'Western tech dominance fading' at Lisbon's Web Summit

GLOBAL tech leaders will pack Lisbon's annual Web Summit from yesterday to talk Artificial Intelligence, robots and startups - all under the shadow of tensions over cutting-edge tech and the natural resources needed to build it.

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Over four days, the "Davos for geeks" is set to welcome over 70 000 visitors including 2 500 startups and 1 000 investors, according to organisers.

Tech leaders gathered at this week's opening night, starring Swedish startup founder Anton Osika, whose Lovable software company is touted as the fastest growing in history.

The audience also cheered TikTok star Khaby Lame, tennis great Maria Sharapova and an Olympics-style parade of tech founders bearing their nations' flags.

Here are some of the key themes at the show:

"This year, more than any year before, it's clear that the era of Western tech dominance is fading," Web Summit founder Paddy Cosgrave saidthis week.