Hello and happy Monday,

Today's main headlines:

• HUBUC gets €9M 💰

• Forget 5G, Catalonia is planning for 6G 📱

• €100M poured into BCN innovation & logistics centers 💸

Mobile World Congress is back in town!

MWC & 4YFN are finally here! And with it come a lot of amazing events! From French Tech Cocktails to IoT Stars - there is something for everyone.

To get a full overview of the best events in town, check our MWC Parties & Events guide 📅:

• 2022 Mobile World Congress Parties and Events Guide

And if you want us to add your event to the list, contact us here.

Stay connected, take care & have a great week :)

Startup & Investment News

Barcelona investment news

• Embedded financial services startup HUBUC raise €9M

• Recruitment platform Hosco land €3.4M to tackle hospitality talent shortage

• Libre Foods close a €2.2M seed round to scale its mushroom bacon

• Healthtech startup DyCare acquire €1.3M to accelerate ReHub's growth in Europe 

• Home renovation co Aquí tu Reforma receive €1M from Iberdrola’s startup program

• Millennial/GenZ restaurant & experience booking platform Flappin’ raise €160K 

• Omnidrone Game Studio has been acquired by partner game studio Scopely

• Elder care platform Cuideo open crowdfunding round with Capital Cell to raise €1.6M

Barcelona startup news

• Online catalog platform Tiendeo report 24% growth in 2021 reaching €13M

• QC startup Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech obtained €1 in grants in 2021

• Traveltech startup Caravelo launch flight subscription program with America’s 5th largest airline, Alaska Airlines 

• Heura Foods rank 11th in the FoodTech 500 list

• Wallbox announce a new partnership with global powersports leader Polaris in the US and Canada

• Games for a Living (G4AL) to launch its first video game using blockchain technology alongside the ICO of its ‘Game Golden Token’

• On-demand electric mobility service Reby is developing obstacle-detection tech for increased driver safety 

• 14 Catalan digital culture startups participate in the 4YFN Barcelona congress

• Nuclio chooses Barcelona for the launch of the DocFarma pharmacy app

• Animal nutrition producer Bioiberica sign strategic agreement with Mill Tech Co for exclusive distribution in South Korea

Spanish investment news

• Seville-based edtech platform Wuolah raise €5M

• Valencian travel management co Consultia Business Travel lands €1.2M

• Andalucian SaaS startup Zinkee secures €800K

• Madrid biotech firm mAbxience to sell €400M stake to German giant Fresenius

• Huruma Fund invests €10M in Indian agri-food company WayCool Foods

VC, investment & crowdfunding news

• Axon closes 5th €150M fund with a focus on listed small-cap tech companies

• Biomedicine specialists Asabys Partners increase first fund to €117M thanks to the EIF

• Nekko launches new €10M fund to invest in Nuclio Venture Builder startups

• Atomico open a €1M investment fund for emerging blockchain companies; aim to invest between €25K-€100K per startup and to back around 4-5 startups per year 

• Juan Roig’s Angels announce sale of its entire stake (100%) in Sothis to Nunsys

• Startup Wise Guys, the most active VC fund in Europe, lands in Malaga to position it among the 10 biggest hubs in the EU

• Barcelona Health Hub collaborates with Clave Capital to accelerate investment in health tech transfer projects 

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories

• Wayra (Telefónica) & 5G Barcelona (MWCapital) open the 3rd acceleration call for startups based on 5G technologies; apply until March 11th 

• Amazon’s Launchpad Sustainability Accelerator is open for early-stage startups; apply until March 25th

• Global Graphene Call II is open for those developing business ideas linked to graphene; apply until March 28th

• Global Foodtech Accelerator call for advanced startups working on products/services solving global challenges in food & sustainability; apply until March 28th 

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews:

• Cristian Pascual: president of Barcelona Health Hub, “Barcelona has all the ingredients to become one of the world’s digital health capitals”

• Guillem Viladomat: founder of Durcal, the GPS device & app for senior citizen safety

• Honext: creating a new construction material using only waste from the paper industry

• Iteralix: digital platform offering meaningful alternatives to traditional funerals

• Voilá: plastic-free edible crockery, cutlery, and glasses made with cereals

Tech News

Tech news in Barcelona:

• Catalonia is already planning for 6G and hopes to lead its research

• Catalan exports grow 21.5% in 2021 & reach highest figure on record at €80.5B

• Mango strengthens local logistics with an €88M investment in its Barcelona center

• Local fintech SeQura will invest €10M into building an innovation center in Barcelona

• Familia Torres winery tests a blockchain system to improve wine traceability

• The Consorci de la Zona Franca & Oryon Universal will collaborate to boost Barcelona’s startup ecosystem via DFactory

• Tech Barcelona and Adigital join forces to boost synergies between BCN & Madrid

• Barcelona-Catalonia to present its main projects to attract foreign investment at MIPIM 2022

