Barcelona ranks first in Europe and third worldwide for AI foreign investment projects

Barcelona has positioned itself, for the second consecutive year, as the world's third city in terms of the number of foreign investment projects in artificial intelligence (AI) captured over the last five years. This is one of the conclusions of the "Global Location Trends" study, prepared by IBM Consulting through its Plant Location International unit, in collaboration with Moody's. According to this report, which analyzes business investment project location decisions worldwide during 2025, Barcelona remains behind London and Singapore in the global count of foreign investment attraction in AI, making it the leading European Union city in this category.

According to the Secretary of Business and Innovation and CEO of ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment, Jaume Baró, "maintaining this position as an international benchmark for the second consecutive year confirms that Catalonia is fully prepared to compete in the most advanced technology sectors and to lead the consolidation of projects linked to strategic technologies such as artificial intelligence." Baró also emphasizes that "the combination of talent, scientific capabilities, infrastructure, and a clear national strategy allows us to continue gaining strength in the main international rankings, and at ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment we work to provide the tools to make that possible."

This report, produced since 2006, highlights international cross-border business location decisions from the previous year worldwide. It considers the ability of countries, regions, and cities to attract new projects or expand those already established there, as well as the job creation expected to result from these business initiatives.
 

“Maintaining this position as an international benchmark for the second consecutive year confirms that Catalonia is fully prepared to compete in the most advanced technology sectors such as artificial intelligence”

Jaume Baró, CEO of ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment

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Artificial Intelligence in Catalonia

In Catalonia, during 2025 several significant foreign investment projects in the field of AI have been announced, such as that of the French company Sanofi, which has launched a global AI and data science innovation hub in Barcelona's 22@ district; HP (Hewlett-Packard), which has established its HP's global AI center at its facilities in Sant Cugat del Vallès; and the American multinational Mitek, which has strengthened its R&D&I center in Sant Cugat del Vallès, focused on digital identity verification and official document authentication technology. Also notable are the projects by Japan's NTT Data, which has opened its technology innovation center in Barcelona, and France's Foundever, which has launched an AI lab in the Catalan capital focused on developing advanced solutions.

According to the latest update of ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment's study on the artificial intelligence sector, nearly 500 companies in Catalonia operate in this field, with combined revenue of over €2.155 billion and employment of around 14,500 people. These figures have grown in recent years. In addition, 30.4% of Catalan companies (with more than nine employees) invested in AI-related technologies, including generative AI, during 2025. This figure exceeds the percentage of companies that adopted AI in previous years, at 24% in 2024 and 12.6% in 2023.

Government support for foreign investment

AI is one of the priority sectors of the Government's new Strategy for Attracting, Capturing and Retaining Foreign Investment in Catalonia 2026-2030. This initiative seeks to strengthen the digitalization of the Catalan economy and attract high-value-added projects linked to emerging technologies. Alongside ICT and quantum technologies, AI is emerging as a strategic area for attracting new international investment, fostering knowledge transfer, and driving the creation of skilled jobs.

Beyond this sector, the new strategy aims to complete 600 foreign investment projects between 2026 and 2030, mobilize €6 billion in investment, and create and maintain 45,000 jobs. The plan also aims to reach 10,000 foreign company subsidiaries established in Catalonia.