“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 23,450 companies related to the ICT and digital sectors.
Barcelona, a great pole of attraction of tech hubs.
Catalonia is home to 160 global technology development centers, representing a 9% increase from the previous year. In recent years, investments have continued to grow, leading to the establishment of 13 new tech hubs in 2024.
International tech hubs in Catalonia employ 34,869 people, an increase of 22% over the previous year, and generate an annual turnover of 2,879 million euros.
Catalonia Trade & Investment has played a key role in supporting the establishment of these tech hubs in Barcelona-Catalonia. In fact, our agency has assisted 88% of the 160 centers in landing in Catalonia. This 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 it to the local business network.
In 2024, the primary focus of the newly established centers in Catalonia was the development of technological solutions, with the addition of three new hubs. The mobility sector also saw the installation of three new hubs. Moreover, there is a growing number of companies involved in financial services, mobility, health, and industrial systems.
New foreign investment comes from countries such as Germany, the United States, China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Japan. Although the United States continues to lead the installation of international technology hubs in Catalonia—with 25% of the total—Europe has gained weight in the last five years. Currently, 62% of the installed hubs come from a European country.
Regarding geographical distribution, 11 of the 13 hubs are located in the city of Barcelona, with the 22@ district being the preferred location for almost half of the companies.
Among the key factors for installing these hubs in Catalonia are the ability to attract highly qualified talent, the parent company's previous presence, and the quality of life.
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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