Brazil’s Dalton Lab wins PITCH at Web Summit Rio 2026 with AI that changes how we work

Brazil-based agentic AI startup Dalton Lab won the top prize at the Web Summit Rio 2026 PITCH competition, sponsored by Finep, FNDCT, and MCTI. A staple of every Web Summit event, PITCH brings together early-stage startups from around the world to compete over three days in front of thousands of attendees and a panel of investor judges. For many founders, it’s their first chance to put their company on a global stage.

Dalton Lab helps companies build AI-first workplaces instead of bolting AI onto outdated processes. “We’re building a new category of companies, not just selling yet another AI tool,” Founder and CEO of Dalton Lab Rodrigo Spínola told Web Summit. “The secret is that AI comes last, after understanding the business processes and the people involved. That is how you implement AI to drive an agentic transformation.”

Rodrigo Spínola, Founder & CEO, Dalton Lab, is presented the PITCH award by Daniel Almeida, Secretary of Technological Development and Innovation, MCTI, on Center Stage during day three of Web Summit Rio 2026 at Riocentro

Dalton Lab takes companies through a four-stage journey: first mapping where AI actually creates value, then deploying agents where they make a difference, scaling them across the company with proper governance, and finally training teams to work alongside them.

“Dalton Lab creates agent-based organizations, where humans do human work and agents do robotic work,” Spínola continued. “This enables companies to grow further with the team they already have.”

The fourth edition of Web Summit’s event in Brazil welcomed 40,287 attendees, 1,572 startups, and 688 investors from over 100 countries to Rio de Janeiro, up from 34,552 attendees the year before.

• Read all about the Web Summit Rio numbers here;

Out of more than 1,500 eligible startups — from Finland, Portugal, the US, El Salvador, Mexico, and beyond — 35 advanced to the three-day PITCH contest.

All from Brazil, Dalton, Wedy, and Oncolife, battled it out on Web Summit Rio’s Center Stage, with Dalton Lab crowned this year’s champions for their innovation in AI and enterprise transformation. Oncolife Care and Wedy both made a strong case for the top spot. Oncolife helps patients, families, and medical teams manage cancer treatment through one shared platform. Wedy helps couples plan their wedding through a single platform connecting them with suppliers and guests.

All three earned the opportunity to pitch on Center Stage in front of thousands of attendees and investors. Many of today’s most successful startups were once in the same position. Companies like Uber, Revolut, Rappi, and Stripe joined the Web Summit Startup Program early in their journeys, using the platform to showcase their ideas, pitch to venture capitalists, and connect with their first customers.

Reflecting on the event, Web Summit founder and CEO Paddy Cosgrave said:

“We’re interested in putting on stage people you’re just hearing about, or maybe have never heard of before. We want to provide a window into the future, not just a platform for the status quo of today.”

Web Summit Rio returns on June 14-17, 2027.

Top talks at Web Summit Rio 2026:

• The polished feed is dead: If your content looks like an ad, your audience has already scrolled past it. 
• Agentic AI: Work smarter, win bigger. Cleber Morais, managing director at AWS Brazil shared how businesses are using AI to move faster
• Vibe coding for the next billion. With President & Head of AI at Replit, Michele Catasta.
• Money, dream, supreme: Raise the bar with Rebeca Andrade.
• The death of the click: How to capture demand without traffic

Web Summit Rio 2026 highlights:

Beyond startups sharing their projects to change the world:

• Some of the biggest technology companies in the world exhibited at Web Summit Rio this year, with Dell, Replit, IBM, OpenAI, AWS, and Google all showcasing new technologies across the sold-out floor.
  
• Leaders from Replit, OpenAI, Meta, Nvidia, IBM, Microsoft, Huawei, and Google spoke alongside some of the fastest-growing founders in the world, including self-made billionaire Kalshi Co-founder & COO Luana Lopes Lara and Clara Co-founder and CEO Gerry Giacomán Colyer. They were joined by policymakers shaping the global conversation such as European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen, and sports stars including Olympic gold medallist Rebeca Andrade.
  
• Web Summit does not end when the stage sessions close. Across three evenings, Rio’s nightlife came alive at Night Summit through themed RioCentro parties celebrating the best of Brazilian culture: Carnaval, Festa Junina, and a Copa do Mundo celebration.