Tech Barcelona and Innovally have signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to structurally connect Barcelona’s tech ecosystem with the rapidly growing high-tech hub around Almere and the wider Dutch network. The collaboration aims to build a lasting bridge between startups, scaleups, corporates, investors, knowledge institutions and public partners in both regions, with a shared focus on accelerating European cooperation in high tech, dual-use and defence-related innovation, energy, mobility and urban development.

The agreement was signed at 4YFN, the international startup event held during Mobile World Congress Barcelona. The partnership links two of Europe’s fastest-developing innovation regions. Barcelona is home to Southern Europe’s largest tech ecosystem. Tech Barcelona, the independent non-profit that has driven the city’s tech agenda since 2013, represents more than 1,500 member companies and connects over 100 corporate partners. The wider Catalan startup ecosystem reached a record 2,400 startups in 2025 and attracted more than €1.1 billion in investment.

Almere is rapidly developing into the Netherlands’ fifth high-tech hub. Semiconductor company ASM International is investing hundreds of millions of euros in a new global headquarters and R&D centre on the city’s forthcoming High Tech Campus. TNO is conducting a feasibility study for a national semiconductor research institute at the same site. Innovally, launched in January 2026 as the successor to the Green Innovation HUB, acts as the region’s innovation platform for digital and high-tech innovation. Both regions share the ambition to build the next generation of sustainable, digital and secure cities.

Strengthening Europe’s strategic position

The collaboration is built around three pillars: knowledge sharing, network exchange and acceleration. Through joint sessions, both partners will share insights, trends and best practices from their ecosystems around the core themes of high tech, dual-use innovation, energy, mobility and urban development.

They will also open up their respective networks to facilitate introductions between companies and stakeholders, and increase visibility for each other’s flagship programmes and events in Spain and the Netherlands. Through an annual Accelerator Day, the partners aim to turn these connections into concrete collaborations, pilots and projects between companies and organisations from both regions.

In addition, Tech Barcelona and Innovally will jointly explore opportunities in European funding programmes, including initiatives related to AI, urban innovation and dual-use technologies.

A European corridor for innovation

The collaboration comes at a time when European strategic autonomy is high on the political agenda. By connecting Barcelona’s mature, internationally oriented tech community with Almere’s growing high-tech cluster, the partnership aims to create a corridor for knowledge, talent and business that strengthens both regions and Europe’s competitive position.

Miquel Martí, CEO of Tech Barcelona: “Through this collaboration we connect Barcelona’s tech ecosystem with one of the most dynamic emerging high-tech regions in the Netherlands, creating new opportunities for our communities and contributing to a more connected and competitive Europe.”

Danny Frietman, Project Director of Innovally: “For Innovally, this is an important step to strengthen the international positioning of Almere and Flevoland and to give our companies and partners direct access to a leading Mediterranean innovation ecosystem.”

Twenty years have passed since the first edition of Mobile World Congress, and twelve since the debut of 4YFN, when many people in Barcelona still didn’t quite know what a startup was. Today, the landscape looks very different.

The numbers speak for themselves. The world’s largest event dedicated to mobile technology and connectivity—now expanded to include virtually every corner of the tech world—has reached a record attendance of nearly 105,000 people.

Brainstorming

The final day arrived with rain, wind and the accumulated fatigue of an intense week. Even so, the pace didn’t slow.

One of the congress stages hosted the AI for Good Innovation Factory Catalonia competition, with Carmen Rios (Doctomatic) and Quique Llaudet (Ephion Health) –both members at Tech Barcelona– among the finalists. In the end, Emily.AI, an intelligent system designed for people who rely on external oxygen supplies, won over the jury, which included Miquel Martí, CEO of Tech Barcelona.

Before the curtain came down on the fair, there was still time to put forward one last challenge. Leading company in construction solutions Molins did just that with the launch of its new open call for startups.

Now it’s time to see the impact 4YFN will have on the community. And above all, to get some well-deserved rest.

As the saying goes: “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”. That is why 4YFN is also the perfect moment to build new alliances and partnerships, and to strengthen the ones you already have.

This morning we signed a collaboration agreement with Innovally to structurally connect the tech ecosystems of Barcelona, Almere and the Dutch Network.

In that same spirit of connection, we met with a delegation led by Mr. Zhang Fei, Wuhan’s Vice Mayor. And, throughout the day, we welcomed partners and friends to our stand, including Damm, Nestlé, Consorci Sanitari Alt Penedès-Garraf…and the great RCD family. Just before lunch, we enjoyed a conversation at our stand with Carolina Rodríguez, CEO of Enisa | Empresa Nacional de Innovación, focused on how public funding and institutional backing empower startups to scale.

