Discover Catalonia's 10 most disruptive companies of 2023

ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment, the agency for business competitiveness, has recognized Catalonia's ten most disruptive companies this year, 2023. AldoraTech, Aortyx, Avinent, BUSUP, Concentrol, Jolt, MiMark Diagnostics, Mitiga Solutions, Roka Furadada, and Sener have received the distinction of "Catalonia Exponential Leaders, which recognizes them as references in the field of disruptive innovation.

The Secretary of Business and Competitiveness and CEO of ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment, Albert Castellanos, announced the companies that received the agency's recognition during Exponential Day, an annual ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment event. This year, the fifth edition brought together 600 entrepreneurs at the AXA Auditorium in Barcelona.

In his speech, Secretary Castellanos stressed that in a context in which "the world has evolved in a disruptive way, Exponential Day has the spirit of insisting on the need to transform in the face of these changes and to do so with purpose, to generate a positive impact on society and the environment, beyond economic benefits."

The fifth edition of ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment's Exponential Day focused this year on Artificial Intelligence, a technology that, for Castellanos, "brings a great opportunity to transform our business models and boost our productive sector" since "it is expected to increase the productivity of industrial companies up to 15% and three times more value than those that do not". The CEO of ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment stressed that between 2022 and 2023, the agency has supported more than 500 open and disruptive innovation projects of Catalan companies and start-ups and that this year it will increase by 35% the budget allocated to innovation and R&D projects, exceeding 56 million euros.

“Exponential Day has the spirit of insisting on the need to transform in the face of these changes and to do so with purpose, to generate a positive impact on society and the environment, beyond economic benefits”

Albert Castellanos, Secretary for Business and Competitiveness and CEO of ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment

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Disruptive innovation with a positive impact

The winning startups and established companies specialize in sectors and fields such as health and life sciences, mobility, energy, and sustainable chemistry. They are companies that have applied innovation to their business models and introduced disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data management, 3D manufacturing, or advanced biotechnology. In addition, it was also taken into account these companies' ability to positively impact society beyond their business, differentiated value proposition, corporate culture, and potential for exponential growth.

The 10 most disruptive companies in Catalonia in 2023, according to ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment, are:

• AldoraTech: the startup has created a transportation service using homemade 3D drones and composite materials to provide urgent transportation of essential products, promoting accessibility regardless of geographical area.
• Aortyx: A startup born from IQS and Hospital Clínic in the field of cardiovascular medicine. It has developed and patented advanced technologies for the minimally invasive treatment of aortic disease, restoring the natural biomechanics of the aorta.
• Avinent: The company is committed to digitalization as a production method in personalized medical solutions. Inmoov's new focus is on podiatric treatments, using technology that scans the footprint and designs insoles using 3D printing.
• BUSUP: The company has developed a program to optimize corporate transportation, facilitate employee travel, and contribute to sustainable mobility, all committed to efficiency and route optimization.
• Concentrol: The chemical company offers an intelligent solution that uses the IoT to provide real-time assistance to its customers to make more efficient use of its solutions and reduce its carbon footprint.
• Jolt Solutions: An ICIQ spin-out company that provides solutions for the green hydrogen industry, focusing on manufacturing industrial electrodes for water electrolyzers to produce this net fuel efficiently.
• MiMark Diagnostics: The startup, which emerged from the Vall d'Hebron Hospital, specializes in gynecological diagnosis and is developing an in vitro diagnostic test based on an algorithm that analyzes specific biomarkers present in gynecological fluids for the minimally invasive diagnosis of endometrial cancer.
• Mitiga Solutions: a startup that emerged from the National Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS), offers solutions that enable companies to manage the risks of natural disasters related to climate change using science, AI models based on physical predictions, and supercomputing.
• Roka Furadada: A startup that develops and markets a new generation of intelligent light-sensitive products that protect against solar radiation more efficiently and without toxicity to humans or the environment.
• Sener: The company, which stands out for its innovative DNA, offers a complementary solution to centralized management systems to, autonomously and through AI, operate climate control systems in different spaces such as factories, airports, or shopping centers.

Exponential Day #5. AI: Evolution, Disruption, or Revolution?

The fifth edition of ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment's Exponential Day focused this year on Artificial Intelligence, including different sessions to analyze the benefits and challenges this technology brings to companies and society. In addition, the event included a networking space among the participating companies. Also, it showed first-hand examples of Catalan generative AI applications from the startups M47Labs, Omnios, Sintetic.ai, and Vidext, who gave live demonstrations of their solutions.

The event included a presentation by Chema Alonso, Chief Digital Officer at Telefónica, who analyzed the impact of artificial intelligence and the disruption it is already causing and will cause in the future. John Elkington, an internationally recognized expert in corporate responsibility and sustainability, founder of Volans, and advisor to multinational companies on new technologies and sustainability, also spoke, focusing on the link between AI and challenges such as climate change.

Finally, the event concluded with the organization of site visits to three companies that are already applying disruptive technologies such as AI in their businesses and that have also been recognized as Catalonia Exponential Leaders in previous editions: BMAT Music Innovators, Flax&Kale and Qilimanjaro.