Annual Report 2024 2025

Our Core Functions Partner Engagement During the reporting period, the World Economic Forum experienced strong partnership growth of close to 5%, amid ongoing geoeconomic and geopolitical change. The partnership base rose to a record high of 925, reflecting robust retention and the addition of more than 129 new partnerships. Of these, more than 70 companies signed Associate Partnerships, several of which were Unicorns expanding their engagement, while the Strategic Partner community maintained its membership level of 123 partners, as of 30 June 2025. Strong partnership levels were reflected in the degree of engagement with the Annual Meeting, in which more than 1,500 business leaders (including more than 1,000 CEOs and chairpersons) participated. In addition to the Annual Meeting, the Forum convened stakeholders at several key gatherings, bringing together business leaders to advance initiatives and provide a platform for dialogue about critical trends affecting businesses. The Forum benefited from a significant increase in Associate Centre Partnerships, which focus exclusively on centre- specific engagement outside of the Annual Meeting, and which rose by almost 20%. Throughout all partnership categories, there was double- digit growth in the following industries: information and communication technology and media, manufacturing, supply chain and transport, and energy industries. Regionally, the Forum enjoyed particularly strong growth in Europe, China and the Middle East and Africa. Whereas the partnership base engages the world’s largest companies, the Forum’s Innovator Community continues to engage approximately 400 leading start-ups. Their CEOs engage in the Forum’s thematic centres and initiatives, offering insights and potential solutions to global issues. The community includes 200 early-stage Technology Pioneers, approximately 100 growth-stage Global Innovators and approximately 100 late-stage Unicorns. Generative AI’s impact is evident in this community, with start-ups focused on AI applications in fields such as health, climate and energy joining those driving generative AI and the surrounding infrastructure. The community has also expanded to full ecosystems with the first Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution focused on innovation and start- ups in South Korea. The Forum aims to deepen multistakeholder collaboration by further integrating innovation ecosystems into its thematic workstreams and industry communities, with a focus on frontier technologies, resilient supply chains and sustainable development. These efforts will be supported by expanding the regional footprint and cultivating public- private partnerships. Annual Report 2024-2025 Our Organization50