Barcelona adds 140 tech hubs with impact of 2.5 billion people

The arrival of new multinational corporations in Barcelona is becoming more frequent with the creation hubsa term referring to technology development centers, although it is often misused. A constant flow that has been accelerating in recent years, despite competition from other Spanish capitals such as Madrid and Malaga, and European capitals such as Lisbon, London, Berlin, Paris or Amsterdam. This is evidenced by a study prepared by Mobile World Capital (MWCapital) in collaboration with Barcelona City Council and the Generalitat. Fifty were installed in 2017 hubs development of digital technologies in the city. Since then, nearly 100 new centers have been added, bringing the total to 140.

“The evolution has been impressive, even exponential,” defends MWCapital CEO Francesc Fagiula. The report specifies that the Catalan capital won 14 hubs in 2023, resulting in the creation of 800 jobs and an economic impact of 80 million euros. There are mobility companies such as IRP Systems, Lufthansa and Volkswagen, and healthcare companies such as AstraZeneca, Towa Pharmaceutical and Oracle Health Sciences, or gamineG such as NetEase, Rovio and SandSoft. The largest investment, led by AstraZeneca, Lufthansa and Oracle, is expected to employ 2,000 employees by the end of 2026. The remaining centers are those announced by Arxada, LGT Private Banking, Telavox and Unnax.

It is expected that a new member, whose identity has not been disclosed, will soon join the list. It was just announced that it is a Japanese multinational company operating in the experience industry, which covers sectors such as video games, audiovisual products, tourism and leisure.

A total of 140 centers have already been installed in Barcelona. They issue invoices of more than 2,500 million euros, with a forecast that by 2026 this figure will exceed 3,600 million., 43% more. Average turnover of each hubs It is 20 million euros, up from 16 million a year ago. On the other hand, the technology development centers present in the city employ 26,400 people and this figure is expected to rise to 36,600 in 2026. The average workforce is around 200 people, which is also higher than the previous year. when it was 170 people.

In the second edition of the report Overview of tech hubs for 2024definition center, including those that are the result of foreign investment, both through the acquisition of existing companies and the construction of new centers, and taking into account the entire value chain, and not just the development of digital products, as a year ago – they remain outside these that are dedicated exclusively to sales. Taking into account this new criterion, data published a year ago, when the availability of 96 hubs technological in Barcelona and its agglomerations becomes 126.

Profile: development Programsfew women with European capital and located in 22@

The largest technology centers correspond to sectors such as industrial equipment, food processing, healthcare, consulting and business services. However, the most popular industries among these hubs are games (19%), software development (15%), and consulting and business services (14%). Development Programs maintains dominance over the technologies these centers work on, closely followed by API/Backend, System Architecture and Frontend Developer. Despite this, technology deep technologies gain weight, present in almost 70% hubswith a large role for artificial intelligence (AI).

The staff at these centers are still overly masculinized, with only 30% of workers being women. They are also characterized by the presence of many nationalities: 56% hubs consists of employees from more than 10 countries, among which Europeans and Latin Americans are most represented.

The workforce is still too masculinized, with only 30% of workers being women.

Overwhelming majority hubs discovered by MWCapital are located in Barcelona and nearby cities. The Catalan capital retains 76% of the total number of development centers, half of which are in 22@, and the metropolitan area 18%, with a noticeable weight in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Cornella de Llobregat and L’Hospitalet de Llobregat. only eight hubs They are located outside the 36 metropolitan municipalities, in places such as Sitges with the Swedish company Paradox Tinto, Santa Perpetua de Mogoda with the German company Alstom, Mataro with the German company Hartmann or La Vall de Biagna with the American company Zoetis.

Parent companies from European countries retain 60% of investments in hubs in Barcelona, ​​although the United States is the country most committed to establishing centers in the Catalan capital, accounting for almost 30%. They are followed by Germany (17%), France (11%), UK (8%), Switzerland (7%) and Sweden (6%).