Rock in Rio Lisboa has revealed the startups selected for the first edition of Smart City of Rock, an innovation program integrated into the 2026 edition of the festival, The Next Big Idea reports.
The initiative is a partnership between Rock in Rio Lisboa, Liquid Innovation Co, Unicorn Factory Lisboa, and Câmara Municipal de Lisboa, and is supported by an international network of investors, accelerators, and innovation hubs.
Smart City of Rock is described as “a collaborative ecosystem where technology, creativity, and purpose meet.”
During Rock in Rio Lisboa 2026, the City of Rock will operate as a temporary urban environment hosting around 100,000 people per day. Over the four festival days, scheduled for June 20, 21, 27, and 28, 2026, the event is expected to receive millions of online impressions in addition to in-person attendance.
Organizers say this scale turns the festival into a real-world testing ground where startups can deploy and validate technologies under continuous public interaction. The goal, they note, is to accelerate the adoption of smart city solutions by testing them in a live environment rather than a controlled lab setting.
The program attracted more than 100 applications from eight countries. After the selection process, a group of startups was chosen to participate in the 2026 edition.
The selected companies include GetVocal AI, Infinite Foundry, Sensaway, Planta Smart Homes, Trash4Goods, Windcredible, goParkly, Alia Inclui, Meetball, Indulge Me, Katchit, Yooddle, and VRGlass.
Their solutions focus on areas such as sustainability, mobility, accessibility, data intelligence, and digital experiences, and will be deployed directly within the festival environment.
After the event, participating startups will present their results at Smart Rock Tank, a dedicated investment session held one week later. There, they will pitch to investors, brands, and ecosystem partners to explore funding and scale-up opportunities.
Egon Barbosa, CEO of Liquid Innovation Co, said the program goes beyond showcasing ideas. “It is a unique opportunity to access assets with high potential for replication in different markets,” he said, adding that the festival operates as a high-intensity environment, which allows technologies to be tested at real scale.
Roberta Medina, executive vice president of Rock in Rio, highlighted the broader purpose of the initiative.
“Rock in Rio Lisboa has always been more than music. It’s about creating experiences that impact people and society. With Smart City of Rock, we reinforce this purpose by transforming the festival into a living space where innovation gains scale and relevance, contributing to more humane, inclusive and sustainable cities”, she said.
Gil Azevedo, executive director of Unicorn Factory Lisboa, also emphasized the strategic role of the project, saying the collaboration helps consolidate Lisbon’s position as a leading European innovation hub and shows how cooperation between startups and public entities can generate “real value” and help shape the future of cities.
Featured image: Fonzie at Rock in Rio Lisboa in 2024 (Photo courtesy of Nuno Alberto on Unsplash)
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