The day also gave the spotlight to female talent. We participated in EAE Business School’s Top 10 Women Entrepreneurs in Catalonia awards ceremony. Kudos to Marina Rigau, Eva Colás, Patricia Villagrasa, Carla Maté Goldar, Laura Lizama, Silvia Raga, Sílvia Frutos, Ana I. Caño-Delgado, Andrea Giordano, Natàlia Pujades Piera, Laura Gispert and Valérie Itey.

Meanwhile, at our stand, Build38 presented its solutions just weeks after its recent acquisition. We hosted our last startup pitching session at the event and shared the space with Volum Technologies (i2CAT Research Centre), MongoDB, Artefacto Studio and Cambridge Spark, giving voice to all our partners.

Partnership by partnership, we keep growing.

Something feels different at 4YFN this year. Barcelona’s startup ‘party’ is no longer orbiting around MWC. With a dedicated entrance and a more specialised audience, the event feels more intentional: fewer curious wanderers crossing over from other halls, more attendees coming specifically to discover startups and engage with them. During this first day, crowds may have appeared smaller than previous years –final numbers will tell, shaped in part by global uncertainty– but the conversations are noticeably more focused and meaningful.

At Tech Barcelona, we continue to be present, this time alongside more than 90 of our members and partners, including 11 startups at our stand (B23, Hall 8.1): Imaginae.ai, Tophealthtech, Baluwo, Pro Live Tech, Rosepetal, Omnios, Laia, Build38, Artefacto 41 and Wastex. From software and hardware to health, AI, computer vision and sensing technologies, the lineup reflects the diversity of our ecosystem.

That diversity was also showcased in the opening session at our Agora, featuring Yes We Sail, the project led by blind sailor Dani Anglada and focused on inclusive navigation technology. Developed in collaboration with Eurecat and White Jacket, the initiative is building a haptic system that enables orientation through vibrations, helping users navigate without relying on sight.

Health, one of Barcelona’s strongest sectors, has been especially visible across 4YFN today. Startups, research centres and healthcare organisations are presenting solutions that combine AI, advanced data analytics and high-performance computing to improve prevention, diagnosis and clinical management. At the Agora Stage, the session “Hyper-Scale Health: Unleashing the Power of AI and HPC” explored how these technologies are accelerating clinical research and supporting better medical decision-making. Speakers Cristian Martí (Methinks), Chris Morton (Elem Biotech) and Roc Fages (CSAPG) emphasised the need to scale technology to handle growing volumes of clinical data and turn them into useful insights.

And while Tech Barcelona members were pitching at our stand, the conversation continued at the Talent Arena (MWC and 4YFN’s talent-focused cousin) where we brought together OLX and IFCO to discuss the role their hubs play in empowering Barcelona’s tech talent.

More to come tomorrow.

We’ll hold on to this statement captured by La Vanguardia: “The Mobile is like Disneyland: impressive. But at 4YFN is where we do business […] it’s like the town fair, here’s where everyone is.”

At Tech Barcelona, we’ve supported ten startups at our stand and over 100 partners and collaborators throughout the congress. We’re proud to see how the tech ecosystem keeps growing and how Barcelona is increasingly becoming an international benchmark.

4YFN is the event for doing business, reconnecting with old friends, making new connections, and, above all, learning. We’ve organized a total of 35 sessions with the participation of corporations, entrepreneurs, and institutions, sharing developments that, in just four years, will be part of our everyday lives.

We closed the event with a great debate at the Banco Sabadell Stage, where Aram Sargsyan (FREENOW), Clément Lemardelé (Vaive Logistics), Laura Sanz (i2CAT), Isaac Partal Calvo (SEAT CODE), and Miquel Martí (Tech Barcelona) reflected on the future of mobility, autonomous cars, and the management of interconnected data systems. If we want smarter cities and a real advancement in autonomous mobility, regulation must prioritize innovation.

We also took the opportunity to take a stroll around the MWC, that small ‘side event’ we had next door. This year, artificial intelligence was everywhere: microwaves, vacuum cleaners, washing machines, mobile phones… and countless humanoid robots and holograms to interact with. Curved screens, foldable computers… But, interestingly, the device that caught our attention the most didn’t use artificial intelligence, but real intelligence: the first commercially available biological computer from Cortical Labs, capable of processing information using real neurons grown from human stem cells.

And because of all this, we’re still here. And we’ll keep going.

Health and life sciences, Barcelona’s flagship sector, has completely taken over both Halls at 4YFN.

