Hand-picked startups, investors, and ecosystem operators in Barcelona, with a custom city illustration in europe-startup-guide.com brand colors.
71 entries.
Organizer of 4YFN (4 Years From Now), the startup platform running alongside Mobile World Congress in Barcelona since 2014. Recent editions draw 100,000+ attendees across MWC/4YFN and 1,000+ investors, offering pitch competitions, networking, and exhibition space for early-stage startups in mobile, connectivity, and digital innovation.
Global startup platform co-located with MWC at Fira Gran Via, featuring broad investor and corporate access. Includes the 4YFN Awards 2026 live pitch sequence: top startups pitch on March 2, 2026 with finalists advancing to the March 4, 2026 final during MWC week.
4YFN 2027 runs alongside MWC Barcelona at Fira Gran Via, connecting founders, investors, and corporates focused on turning early-stage innovation into real business outcomes. The event draws thousands of startups and investors from across Europe and beyond, with structured matchmaking, a pitch competition, and the 4YFN Awards. It operates as an independent but deeply integrated event within the broader MWC ecosystem.
A focused digital-health conference bringing pharma leaders, DTx specialists, regulators, and investors together around AI, real-world data, and patient-centric innovation. For digital-health founders it offers targeted access to pharma partners and regulatory expertise.
Abacum is an AI-native financial planning and analysis (FP&A) platform for mid-market and scale-up finance teams, integrating 700+ data sources to automate planning, consolidate real-time data and enable collaboration on budgets and forecasts. Commercial HQ in New York.
Positioned as one of Europe's biggest AI events, with 10,000+ attendees, 200+ speakers, 50 side events across an AI Week, and a 500-builder hackathon. For AI founders and developers it concentrates investors, talent, and enterprise buyers in one week.
Amenitiz is a vertically integrated SaaS platform — a 'Shopify for hotels' — giving independent hotels and B&Bs a property-management system, website/booking engine, channel manager across 120+ OTAs, embedded payments and dynamic pricing. It serves 15,000+ properties processing €3bn+ in bookings annually.
Co-founder and CEO of TravelPerk, the Barcelona-based business-travel management unicorn. He previously founded the hotel-software startup Hotel Ninjas (acquired by Booking.com) before launching TravelPerk in 2015.
Public incubator network founded in 1986 by the City Council, running multiple accelerators and training programs such as mStartup Barcelona. Scope: Regional (Barcelona). Support: incubation space, free training, mentorship, and access to city contracts and EU awards.
Founder and team development accelerator led by Esade and IQS with a long-form program timeline. Application deadline: March 27, 2026. Notification target: April 14, 2026. Program timeline: April 2026 to July 2028, focused on entrepreneurial capability building and strategic networks.
Barcelona Tech City is the leading private nonprofit association representing Barcelona's technology and digital innovation ecosystem, based in the 22@ innovation district (also known as 22@Barcelona). The 22@ district itself is a 200-hectare urban renewal area in the Poblenou neighborhood that the city government designated in 2000 as an innovation district, transforming former industrial land into a dense cluster of tech companies, research centers, universities, and startup spaces. Barcelona Tech City, as an association, brings together over 1,200 member companies ranging from startups to scale-ups and major tech firms, and organizes programs including mentorship, corporate-startup collaborations, talent development, and international trade missions. The organization also operates Pier01, a flagship startup hub located in the historic Palau de Mar building at Barcelona's port, and Pier03 in the 22@ district. Together, Barcelona Tech City and the 22@ infrastructure form the core of Spain's second-largest tech ecosystem.
Co-founder of Factorial and a partner in the Itnig startup ecosystem in Barcelona, where he has founded and backed multiple SaaS companies. He focuses on company-building and operations across the Itnig portfolio.
A hybrid B2B event connecting strategic new-economy sectors with around 320 international experts and 100+ hours of programming, organised around cross-sector verticals at DFactory Barcelona. Useful for founders wanting cross-industry corporate connections and exposure beyond a single vertical.
Caravelo is a travel-tech SaaS company that lets airlines create and manage flight-subscription programmes ('all you can fly') to generate recurring revenue, smooth seasonal demand and improve loyalty, with airline clients including Volaris, Wizz Air and Alaska Airlines.
