Catalonia concentrates 1,733 foreign technology companies, 26% more than in 2019

• By sector, ICTs lead the ranking, followed by electronics, audiovisuals, R&D and healthcare products.
• ​​​​​​​​This was announced on Wednesday by the Minister of Business and Labor, Roger Torrent, during the inauguration of the third edition of Tech Spirit Barcelona, one of the main annual meetings in Catalonia in the field of startups and technology companies.

Catalonia currently is home to 1,733 foreign technology companies, 26% more than in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.

These are figures from ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment that the Minister of Business and Labor, Roger Torrent, announced on Wednesday during the opening session of the third edition of Tech Spirit Barcelona.

Tech Spirit Barcelona is one of the main annual conventions held in Catalonia in the field of startups and technology and digital companies.

Organized by Tech Barcelona with the support of ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment, the event will last until tomorrow with over 10,000 people forecasted to attend, amongst startups, scale-ups, investment funds, and large corporations.

The 1,733 technology companies located in Catalonia represent 19% of the total number of multinationals present here (9,155 companies).

These companies come mainly from the United States (17% of the total), the United Kingdom (13%), France (12%), Germany (12%) and Italy (6%).

In terms of sector, what most stands out are companies in the ICT and digital transformation sectors of industry (52%), electronics and electrical equipment (13%), audiovisual (12%), R+D (11%), health products and services (8%) and mobility (3%).

Minister Torrent also explained that within the framework of Tech Spirit, held at the Llotja de Mar in Barcelona, ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment has organized more than 500 meetings between Catalan startups with 80 local and international investors.

The goal here is for Catalan entrepreneurs to find investors, partners or clients, gain visibility and to break into new international markets. Furthermore, tomorrow, on Thursday, the award for the 2022 Catalan startup of the year will be presented, as part of the Catalan Pitch Competition organized by ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment, in which a group of 27 finalist startups from the health, ICT and deeptech sectors will present their projects to the entrepreneurs and investors attending the event.

Tech Spirit came into being three years ago spontaneously when 4YFN and the MWC were canceled. It will host more than 130 speakers and 60 talks with participants from companies such as Apple, Cisco, Mango, Wallapop, PepsiCo, Nestlé and Danone, among others, to discuss the present and future of the local technology ecosystem, as well as offering the opportunity to network and share success stories.