“Our PepsiCo hub in Barcelona is a fundamental engine and pillar of the company's digital transformation strategy at a global level”
Gaston Besanson, VP and Global Head of Data Science at PepsiCo
Top International Tech Hubs in Catalonia
The digital sector is booming in Catalonia, with Barcelona being the world’s best tech non-capital city. International tech companies will join a network of more than 19,000 companies related to the ICT and digital sector.
Barcelona, a great pole of attraction of tech hubs.
Catalonia is home to a total of 140 global technology development centers (2023). Over the past few years, the impact of these investments has gained significant traction, doubling the number of hubs since 2018.
International tech hubs in Catalonia employ 26,407 people, an increase of 25% over the previous year, and generate an annual turnover of 2,544 million euros (+25%).
Catalonia Trade & Investment has played a key role in supporting the establishment of these tech hubs in Barcelona-Catalonia. In fact, 87% of the 140 centers have been assisted by our agency in their landing in Catalonia. It is a sign of the government's commitment to attracting new international digital hubs, which means generating more and better knowledge in Catalonia and connecting them to the local business network.
In 2023, the sector that has seen the most significant growth in investment is healthcare technologies, a trend that has been on the rise since the onset of the pandemic. Currently, almost 20% of the companies in the Catalan hub ecosystem are dedicated to the gaming industry. This is closely followed by software companies and those specializing in business consulting and services, while the industrial machinery and food sectors boast the largest hubs.
In terms of geographical distribution, 76% of the hubs are located in the city of Barcelona, with the 22@ district being the preferred location for almost half of the companies.
The reasons why companies choose the city of Barcelona include its ability to attract multidisciplinary talent, a robust business and industrial ecosystem, and its strategic geographic location.
Top International tech hubs in Catalonia.
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OMRON
Omron has based its European product automation center in Catalonia and offers support throughout Europe. It is the company's fourth center after Japan, the US, and China.
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MICROSOFT
Microsoft's R&D hub in Barcelona focuses on AI, advanced software engineering, machine learning, and deep learning. Its UX team creates user-friendly products like Bing, Edge, Windows, and Azure.
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NESTLÉ
Nestlé, the world's largest food company, leads its global digital revolution from Barcelona, with 600+ employees of around 50 nationalities specializing in web design, mobile applications, and digital services.
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PEPSICO
Barcelona's Pepsico Global Digital hub focuses on global digitalization programs, employing skilled professionals such as data scientists, machine learning engineers, data engineers, and service designers.
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AMAZON
Amazon's R&D center for machine learning and artificial intelligence in Catalonia employs over 100 professionals, mainly software engineers, scientists, and data analysts.
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OCADO
Ocado has based its development center specializing in e-commerce in Catalonia, where over 200 professionals from many nationalities work in digital tasks such as Software Engineering, Product, Data Science, and UX.
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LIDL
Catalonia is home to LIDL’s European e-commerce center of excellence, its European digital e-commerce hub, and its customer relationship management department. With a workforce of 250 people, it serves 30 European countries.
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BAYER
With more than 800 people and 47 nationalities, Bayer's Catalan Global Shared Service Center and Center of Excellence coordinates its global Supply Chain Management activities for 11 EMEA countries and works on sustainability and carbon reduction in all supply chain-related activities.
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HP
Home to HP’s global 3D printing and large format printing center, 2,300 professionals from 60 nationalities work in the world’s largest laboratory dedicated to research, development, and innovation in 3D plastics and metal printing.
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