Carlos Blanco is a Spanish serial entrepreneur and one of the country's best-known angel investors, based in Barcelona. He founded Akamon Entertainment, a social gaming company that he sold in one of Spain's most notable exits of 2015, and he co-founded the Nuclio Venture Builder and the Conector startup accelerator. He is Managing Partner at Encomenda Smart Capital and has been recognised with Spain's Best Business Angel award by AEBAN.
Co-founder and executive president of Holaluz, the Barcelona green-energy retailer she co-founded in 2010 and took public on BME Growth in 2019. She is a prominent advocate for Spain's renewable-energy 'rooftop revolution.'
Colvin is a direct-to-consumer flowers and plants marketplace that sources fresh-cut flowers directly from growers and ships them to customers across Spain, Germany and Italy, offering curated bouquets and gifting with shorter supply chains than traditional florists.
Founded 2013 by prominent Spanish entrepreneurs. Runs 5-month batches for early-stage digital startups in media, gaming, and mobile; mentors take equity and support Demo Day. Notable alumni include Glovo and Meller. Scope: Regional (Barcelona & Madrid).
Cooltra is Europe's leading sustainable two-wheel mobility platform, operating fleets of 30,000+ electric mopeds and e-bikes for rental and B2B fleet management across 9 cities in Spain, France, Italy, and Portugal. Founded in Barcelona in 2006 by Timo Buetefisch, Holger Sprengel, and Henrik Sprengel, it has scaled to €60M+ in annual revenue with positive EBITDA and 3M+ registered users. In October 2025 Cooltra acquired rival Kleta after its insolvency, consolidating Spain's e-moped market. The company partners with BMW Motorrad for fleet supply and operates its own charging & maintenance infrastructure.
Co-founder and former co-CEO of Typeform, the Barcelona-based online form and survey platform. A designer by background, he co-created Typeform's conversational form experience that grew into a global SaaS product.
AI-powered asset performance management ('virtual engineer') platform for wind, solar, hydro and battery storage assets. Global HQ in Barcelona. Raised about EUR 6.3M in 2024.
Co-founder and CEO of Wallbox, the Barcelona EV-charging company that listed on the NYSE. A former Tesla charging engineer, he co-founded Wallbox in 2015 to build smart home and public charging hardware and software.
A multi-day Ethereum festival with 2,500+ attendees and 100+ speakers, blending conference, culture, and a paired hackathon. For web3 founders and developers it offers protocol-level networking, builder-community access, and a hackathon to prototype and recruit.
Leading European blockchain and Web3 conference in Barcelona, bringing together 3,000+ crypto founders, investors, and enterprise blockchain leaders. Features startup pitching, regulation panels, and fintech innovation talks. Covers DeFi, tokenization, and institutional digital assets. Particularly relevant for Web3 startups seeking European market visibility.
Factorial is an all-in-one HR & business management platform built for SMBs and mid-market companies. Founded in 2016, it unifies time tracking, payroll, recruitment, performance reviews, and document management into a single cloud product. The company hit $100M ARR in 2024 and achieved a $1B valuation backed by Atomico, Tiger Global, and CRV. In 2025 General Catalyst injected $120M to fund expansion into Germany, France, and Italy. As of 2026 the company employs ~2,000 people and is exploring a $200M round at a $2B valuation.
Flanks is a Barcelona-based WealthTech platform that aggregates multi-custodian investment portfolio data for banks, wealth managers, and advisory firms. Founded in 2019 by Joaquim de la Cruz, Álvaro Morales (ex-Global Head of Santander Private Banking), and Sergi Lao, it is regulated as an AISP by the Bank of Spain. In early 2026 Flanks launched an AI Financial Advisor co-pilot, was selected by CaixaBank to power its GlobalView private banking aggregation, and introduced EDX — Europe's first standardised financial data exchange protocol. Over 100 institutions managing €37B+ in portfolios use the platform. Total funding: €14M (Series A, February 2025).
Local chapter operator of Founder Institute's pre-seed acceleration program. Founder Institute Barcelona is an event organiser based in Barcelona, Spain. Organising events in the Events, Pre-Seed, Startup Education space.
Barcelona chapter of the global Founder Institute pre-seed program for idea-stage and early-stage founders. Application deadline: November 18, 2026. Structured cohort model designed to move founders from concept to traction and funding readiness.
