Hello and happy Monday - we hope you had a great weekend!

#300 Barcinno Newsletters 

So today marks the 300th Barcinno weekly newsletter since the first one went out to about 50 personal contacts in Barcelona in April 2013.

A lot's happened in the last six years - I've started a family, sold a business, bought a home and the Barcelona startup ecosystem has grown exponentially! Of course, none of it would be possible without my amazing team and each of you for supporting us over the years.

In order to create more value for you, and make sure we're still here in another 6 years, we kindly invite you to share your feedback via this 1-minute survey here.

Thank you so much for your readership and support! Here's to the next 300 editions!

Barcelona Smart City Special

Last week's Smart City Congress in Barcelona put the city once again at the center of global attention. This lead to lots of great news being published about the local ecosystem. First, the Barcelona City Council, via the Municipal Data Office (OMD) and i.lab, announced that it is renewing its collaboration with DataCity, an initiative that aims to find innovative solutions to the challenges faced by today’s cities.

In addition to that, Wallbox, an EV charger manufacturer based in Barcelona that raised €15M this summer, published an in-depth look at the E-mobility sector in Barcelona (interactive map included). Read the full article here.

3rd Dec - Startup Grind BCN hosts Itnig’s CEO

Next week on Tuesday (Dec 3rd), Startup Grind will feature Bernat Farrero, the CEO of Itnig - a Barcelona-based startup ecosystem that helped to build & grow local success stories such as Factorial, Quipu or Gymforless. Discover the secrets of their success at the fireside chat and take advantage of open-mic & networking opportunities. Get 40% off your ticket with the code: barcinnorocks

Ok, that's it from me. Have a great week and we'll see you out there!

Startup & Investment News

Investment news

• Spanish HR startup Jobantalent raises €70M

• Barcelona startup Xceed closes a €2.3M funding round

• Barcelona VR-tech company Broomx lands €2M

• Spanish firm Openbravo, with HQ in Barcelona, gets €1.4M

• Barcelona digital fitness startup Volava receives €750K from Inveready

• Spanish startup Hemper closes a €280K funding round via La Bolsa Social

• Barcelona energy startup Holaluz is about to go public on the MAB within the next few weeks and plans to raise €30M at a €130M valuation

Startup M&As

• Tibidabo Ventures acquires 100% of Barcelona biotech startup ABAC Therapeutics, which raised €16M last year

• Barcelona startup Avizorex Pharma, a portfolio company of Inveready, has been acquired by US firm Aerie Pharmaceuticals

Startups news

• Barcelona cybersecurity startup Blueliv records €5M in revenues, an 80% YOY increase; only 15% of customers are from Spain

• Catalan startup Glovo improves health insurance coverage for its riders

• First Derm joins Digital Garden powered by Almirall at the Barcelona Health Hub

• Banco Sabadell reaches an partnership agreement with Barcelona fintech Nemuru to provide instant loans for renovations

VC, investment & crowdfunding news:

• Spanish women-led startups get access to more VC cash

• EU launches €2B AI & blockchain fund to help Europe catch up

• Dídac Lee crowned business angel of the year by AEBAN

• Javies Megias named new Startups Program Director at Fundacion Innovacion Bankinter

• European VCs increase presence in Spain & are looking for opportunities to invest in Spanish tech startups

• US investment fund KKR highlights the "attractive" investment possibilities in the Spanish tech sector

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories:

• The Port of Barcelona announces seven finalists of Open Port that aim to optimize port logistics

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews:

• Filmin: the Netflix for independent movies that aims to capture €6M in revenues this year

• Goin: a money-saving app that uses crowdlending and cryptocurrencies to improve your bank balance

• Miguel Vicente: cofounder of Barcelona Tech City & Antai Venture Builders

Tech News

• The Institut Català de Finances (ICF) and the Spanish Development Finance Institution (COFIDES) to provide €100M for the internationalization of Catalan companies

• Barcelona City Council, via the Municipal Data Office (OMD) and i.lab, announced that it is renewing its collaboration with DataCity

• Southern Europe's first digital arts centre opens in Barcelona

Telco news

• Telefonica COO supports consolidation in Spanish telecom crowd

• Telefonica signs agreement with AT&T to use its network in Mexico, which could lead to €230M in savings

• Orange España acquires Spanish unit of SUMA Mobile

Tech news in Spain:

• El Corte Ingles implements WeChat Pay in all of its stores in order to facilitate the payment process for Chinese tourists

• Endesa launches blockchain pilot project to streamline information and improve work in social services

• Uber launches taxi service in Madrid

• Carlos Rodríguez and Joaquín Mencía, the two Spanish partners that brought dark kitchen startup Keatz to Spain have left the company

Political, economic & legal news in Spain:

• Spanish fintech companies call for update and relaxation of financial regulations in the country

• Spanish newspapers would have to pay €2.7M in additional taxes per year if Google tax is approved by the Government

Good Reads

• Overview of the E-mobility sector in Barcelona

• Overview of & insights into the classified sector in Spain

• Overview of the chaotic legal landscape in Spain for e-scooters and e-bikes

Good Videos & Podcasts

• Interview with Oscar Valledor, CEO & co-founder at Project Lobster (Alpha Weekly Podcast)

• Interview with Miguel Arias, Global Entrepreneurship Director at Telefonica, and Javier Perea, CEO at Smart Protection (Scale This Up Podcast)

Great Events

This Week

• Tue, 26 Nov @18:30: Pitch in a Pub

• Tue, 26 Nov @19:00: The challenges of digital leadership

• Tue, 26 Nov @19:00: Beyond the Logo: Growth-Oriented Branding for Startups and Scale-ups

• Wed, 27 Nov @17:30: MASTEAM-MATT talk – Lorenzo Casaccia (Qualcomm) – The Road to 5G

• Thu, 28 Nov @18:30: The B-Table: Juan Margenat

• Sat, 30 Nov @10:00: Full day digital wellness fundamentals

Next Week

• Tue, 3 Dec @19:00: Startup Grind BCN hosts Bernat Farrero (Itnig)

• Tue, 3 Dec @19:00: DatabeersBCN Tuesday Dec 3rd

• Wed, 4 Dec @08:00: MeltinLab #10 – Startups & Ecommerce

See the full event calendar here.

Startup Jobs In Barcelona

• Choco is recruiting a Business Development Representative

• Cien is looking for a Sales Performance Consultant

• Arbolus is hiring a Community Associate

• OneCoWork is recruiting a Junior Accountant & a Community Associate

See the full job board here.