• German food kit service HelloFresh will launch in Spain this year with Barcelona as its first port of call 

Mobile World Congress 2022 Special

• MWC 2022: all the phones and announcements coming out of Barcelona

• MWC 2022: what we know and what to expect

• The Morning After: The new phones of MWC 2022

Tech & big company news in Spain:

• Cabify, Eventbrite & other Spanish startups and companies adopt the 4-day work week 

• Spanish firm Bit2me becomes first crypto platform recognized by the Bank of Spain

• Deliveroo apparently accumulated €100M losses during its 6-year tenure in Spain

• Telefónica to present its autonomous drone fleet, which uses 5G & AI for more efficient grid maintenance, at MWC22 

• Bosch Secure Truck Parking announces 7 new locations in Spain 

• Vodafone Spain hires UBS & Morgan Stanley to negotiate MásMóvil merger while up against Orange 

• BBVA re-invests in UK neobank Atom to the tune of €75M

• Amazon will share merchant sales data with the Spanish Hacienda to avoid tax evasion

• Spain's biggest neobank Bnext to release its B3X token on March 1st

Politics, Legal & Economics

• Barcelona Global proposes to modify 6 points of the draft Startup Law

• Governor of the Bank of Spain notes risks associated with integrating crypto services

Good Reads

• The 100 most relevant entrepreneurs in the Spanish ecosystem

• How Telegram became the anti-Facebook

• After a record 2021, will the NASDAQ correction affect startup valuations?

• ‘Handling position bias for unbiased restaurant ranking’ by data scientist at Glovo, Mehdi Bennaceur

• 10 pieces of advice for Business Angels by JME Ventures partner Samuel Gil

Ukraine Special:

• #StandwithUkraine: Here’s how the resilient Ukrainian tech community stands tall amid the crisis

• Fundraising during an invasion — what it’s like for startups in Ukraine

Good Videos & Podcasts

• Watch Startup Grind Mataró’s first anniversary event in full (ES)

• Interview with Josefa Marzo & Oriol Ros of BCN VC firm Kalonia Venture Partners (ES)

• Interview with ​​Maurici Badía & Joan Álvarez of BCN eCommerce startup Hannun (ES)

• Bernat Farrero & Jordi Romero of Itnig and Factorial chat about company culture (ES)

• Two Blokes Talking Tech discuss what we can expect at MWC22 (EN)

• 2022 tech predictions by Rocketship.fm (EN)

• What’s working in SEO right now by the Head of Communications at SEMrush (EN)

• Building a tech giant in the VR space with Bart Wilson of VPiX 360 (EN)

Great Events

This week:

• 📅 2022 Mobile World Congress Parties and Events Guide

• Mon-Thu, 28 Feb - 3 Mar: Mobile World Congress 2022

• Mon-Thu, 28 Feb - 3 Mar: 4YFN

• Mon, 28 Feb @17:30: Startup Grind @4YFN with Jordi Romero (CEO @ Factorial)

• Mon, 28 Feb @18:30: Chris Thomas: Investing in start-ups that move the world / CASA SEAT

• Mon, 28 Feb @18:00: IoT Stars @ MWC 2022

• Tue, 1 Mar @18:30 Demium Roadshow 4YFN Special

• Tue, 1 March @09:00: NFTs - Beyond collectibles panel discussion by F10 & Block71

• Thu, 3 Mar @17:30: Digitalizando el ecosistema de start-ups en España

• Fri, 4 Mar @09:30 - Mon, 7 Mar @15:30: MOB-HACK Hackathon: Develop the most creative video game to teach how to pilot SEAT MÓ 125

• Sat, 5 Mar @09:00 Barcelona Expat Fair 

Upcoming:

• Tue, 8 Mar @19:00: Women who inspire: Sustainability and transformation

• Fri, 11 Mar @16:00 - Sat, 12 Mar @16:15: 0Waste Hackathon 

• Wed, 16 Mar @18:30: Startup Grind BCN hosts Alex Huertas (Co-founder @ Northweek)

• 26-28 Jun: European Blockchain Convention in Barcelona

See the full event calendar here & add your event here.

Jobs

• Bourbon Creative is looking for a:

• - Freelance Content Writer (Native German, 100% remote)

• - Freelance Content Writer (Native Spanish, 100% remote)

• - Freelance Content Editor (Native Spanish, 100% remote)

• Caravelo is looking for a:

• - Senior Backend Engineer (Java)

• - Business Intelligence Analyst

• Freeverse is hiring a Head of Marketing

• Riverbed is recruiting a:

• - Digital Sales Representative (Dutch/Swedish/Danish)

• - Digital Sales Representative (French)

• INARI.IO is looking for the following:

• - Brand and Content Marketing Manager

• - Head of People & Culture

• - Customer Success Manager

• Opticks is hiring an Account Executive (Spanish Market)

• Netcentric is looking for several IT positions