Concierge-style soft-landing hub integrated with local partners such as SeedRocket and Pier01. Strong on mobile, gaming, and impact startups, with frequent networking to fast-track community access.
Community networking evening hosted during MWC week in Barcelona, typically held at Pier 01 and connecting French founders and partners. Features informal pitches, drinks, and structured introductions with the Franco-Spanish startup community. Valuable for French startups expanding into Southern Europe or seeking MWC-week side networking.
Organizer of Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo events for CIOs and enterprise technology leaders. Gartner Conferences is an event organiser based in Barcelona, Spain. Organising events in the Events, Enterprise IT, CIO Strategy, Digital Transformation space.
Enterprise IT leadership conference in Barcelona where global CIOs and technology executives shape annual strategy and procurement priorities. Strategic venue for enterprise SaaS startups selling high-ticket AI, cybersecurity, and data-management platforms.
Travel-tech startup pitch competition at Phocuswright Europe in Barcelona. Application deadline: April 1, 2026. Live pitch date: June 16, 2026. Format typically selects seed and scale-up companies for investor and corporate jury exposure.
Organizer of GLOBALS Tech Festival in Barcelona, focused on helping scaleups achieve international expansion and sustainable growth. The event convenes hundreds of growth-stage founders, cross-border investors, and expansion strategists for workshops, matchmaking, and case studies on scaling European startups into global markets.
High-energy scaleup festival at The Social Hub Barcelona, scheduled as a pre-MWC gathering for founders, operators, and investors. Focused on international expansion, B2B growth, and cross-border execution in Europe and Latin America.
Glovo is a Barcelona-based on-demand delivery platform founded in 2015 by Oscar Pierre and Sacha Michaud. The app enables users to order food, groceries, pharmacy items, and courier services with rapid delivery, operating across more than 25 countries in Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Africa. In 2022, German delivery giant Delivery Hero acquired a majority stake, valuing Glovo at approximately EUR 2.3 billion. The company has built a strong presence in markets underserved by competitors like Uber Eats and Deliveroo, and has invested heavily in quick-commerce through its own dark stores. Glovo is Spain's most prominent tech unicorn and a key reference point for Barcelona's startup ecosystem.
Organizer of MWC Barcelona and associated startup programming including 4YFN. GSMA / MWC & 4YFN is an event organiser based in Barcelona, Spain. Organising events in the Events, Connectivity, Mobile, Startup Ecosystem space.
Billed as Southern Europe's largest digital health congress, drawing 3,000+ attendees and around 450 companies to the Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau. For healthtech founders it is a concentrated dealmaking venue with keynote stages, a startup exhibition, and direct access to hospitals, pharma, and investors active in digital health.
Heura Foods is a Barcelona-based plant-based protein company that creates Mediterranean-inspired meat alternatives — chicken, burgers, sausages — using its proprietary Good Rebel Tech platform. Founded in 2017 by food activists Marc Coloma and Bernat Añaños, it reached €38M in sales in 2024 on 35% Southern European growth and became EBITDA-positive for the first time in Q1 2026. Backed by a €20M EIB financing package, the company is expanding into B2B white-label production and diversifying into plant-based cheese, cold cuts, and protein pasta across Spain, Portugal, Italy, and France.
Holaluz is a green-energy retailer selling 100% renewable electricity to residential and business customers across Spain. It also installs rooftop solar and buys back surplus energy, driving a consumer-led 'Rooftop Revolution.' Listed on BME Growth (HLZ) since 2019.
Holded is an all-in-one cloud business-management platform for SMBs, unifying invoicing, accounting, CRM, inventory, HR/payroll and project management in one interface. It became Spain's fastest-growing cloud ERP and accounting platform. Acquired by Visma in 2021 (€120M).
Organizer of ICE Gaming, the world's largest gaming industry expo and conference now held in Barcelona after relocating from London. Running for over 40 years, ICE attracts 40,000+ attendees from the global gaming, betting, and igaming sectors, showcasing technology providers, startups, and regulatory developments in the gaming ecosystem.
Global gaming industry expo and conference in Barcelona showcasing casino, sports betting, and gaming technology with 35,000+ attendees. Relocated from London in 2025, it draws operators, regulators, and tech providers from across the gambling ecosystem. Strong for startups building gaming platforms, compliance tools, and responsible gambling technology.
