Catalan Economy · International Events · Tech & Digital Transformation
08 Jul 2026
The awarded companies were recognized for creating positive social impact beyond their core business, while also standing out for their unique value propositions, strong corporate culture, and high growth potential.
Thirty percent of Catalan companies incorporated AI into their businesses in 2025, six percentage points more than the previous year, according to data from ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment, the agency for business growth belonging to the Ministry for Business and Labour.
The Secretary for Business and Competitiveness and CEO of ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment, Jaume Baró, announced the figures on Wednesday at Exponential Day, Catalonia’s leading open innovation event. This year’s edition focused on the opportunities that agentic AI can create for the business community and had more than 1,500 registered participants.
During his speech at the event, held at Barcelona’s World Trade Center, Secretary Baró highlighted that "disruptions generate opportunities because they will change some business models. Companies will need to not only know how to incorporate AI but also rethink their processes. Ultimately, AI is a new normality that we must learn to live with", he added.
In this regard, Baró also stressed that "we must be active and proactive. Do we want to simply be receptive spectators of AI, or entrepreneurs who make the most of it? Do we want to be these agents of change?" he said.
According to ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment data, 30.4% of Catalan companies with more than nine employees invested in artificial intelligence-related technologies, including generative AI, in 2025. This figure is higher than in previous years: 24% of companies invested in AI adoption in 2024, and 12.6% in 2023.
“Companies will need to not only know how to incorporate AI but also rethink their processes. Ultimately, AI is a new normality that we must learn to live with”
Jaume Baró, Secretary for Business and Competitiveness and CEO of ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment.
In its eighth edition, Exponential Day focused on how companies can harness the potential of agentic AI. This is a new generation of systems capable not only of responding, but also of acting autonomously and coordinating with other systems and people, analyzing information and managing complex processes.
The event featured a keynote by Daniel Susskind, Research Professor at King’s College London’s Digital Futures Institute and member of the UK Government’s "AI and the Future of Work" expert group. It also included a presentation by Albert Esplugas, CEO of Futuria and an expert in artificial intelligence and digital transformation who has worked with global companies including Amazon, Microsoft and Apple.
Furthermore, companies such as Damm, Planeta, CELSA and Hinojosa Packaging Group shared how they are incorporating AI into their internal processes.
The event also announced the 10 most disruptive companies in Catalonia for 2026: Arq Quantum Technologies, Evidenze Health, Fetalife Technologies, Fluidra, GasN2, Ignion, Nanoligent, Novameat Tech, PLANeT Biotech and WIVI Vision. All have received the Catalonia Exponential Leaders distinction, recognizing them as leaders in disruptive innovation.
These startups and established companies were selected for their ability to generate a positive impact on society beyond their own businesses, their distinctive value propositions, corporate cultures and potential for exponential growth. Their ability to incorporate technologies such as AI, big data and advanced biotechnology was also taken into account.
The companies operate across a range of fields, including health and life sciences, quantum and advanced technologies, energy, agriculture and culture, reflecting the cross-sector nature of innovation in the Catalan economy.
Arq Quantum is a Deep tech startup that designs and builds quantum repeaters for a quantum internet.
Arq Quantum develops quantum repeaters that make the future quantum internet possible, a network that will enable capabilities such as distributed computing, precision sensing, and intrinsically secure communications.
They combine solid-state quantum memories and entanglement sources with native multiplexing, compatible with the telecommunications fibre networks already deployed. Multiplexing increases the rate of entanglement distribution, a key factor in achieving long-distance communications.
Evidenze is a company specializing in clinical research, health data, and the digital transformation of the healthcare sector.
Evidenze Data Space connects and transforms real-world healthcare data into actionable clinical evidence, accelerating research, diagnosis, personalized medicine, and healthcare decision-making.
Through AI, synthetic data, and a federated data space that connects and promotes collaboration among hospitals, research centers, and other stakeholders within the healthcare system.
FetaLife Technologies is a biomedical Spin-off of HSJD, HCB, and UB specializing in fetal and neonatal medicine.
FetaLife is developing Europe's first liquid fetal incubator, a technology that replicates the maternal intrauterine environment to improve survival rates and reduce complications in extremely premature babies.
Through a liquid incubator, real-time monitoring, and miniaturized extracorporeal support that enables a progressive physiological transition after birth.
Fluidra is a global leader in aquatic solutions.
Positive Pool transforms the traditional swimming pool model into an intelligent ecosystem that optimizes the consumption of water, energy, CO2, and chemicals, with measurable social and environmental impact.
Through AI, IoT, and digital twins that monitor and optimize swimming pools to make them more efficient, connected, and sustainable.
GasN2 is an industrial SME specializing in decarbonization technologies for industrial processes.
GasN2 develops high-temperature heat pumps that provide an alternative to gas boilers and enable genuine industrial decarbonization.
Through natural refrigerants, with no direct CO2 emissions and energy efficiency three times higher than that of a gas boiler.
Ignion is a Deep-tech company specializing in wireless connectivity for IoT devices, based on its patented Virtual Antenna® technology.
Virtual Antenna® is a miniaturized antenna technology that enables the integration of multiple wireless connectivity solutions into compact devices, reducing size, complexity, and development time.
Through Virtual Antenna® technology and the Oxion platform, which simplifies the design of IoT devices and connected electronics.
Nanoligent is a Spin-off of the UAB and IR Sant Pau, developing targeted therapies for the treatment of aggressive and metastatic tumors.
A new biotechnology platform aimed at the treatment of a broad range of highly aggressive and metastatic CXCR4+ tumor types.
Through a protein-drug nanoconjugate capable of: Self-assembling in an ordered manner into nanoparticles, providing greater stability and tumour biodistribution while achieving high selectivity to target and eliminate only CXCR4+ tumour cells.
Novameat is a FoodTech company specializing in advanced technologies for producing plant-based proteins.
NovaMeat develops a technology platform capable of creating plant-based alternatives that replicate the texture, structure and experience of eating meat, facilitating the large-scale adoption of alternative proteins.
Through a proprietary micro-extrusion technology that generates complex plant-protein structures with lower energy consumption and greater production efficiency.
PLANeT Biotech is a Spin-off of CRAG specializing in innovative solutions for agriculture.
PLANeT Biotech develops a new generation of bioactive molecules that increase crop resilience to drought and extreme heat, improving agricultural yields while using fewer resources.
Through bioactive molecules that act as biostimulants, with a scientifically validated mechanism of action demonstrated across different crops and environmental conditions.
WIVI Vision is a HealthTech company specializing in visual assessment and rehabilitation based on AI, big data and gamified 3D environments.
WIVI transforms visual assessment and rehabilitation into an immersive digital experience that enables personalised training programmes tailored to each user's progress.
Through artificial intelligence, big data, immersive 3D environments and proprietary algorithms that, through visual challenges or video games, analyse more than 110 visual parameters in real time.
The Open Innovation Challenge is a groundbreaking service that connects global companies with Barcelona-Catalonia startups and solution providers.
Browse over 2,400 startups and discover Southern Europe's most vibrant and dynamic entrepreneurial hub.
Access to all sources of available talent for international companies in Barcelona-Catalonia.
Qualified talent for your operations is readily available in Barcelona-Catalonia with one of the most skilled workforces in Europe located here.
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