At our stand, we’ve received innovative solutions such as Gate2Brain, X-Trem, and Anicare, presented by i4KIDS and i4KIDS-EUROPE, the pediatric innovation hub coordinated by Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona. We’ve also witnessed notable collaborations, such as the one between InterSystems and the startup Health-Circuit, and had the visit of organizations like the Consorci Sanitari Alt Penedès-Garraf.

Additionally, we’ve met the winner of this edition of the Call For Startups powered by Boehringer Ingelheim in collaboration with Tech Barcelona: Eupnoos. Their innovative software, capable of analyzing a patient’s respiratory sounds for the early detection of diseases, will receive €10,000 and six months of collaboration with the company’s teams to advance the development of their solution focused on diagnosing ILD.

We delved into the relationship between corporations and startups in one of the earliest sessions of the day, with the participation of Jose Maria Blasco, Juan Manuel Baselga, Irene Gómez, Kai Brandt, and Roger Salvat on the CaixaBank DayOne stage. The challenge remains the difference in pace: the agility and speed of startups, along with their vulnerability, need to find a balance with the longer processes of corporations and the integration of innovation into their corporate culture.

A special mention goes to the Tech Barcelona Retail Working Group, made up of Danone, Nestlé, Bacardi, PepsiCo, and Unilever, who took advantage of a highly visible stage to make their own ‘letter to the Three Kings’: “more clean and standardized data, an integrative tool, and an artificial intelligence layer.”

Other highlights of the day include the potential of freelancers with Outvise, the financial support from Qonto for entrepreneurs, the role of MongoDB in developing AI agents, the latest innovations from Artefacto Studio, and Molins’ vision on the future of engineering and construction with AI.

We’re entering the final stretch of 4YFN 2025.

At 4YFN, smiles and handshakes are constant, along with distant waves when we cross paths in the halls and hugs when we meet. Now more than ever, we’re incredibly fortunate to say that the Tech Barcelona stand has become a meeting point for everyone: from partners, collaborators, and institutions, to any initiative, known or yet to be discovered, with an interest in boosting the tech and digital ecosystem in Barcelona.

At the big startup celebration, more than 20 entrepreneurs, members of the association, took to our stand’s stage to showcase their most disruptive projects. This also included those powered by BlueTechPort, such as AllRead, Envjoy, Metarina, Seabots, and Grasshopper Air Mobility, along with Skilia, Safebox, and Ciberia, the latest creations from Iris Ventures. In this international environment, connections with potential clients, collaborators, and investors are multiplying.

Also, there are plenty of opportunities to go live on a TV program… right, Omnios?

Also, Miquel Sàmper, the Minister of Home Affairs, and Jaume Baró, Secretary of Business and Competitiveness of the Generalitat de Catalunya, have passed by, accompanied by Jordi Aguasca, Director of Innovation and Technological Transformation at ACCIÓ. Also present were Jordi Garcia Brustenga, Director General of Industrial Strategy and SMEs at the Gobiero de España; Lorenzo Di Pietro, Director General of Barcelona Activa; and the delegation led by Josep Sánchez Llibre, President of Foment del Treball, together with Maria Mora, Director of Innovation, who was recently appointed a member of the Tech Barcelona Board of Directors.

Numerous visits from major corporations, association partners, such as Nestlé, Ferrer, Saba, Michael Page… and RCD, who have completely taken over the stand.

Corporations are increasingly approaching startups, and a clear example of this is ERIA InnoHub, Estabanell’s Corporate Venturing vehicle, which has had discussions with Clever Solar Devices. We flew from our stand to Vueling’s to continue exploring this interest, in a roundtable moderated by Mind the Bridge, featuring Mango, HP, Naturgy, and Vueling itself. The key formula for driving innovation: through pilot projects with startups, testing the technology, and verifying its functionality.

We’re talking about Barcelona, but also about Sant Cugat and its innovation alliance ‘BIVA’. This time, on the stage of Mobile World Capital Barcelona.

And we wrap up with the star of the day: The Blue Box, the startup winner of the EmprendeXXI Awards powered by CaixaBank through DayOne. Congratulations Judit Giró & team!!

Once again, Barcelona is the world’s tech capital, and at Tech Barcelona, we wouldn’t miss it for anything. You can find us at Stand B23 in Hall 8.1, joined by these ten startups: Alinia AI, CareerOS, ESTOKO Logistics, Finapp, Foxtery, Kvistly, Meadow AI, Omnios, ProLiveTech, and Workdeck.

The day kicked off with a Code Sherpas session, where Cristina Verdi shared strategies to drive startup growth and make the leap to scaleup.

