/ Digital tech

Barcelona, a leading tech and innovation hub

Barcelona is a thriving tech hub. A highly skilled talent, a strong and dynamic startup ecosystem are combined with a powerful industrial tech.

/ A pool of highly skilled talent

The availability of highly skilled talent, with a wide range of profiles, and the attraction of foreign digital professionals are some of the strengths of Barcelona’s ecosystem that help position the city as top 10 best cities in the world for talent.

+ 122,185
digital professionals
+ 33%
International
(+12.1 from London)
+19,000
companies
+140
Tech hubs
8th
most attractive city in the world for work
/ A competitive cost of living

Barcelona has more competitive digital salaries than other European cities, accounting for approximately half of the salaries in the digital hubs of London and Amsterdam.

/ Digital Professional Salaries by City, 2021 - 2022
Source: Digital Talent Overview. Mobile World Capital, 2023
/ Cost of living index, 2023
Source: Numbeo
/ A vibrant start-up scene

Barcelona is one of the most dynamic start-up ecosystems in Europe. Its pool of talent, innovative environment, entrepreneurial mindset and quality of life are rapidly positioning Barcelona as one of the best cities in Europe in the start-up scene.

+2,102 startups
(71% work with Industry 4.0 technologies and 91% invest in R&D)
€5.3B
of turnover
(2019-2023)
16%
of startup founders are foreign
7
Unicorns
/ 3rd preferred EU hub of founders for setting up a startup
/ 2nd EU hub with the highest number of startup founders among alumni from local universities
/ 4th EU hub in terms of the number of investment rounds

Barcelona is the birthplace of many startups that have become success stories and are gaining international recognition:

/ Some international tech giants with strong presence in Barcelona
Over the last years, international corporations have chosen Barcelona as their headquarters for innovation, new digital business models, logistics or customer service global offices. 
+ 140

global corporates tech hubs

68%

of Barcelona’s hubs are working on deep tech technology

/ A boom in AI

Barcelona, with its growing ecosystem and favorable conditions, presents a lot of opportunities for AI companies seeking to establish themselves in this thriving environment.

500
companies
+14,520
employees
2,155M €
turnover