Hello and happy Monday! It's that time of year again...Barcelona Expat Week arrives as an alternative to the Barcelona International Community Day fair, which this year has been postponed due to covid-19.

Barcelona Expat Week: the Meeting Point for the International Community

From 19 to 23 October, Barcelona Expat Week is the meeting point for key people and organisations who are part of Barcelona's international talent, offering a digital platform to promote contacts and generate community.

Register for free at barcelona.cat/expatweek and participate in over 30 events addressing information on personal inductions, work, training, how to do business and how to enjoy the city. Organised by Barcelona City Council.

Have a great week and take care of yourselves!

Startup & Investment News

Barcelona investment news

• Barcelona startup Carnovo closes €6.5M funding round

• Barcelona sexual wellbeing startup Emjoy raises €2.55M

• Investment in Catalan health startups reaches 120M€ and breaks 2019 record

Barcelona Startup news

• Cuideo enters French market and aims to double revenues

• TravelPerk launches an open API platform to extend its work trip SaaS

• Glovo launches new logistics service for NGOs and social enterprises

• Scytl's creditors continue negotiating with Irish group Paragon about the sale of the company

Spanish investment news

• Spanish startups have raised a total of €115M across 33 deals in September

• Aragon-based security startup IriusRisk lands €5.7M

• Andalusian startup Predictiva receives €4M

• Madrid HR startup Devengo raises €1.3M

• Valencian startup NEXT Electric Motors gets €500K

• Madrid-based project Captoplastic gets €160K

• Madrid virtual tour tech startup Realisti.co gets acquired by Italian prop tech Casavo

VC, investment & crowdfunding news:

• Seaya launches €85M third fund and hints at new LatAm investment vehicle

• Faraday to launch a new €40M fund to invest in European startups

• Sepide launches Germina Capital SEPI, a €25M fund aimed at boosting tech entrepreneurship and innovation

• Capital Energy creates a €20M Corporate Venturing fund to transform the energy sector

• Wayra (Telefónica) and Lanzadera (Roig) join forces to share dealflow on collaborate on boosting each other's startups

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories:

• TheVentureCity add 5 new startups to its Growth Program, inlcuding Wannalisn and Internxt from Spain

• CodeContract, Grabit and V-Vision win 11th BerriUp Call

• Mahou San Miguel and BCC launch BarLab Challenge Future; apply until 13 Oct 2020

• Desafío Aporta 2020 opens call for its digital edcation program; apply until 18 Nov 2020

• Fundacion "la Caixa" opens call for 4th edition of health research projects; apply until 3 Dec 2020

• GoHub seeks the best deep tech startups for its second acceleration program

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews:

• Sara Serantes: founder of 6 food brands and a multi-order app that surpassed €20M in revenues

Tech News

• Logistics company UPS invests €40M in new Barcelona Hub

• F10 opens new hub in Barcelona to shape the future of banking and insurance

• Mobile World Capital Barcelona backs 3 new projects, I4MS-4TS, 5GMed and Better Factory, via subsidies worth €1,4M

• The number of 5G companies in Catalonia grew by 73%, according to a Catalonia Trade & Investment study 

Tech news in Spain:

• El Corte Inglés launches new 'Amazon-like subscription' model: for 19,90€/year users will benefit from free 24h deliveries and other perks

• El Corte Inglés also launches a new app to reinforce its omnichannel strategy

• Amazon launches its audiobook service Audible in Spain

• Telefonica is awaiting Brussels approval for its merger with UK firm Virgin; deal could be completed by November

• Airbnb launches a free noise detector program for its hosts in Barcelona and Madrid

• Telefónica launches Movistar Salud & forms an alliance with US group Teladoc Health to compete in the telemedicine sector

• Spanish firm Izertis acquires Salesforce consultancy TicMind

• E-Commerce sales in Spain have increased by 11.6% YOY to reach €12,25B in Q1 2020

Politics, Legal & Economics

• Spanish government freezes its Huawei agreement

• Spanish regulator CNMC rules Amazon logistics must be considered as a postal service and be subject to Spanish rules and regulations in regards to logistic fees disclosure, transparency and more

Good Reads

• Barcelona Expat Week: Your launchpad for success in the city

• Spain’s startup ecosystem: 9 investors on remote work, green shoots and 2020 trends

• 9 VCs in Madrid and Barcelona discuss the COVID-19 era and look to the future

• Spain’s copycat startups: shame or gain?

Good Videos & Podcasts

• Interview with Nico Bour, CEO & Co-Founder at Uvinum

• Interview with Dídac Lee, Co-founder of Galdana Ventures & Board Member at FC Barcelona

• How to keep the house clean: sunsetting legacy systems and tech hygiene, with Dorion Carroll (Amazon)

• One SaaS to rule them all - Controlling access, expenses and more with Brad van Leeuwen (Cledara)

• Blockchain Solutions for Financial Services - European Blockchain Convention 2020

• New Podcast: NoviCap Podcast, "Hablando con líderes"

Great Events

Upcoming:

• Wed, 8 Oct @ 17:00: B-Talks: Casos de Éxito Emprendedor · Miquel Teixidor

• Wed, 8 Oct @ 18:30: Hello, World: Using Space to Help Life on Earth at Planet Labs

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