This year, 4YFN has a different energy. The crowd continues to fill the halls, eyes wide with amazement. But this time, it’s not just about imagining the future—it’s about embracing AI, quantum computing, big data, and robotics NOW.

We’ve witnessed the power of collaboration between major corporations and startups, highlighted by the partnership between GFT’s Digital Innovation Hub and Accexible. The session wrapped up with a demo of Wellbeing Tracking, an AI-powered technology that analyzes vocal biomarkers to assess mental health.

One of the hottest topics has been Artificial Intelligence. Semrush presented an analysis of ChatGPT’s impact on digital strategy, as well as the evolution of the AI market, predicting it will quintuple by 2030, with applications we can’t even imagine today. Meanwhile, G-P introduced GIA, an AI agent designed to optimize global talent management, handling processes like hiring, maternity leave, and contract termination.

The Port of Barcelona’s leadership in the bluetech sector was evident in various talks on carbon footprints, marine biodiversity regeneration, and the Port of Barcelona’s Sandbox initiative.

Take some time to rest—we’ll be back at it tomorrow!

DÍA 1 – Lunes 3

• 9.00am –  Networking coffee | Stand Tech Barcelona
• 11.00am – Content Session: Code Sherpas “In-house vs Outsourced? Keys to Startup Growth – and How to Live to Tell the Tale” | Stand Tech Barcelona
• 11.30am –  Content Session: GFT & Accexible “A partnership’s algorithm: Deep Learning between a large corporate and a start-up” | Stand Tech Barcelona
• 12.00pm –  Content Session: Semrush “The Future of Search: How ChatGPT and AI Are Redefining Digital Strategies” | Stand Tech Barcelona
• 12.30pm –  Content Session: GP “From startup to global: How AI simplifies international expansion” | Stand Tech Barcelona
• 1.00pm –  Port de Barcelona: “Carbon Footprint of the Port of Barcelona in 2022” with Maurici Hervas, Energy Transition Manager at Port de Barcelona | Stand Tech Barcelona
• 3:30pm – Port de Barcelona: “Innovative Marine Biodiversity Regeneration at the Port of Barcelona”| Stand Tech Barcelona
• 4.00pm – Port de Barcelona: “Driving innovation and sustainability, the Port of Barcelona’s sandbox | Stand Tech Barcelona
• 4.30pm – Pitching session for Tech Barcelona’s members | Stand Tech Barcelona

DÍA 2 – Martes 4

• 9:00am –  Networking coffee | Stand Tech Barcelona
• 10:00am –  Port de Barcelona: “Innovative Start-ups Shaping the Blue Economy”  | Stand Tech Barcelona
• 11:00am – Pitching session for Tech Barcelona’s members | Stand Tech Barcelona
• 11:30am –  Content Session: IRIS “Presentación: SafeBox, Skilia & Ciberia”| Stand Tech Barcelona
• 12:00pm –  Content Session: ERIA “¿Todavía vale la pena un programa de aceleración?” | Stand Tech Barcelona
• 12:00pm – Corporate Open Innovation in Barcelona: Challenges and Opportunities  | Stand Vueling
• 12:30pm – Content Session: Michael Page “Tech Talent Trends. Por qué las empresas se enfrentan a una brecha de expectativas: IA, salario y cultura corporativa”  | Stand Tech Barcelona
• 1:00pm – Content Session: Oracle NetSuite & Roman “La transformación de las agencias de comuniacción: nuevos retos ante la IA” | Stand Tech Barcelona
• 3:30pm – Port de Barcelona: “Ports 4.0: Transforming the future of ports with startup innovation | Stand Tech Barcelona
• 4:00pm –  Premios Emprende XXI| CaixaBank DayOne Stage