Info-Tech LIVE is the EMEA flagship conference of analyst firm Info-Tech Research Group, gathering CIOs, senior IT leaders and technology executives at the Grand Hyatt Barcelona. The 2026 edition runs under the theme "Agentic IT: From Hype to Value", with 20+ keynotes, analyst-led sessions, hands-on workshops and peer roundtables on turning AI investments into measurable business value.
Info-Tech Research Group is a global IT research and advisory firm that organises the Info-Tech LIVE conference series for CIOs and senior technology leaders. Its EMEA flagship in Barcelona delivers analyst-led keynotes, workshops and peer roundtables on enterprise technology strategy and AI adoption.
World's largest AV and systems integration expo, held at Fira Barcelona with 70,000+ attendees and 1,400+ exhibitors. Covers digital signage, immersive experiences, unified communications, and smart building technology. Strong for creative tech, AdTech, and workplace technology startups seeking enterprise and venue operator partnerships.
Founded in 2008, Inveready is a Barcelona-based multi-strategy investment group managing over EUR 200M across ten fund vehicles spanning venture capital, venture debt, and corporate finance. The firm invests at seed through growth in software, biotech, and fintech, with typical early-stage tickets of EUR 0.5-3M. Notable portfolio companies include Kantox (acquired by BNP Paribas), Vlex, and Aelix Therapeutics. Inveready is one of Spain's most prolific investors with 100+ portfolio companies.
Co-founder and CEO of Factorial, the Barcelona HR software unicorn. A serial entrepreneur from the Itnig ecosystem, he previously founded Redbooth (Teambox) before building Factorial into a global HR platform for SMBs.
Co-founder and CEO of Heura Foods, the Barcelona plant-based food company. An activist-entrepreneur, he co-founded Heura in 2017 to build one of Europe's fastest-growing plant-based meat brands.
Global connectivity and mobile tech flagship. Price: Discovery Pass about EUR 879; Leader Pass EUR 2400+. Best startup access via 4YFN for investors and corporate innovation teams.
MWC27 Barcelona is the world's largest connectivity and mobile technology event, bringing together over 100,000 decision-makers, 2,900+ exhibitors, and representatives from 207 countries at Fira Gran Via. The 2027 edition continues the event's focus on 5G, AI, satellite connectivity, and adjacent industries, with a full ministerial programme running March 1-3. GSMA announced the 2027 dates immediately after closing MWC26.
Nauta Capital is a venture capital firm founded in 2004 with offices in Barcelona, London and Munich that invests in early-stage B2B software companies, emphasising capital-efficient growth. It typically leads rounds and backs European and transatlantic startups building enterprise technology.
Co-founder and CEO of Glovo, the Barcelona-based on-demand delivery platform that became one of Spain's largest tech companies before its acquisition by Delivery Hero. An aeronautical engineer by training, he built Glovo from a 2015 Barcelona startup into a multi-country delivery network.
Payflow is an earned-wage-access fintech letting employees draw down accrued salary at any time during the month at no cost, with employers paying a platform fee. It has grown into a financial-wellness app serving 800+ companies and 500,000 employees across Spain, Portugal, Peru and Colombia.
A global games-industry conference for 1,000+ professionals, with 17 tracks, 100+ speakers, indie showcases, and investor matchmaking. Built for gaming startups, with structured pitching to publishers and investors plus a dedicated indie and career programme.
Organizer of Phocuswright Europe and associated startup pitch formats in travel technology. Phocuswright has been a leading travel industry research and events brand for over 25 years, and its European conference gathers hundreds of traveltech founders, OTAs, and hospitality investors for data-driven insights and startup innovation showcases.
Weekend hackathon and pitch competition in Barcelona for student founders, organized by START Barcelona. Features mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs, technical workshops, and jury pitches. Valuable for pre-seed founders and university teams looking to validate ideas and connect with the Barcelona startup ecosystem.
Co-founder of Glovo, where he leads global and public affairs. A serial entrepreneur active in the Spanish tech scene before Glovo, he helped scale the delivery platform across Europe, Africa and Latin America.
Founded 2008. Spain's pioneering ICT accelerator providing training, seed funding, and mentorship by experienced entrepreneurs. Runs intensive campus programs; funded ~70 startups with 15 exits (e.g., Divisoft, Ulabox). Support: 3-month acceleration, angel network investment, free office space. Scope: National.
