It seems like the answers could be publicity, funding, sales, networking, or hype. Publicity doesn't make much sense because articles only usually discuss a few of the (hundreds of?) startups. Funding doesn't make sense because if you're unfunded, why spend money to go to an expensive conference? Sales doesn't make much sense because it's not a specific conference for the specific industry of the startup. (Unless the startup sells services or software to other startups.) For similar reasons, it's not clear to me why it is useful to network with other startups from arbitrary other areas. (Incubators and advisors seem like they would give much better advice than other startups, for example.) Is the goal just to get the startup's name in a list so that investors think things are going well (hype)?
Whenever one of these things happens, it feels like I'm missing out on something by not being part of it. But on the other hand, I really don't understand what the purpose is supposed to be. What are the supposed benefits, and are there actual benefits?