DÍA 3 – Miércoles 5

• 9:00am –  Networking coffee
• 9:00am –  Corporate Innovation: Reshaping the future | CaixaBank DayOne
• 10:00 am – Content Session: Artefacto “Presentació: AIxÒ & FLUOR” | Tech Barcelona Stand
• 10:30am – Port de Barcelona “Port terminal operations: the Smart Terminal case” | Stand Tech Barcelona
• 10:30 am – Open Innovation: Unlocking Corporates’ Potential | CaixaBank DayOne Stage
• 11:00am – Pitching session for Tech Barcelona’s members | Stand Tech Barcelona
• 11.30pm –  Content Session: i4Kids “i4Kids Pediatric Innovation Hub “| Stand Tech Barcelona
• 12:00pm – Content Session: Outvise “Este es el trabajo del futuro: más freelancers, menos límites” | Stand Tech Barcelona
• 12.30pm – Content Session: Qonto “Historias de emprendimiento: cómo crecer sin perder el norte de tus finanzas” | Stand Tech Barcelona
• 12.20pm – Compartición de datos clave de eCommerce en el sector del Gran Consumo: ¿Una oportunidad para mejorar la experiencia del cliente? | CaixaBank DayOne Stage
• 1:00pm – Content Session: Intersystems “Connecting your digital health solution to healthcare ecosystems with Intersystems” | Stand Tech Barcelona
• 3:30pm – Port de Barcelona “ECOVERGY Team: Driving Sustainable Mobility” | Stand Tech Barcelona
• 4:00pm – Content Session: MongoDB “AI Agents & Data Infrastructure, Building Production-Ready Agentic Systems” | Stand Tech Barcelona
• 4:15PM – Call for Startups: Transformando el diagnóstico de la enfermedad pulmonar intersticial (EPI) | Stand MWC
• 5:00PM – Content Session: Molins ” GenIA: el futuro de la Ingeniería en Construcción Industrializada”  | Stand Tech Barcelona

DÍA 4 –  Jueves 6

• 9:00am –  Networking coffee
• 10:00am – Port de Barcelona “BlueTechPort: a groundbreaking building dedicated to the development of the Blue Economy” | Stand Tech Barcelona
• 11:00am – Data, AI and connectivity: Revolutionizing mobility and transportation | Banc Sabadell Stage

Last year La Vanguardia headlined: “The 4YFN is too small and asks to grow; the startup pavilion is confirmed as one of the most dynamic at Mobile”. And indeed, coinciding with its tenth anniversary, the event of choice for startups has grown. A decade ago, only a few people in Barcelona knew what a startup was. However, the success of this year’s 4YFN, with two jam-packed halls, shows that the ecosystem is firmly recognised as a fundamental part of the economic system. Entrepreneurs are still coming, but no longer just to proclaim their ideas for changing the world. They are now presenting tech solutions, and their audiences are large corporations, innovative SMEs and public administrations looking for inspiration and solutions.

For our part, we can only celebrate with pride that we have accompanied 16 startups at our stand (and more than 80 members and partners throughout the MWC), organised more than 25 content sessions (many of them sponsored by important partners such as the Port of Barcelona), received hundreds of visits (from well-known faces and others to meet again) and participated in some of the most powerful panels of the event.

And although, in theory, this fourth day was supposed to be ‘quiet’, it didn’t go off without a bang either, leaving us with some outstanding moments:

Visit of the Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities Diana Morant

We welcomed Minister Diana Morant to Tech Barcelona’s stand to present some of the most disruptive projects in Barcelona, when she even joked about her particular resemblance to Aima’s artificial intelligence. Thanks for the visit!

Visit by the Consul General of Portugal in Barcelona, Ana Coelho

We also spoke with Ana Coelho about the potential of the local entrepreneurial ecosystem and the opportunity to create shared spaces for technological collaboration between Catalan and Portuguese companies and organisations.

Hey, we’re on TV!

The cameras of TV3 and the Catalan News Agency (ACN) have got up early in the morning to reflect the success of the 4YFN. And our spokespersons were delighted to participate! The smile on Mar Galtés’ face, director of corporate development at Tech Barcelona, reveals that she still has the journalism bug inside her.

Connecting innovation: Exploring Barcelona’s tech ecosystem

Enisa has been an excellent host in a conversation between Juan Baselga (Tech Barcelona) and the brand new winner of the EmprendeXXI award and CEO of Keybotic Irene Gómez. Together we will always go further.

We sneak off to MWC

Our curious minds couldn’t resist and we took it in turns to see first-hand if what was hiding behind the walls of Hall 8.1 and 8.0 was as impressive as reported in the news. And indeed, the Huawei space continues to impress yet another year; the intelligent humanoid robot Ameca arouses a mixture of awe and fear; the Talent Arena boxing ring is a brilliant idea for future editions; and artificial intelligence and chips continue to compete to become the new gold rush.

Local study, global impact

Call Of Duty has become a legendary videogame saga on a global scale. But did you know that a Barcelona studio is in charge of developing the mobile game for it? Some members of the Tech Barcelona team enjoyed, as fans and casual gamers, the talk by Xavier Carrillo-Costa, CEO and founder of Digital Legends, a company acquired by Activision and a benchmark in the video game sector in Barcelona.

Team lunch
We’re up to our ears in pulpo a feira. Nothing else to say.

On behalf of the entire Tech Barcelona team, thank you for joining us during these four days. Let the rhythm keep going!