Founded 2013. Impact accelerator and investment fund for social enterprises in health, cleantech, and energy. Runs acceleration programs and an impact fund; has accelerated 50+ startups. Support: mentoring, CSR partners, impact investment up to EUR 400K. Scope: National.
The world's largest smart-city event, organized at Fira Barcelona with 25,000+ urban planners, govtech vendors, mobility startups, and sustainability innovators. Covers digital twins, urban mobility, circular economy, energy transition, and citizen services. A primary sales channel for European urbantech startups. Tickets from EUR 200.
14th edition of Sónar festival's creative-tech congress at Llotja de Mar in central Barcelona, with talks, workshops and installations across three tracks: AI & Music, Beyond the Screen, and Digital Gardens. New affordable standalone passes (€15/day) debut in 2026.
Organizer of Spring I/O, a major European conference for the Java and Spring ecosystem. Spring I/O is an event organiser based in Barcelona, Spain. Organising events in the Events, Java, Developer Tools, Open Source space.
Leading European conference for the Spring and Java ecosystem at Palau de Congressos, with deep technical talks by framework contributors and backend experts. Strong channel for enterprise Java, fintech infrastructure, and data-platform tooling startups.
Organizer of Talent Arena, a developer-focused conference and talent platform held during MWC week in Barcelona. The event connects thousands of software engineers, tech recruiters, and startup CTOs through live coding challenges, career fairs, and technical talks, helping startups attract top engineering talent in Southern Europe.
Developer-first event aligned with MWC week, featuring coding sessions, architecture deep dives, and hackathon-style programs around AI, cloud, and cybersecurity. Useful for startup engineering recruiting and employer branding with senior technical talent.
TravelPerk is a Barcelona-based corporate travel platform that replaces fragmented business-trip booking and policy management with a software-first system designed for both employees and finance teams. Its product combines broad travel inventory with a consumer-grade booking flow, while also giving companies the controls they need around approvals, budget visibility, invoicing, and reporting. That mix matters because corporate travel historically sat in an awkward space between employee convenience and finance oversight, with legacy travel management tools serving neither side particularly well. TravelPerk's software approach turns travel into a manageable operating workflow rather than a disconnected administrative burden. It has also expanded its moat through flexibility, policy automation, and integrations into the wider HR and finance stack, which makes it attractive to fast-growing international teams. In the European ecosystem, TravelPerk is one of the clearest examples of a category-defining B2B SaaS company emerging from Southern Europe and selling into the operational backbone of modern companies. It is especially relevant for startups and scale-ups managing distributed teams, customer travel, and cross-border expansion.
Typeform is a Barcelona-based no-code SaaS platform for building conversational forms, surveys, quizzes, and data-capture experiences with a distinctive one-question-at-a-time UX that consistently outperforms traditional forms on completion rates. Founded in 2012 by David Okuniev and Robert Muñoz, it serves 130,000+ customers and generates over $141M in annual revenue. The platform integrates with Slack, Salesforce, HubSpot, and 500+ tools. Backed by General Atlantic, Sofina, Connect Ventures, and Index Ventures with 720+ employees globally, Typeform is valued at ~€935M and continues operating as an independent product with active development in 2026.
Wallapop is a Barcelona-based mobile-first marketplace for buying and selling second-hand goods, designed as a hyper-local consumer-to-consumer platform for used items. Launched in 2013, it grew into one of Spain's leading second-hand marketplaces and a key player in the circular economy. South Korean internet group Naver, an investor since 2021, agreed to acquire full ownership in a deal announced in August 2025 and completed in early 2026, while the company remained headquartered in Barcelona.
Wallbox designs and manufactures smart EV charging hardware and energy management software, selling chargers in 100+ countries. Co-founded in 2015 by ex-Tesla engineer Enric Asunción and Eduard Castañeda, the company listed on the NYSE in 2021. Its Barcelona factory produces up to 1 million chargers annually. Q1 2026 revenue reached €29.7M with a 37.3% gross margin. A major Iberdrola contract for 10,000 Hypernova ultrafast public chargers is set to double ultrafast public charging in Spain, cementing Wallbox as the European leader in home and commercial EV charging.
Proptech that digitises the full residential rental lifecycle for landlords and property managers, offering guaranteed rent, AI-powered tenant matching, non-payment insurance and rent advances. Manages 3,500 properties across Spain.