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 23,450 companies related to the ICT and digital sector, a 6.5% increase compared to a year ago, according to the report The Digital Economy 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 €34.780M, now represents 12.9% of the Catalan GDP. In fact, turnover in the ICT sector has increased by 15.3% compared with the previous year.

Not to mention that the number of companies in the ICT sector in Catalonia has increased by 9.3% over the five-year period. 

The Catalan ICT sector stands out in Spain, with 22.6% of all the companies in the sector and 18.9% of the total number of workers in Spain. 

“38 of the 50 leading global innovative companies are present in Catalonia”

  • 23,482 companies

     

  • €34,783M in turnover

     

  • 185,851 employees

     

Foreign investment

Internationally, Catalonia is well on the tech investment radar. FDI in this sector represented 46% of Catalonia’s total foreign investment projects in 2023.

Technological investments account for 43% of total FDI projects in Catalonia from 2019 to 2023 (408 out of 953). The leading countries by number of FDI projects are the United States (85), France (61), Germany (59), the United Kingdom (33), and Switzerland (21). 

From the period 2019-2023, 408 tech projects have been carried out, a 72.2% increase over the last period (2014-2018), with a capital investment of €6.472M, 160.8% more than the previous period (2014-2018) and 27,415 jobs being created, 108.7% increase over the previous period (2014-2018). 

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).