Visible,” and “The AI ​​Talent Wars.” No mention of bubbles or inflated valuations.

The recent blow against stocks of major AI companies from Silicon Valley to London to Tokyo is sure to cast a pall over the event, but there’s something else also causing headaches for tech employees as they look to get to Lisbon next week.

According to reportsThere is private plane congestion at Lisbon Airport, which has led to some planes being forced to turn away and land at airports more than two hours away from the city. Web Summit organizers reportedly told attendees, “Please be aware that there is currently a shortage of private jet slots during the Web Summit at Lisbon Airport and surrounding smaller airports.”