Industrial Systems & Digitalization ecosystem in Catalonia

With Barcelona as the world’s best tech non-capital city, and Catalonia as a whole being the 2nd favorite EU hub for founders for setting up a startup, Catalonia’s wide-ranging digital economy creates the perfect environment for any tech-based company.

Find your supplier in Industrial Systems & Digitalization

Catalonia’s industrially based and tech-focused Digital Economy make it a European tech haven.

In Barcelona-Catalonia, technology companies will join a network of more than 24,878 companies related to the ICT and digital sector, a 6% increase compared to the previous year, according to the report The technological and digital sector in Catalonia by Catalonia Trade & Investment.

Companies such as Microsoft, PepsiCo, Nestlé, HP, and Porsche Digital have their Digital Innovation Hubs and operations centers in Catalonia. In fact, 38 of the 50 leading global innovative companies are present in Catalonia.

Furthermore, the presence of many renowned international tech events, prestigious R&D centers supporting tech transfer, clusters, and universities means we can safely say that digital is booming in Catalonia.

And the numbers are there to prove it. The digital sector, with a combined turnover of more than €39.6B, now represents 14% of the Catalan GDP. In fact, turnover in the ICT sector has increased by 10.3% compared to last year.

Not to mention that the number of companies in the ICT sector in Catalonia has increased by 7.9% over the five-year period, 3 percentage points more than Spain (4.8%) 

The Catalan ICT sector stands out in Spain, with 22.8% of all the companies in the sector and 21.2% of the total number of workers in Spain. 

Testimonials from Catalonia's
Industrial & Digitalization sector.

  • ORACLE

    Joan Planella

    Director of Oracle's Barcelona Office

    "Barcelona is a fantastic city for its combination of economic growth, location, weather, and quality of life. At Oracle in Barcelona, we have a variety of technical profiles from more than 40 nationalities. From here, we are covering Europe.”

  • RICOH

    Anna Vázquez

    Digital Solutions & Services Director at Ricoh Spain

    "Barcelona has always had the perfect context for attracting talent and also businesses. So, Barcelona has become a perfect technological hub; there is a very nice ecosystem for companies like us to work here, develop our talent, and work with universities and associations.”

  • ALLIANZ TECHNOLOGY

    Gerard Esparducer

    Director of Allianz Technology's Spain Hub

    “Barcelona and Catalonia offer sustainable growth, smart talent, and competitive advantages with minimal risks. We currently employ around 600 people from more than 53 nationalities.”

  • SONY AI

    Tarek Besold

    Senior Research Scientist at Sony AI

    "Catalonia is attractive because a lot of talent is already on the ground. The region produces a lot of highly qualified computer science, artificial intelligence, engineering talent, which is due to the university ecosystem and the overall education background.”

  • 24,878 companies

  • €39.6B in turnover

  • 198,462 employees

Foreign investment

Internationally, Catalonia is well on the tech investment radar. FDI in this sector represented 43% of Catalonia’s total foreign investment projects in 2024.

Catalonia is the first region in Spain, the first in southern Europe, the fourth in the European Union, and the 11th in the world in terms of the number of projects received between 2020 and 2024. The leading countries by invested capital are the United States (€2.1B), the United Kingdom (€1.9B), Germany (€1.5B), France (€577M), and Japan (€353M). 

From 2020-2024, 386 tech projects have been carried out, a 41.4% increase over the previous period (2015-2019). Capital investment was €7.7B, 78.7% more than the previous period (2015-2019), and 28,409 jobs were created, a 166.6% increase over the previous period (2015-2019). 

Given all of the above, it is perhaps no surprise that, according to StartupBlink and Startup Heatmap Europe, 2023, Catalonia is the largest ecosystem for startups in Southern Europe and the second favorite hub for founders wishing to create a startup in the EU. 

 


 

Main players and events in
Industrial Systems & Digitalization.

Check below which are the main institutions and events related to industrial systems & digitalization in Barcelona-Catalonia.

Related success stories
in Barcelona (Catalonia).