Barcelona's Weekly Tech Update

Hello folks,

This week’s main headlines:

Glovo’s Oscar Pierre launches €50M VC fund 💰
BCN Council opens €30M deeptech fund 💸
Wallbox CEO eyes €1B in revenues by 2025 📈

Barcelona Tech: The Return of the Events (Episode I) 🎬

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away 🌌, Barcelona used to be a popular ground for tech events, with each weekday featuring multiple awesome workshops, talks, or network opportunities. Little did we know that a pandemic would engulf not just the region but the entire planet. As people hid in their homes attempting to stay safe (and sane), physical events disappeared…

Yet, with the pandemic having slowed down, where are we at now? So far, this year has still not been very active event-wise, especially compared to pre-pandemic times. Summer is also traditionally quiet here with many people taking time off, so it’s not very indicative. But I do feel there are signs now that show we’re heading in the right direction. Actually, just this week we have a packed schedule 📅 with BCN Fintech, SaaStock Barcelona, Startup Grind Barcelona (& Mataro!) coupled with some Tech Barcelona events and the regular Itnig Pitching Nights.

Does it mean we’re back to “normal”? Hard to tell, it’s probably still too early. My take is that probably a lot of regular events shut down during the pandemic and may or may not come back. Additionally, what used to be generous food, drink and event sponsors are also harder to come by these days. That’s totally understandable, with the overall economic situation having forced a lot of organizations to be more prudent with budgets.

Personally though, I do feel like people are ready and hungry for more events. With Elliott & Victor, I launched BCN FinTech as a new event series back in May and we’ve honestly not been sure what to expect back then. Yet, the turnout and feedback has been incredibly encouraging and trending upwards. We’ve actually had lots of people asking us to run the event more frequently than once every two months.

Obviously, this isn’t representative of the Barcelona startup, tech & innovation event ecosystem. So what are your experience and thoughts 💡? Hit me up by replying to this email or contacting me on LinkedIn.

Written by Clemens

May the Force be with you!

Looking forward to seeing you at BCN FinTech this Wednesday! The event is already sold out, but you can still join the waiting list and hope here! (next time: don't wait until it's too late!)

Startup & Investment News

Barcelona investment news

Proptech Psquared close €1.6M & open new 22@ green HQ
Metaverse avatar creators UNION AVATARS: Linking Realities secure €1.2M
Supply chain startup Tennders pick up €1.2M
Plant-based protein startup RIP Foods raise €625K pre-seed round
Solar energy marketplace Solfy.net get €415K
Personalized pet food startup Happets acquired by Portuguese firm Barkyn
Consulting firm SEIDOR acquire Opentrends

Barcelona startup news

Glovo fined €79M for labor breaches in Spain
- They will apparently appeal this
Logistics firm Kubbo joins alliance with European logistics and transport giant FERCAM
Native app-building platform Bravo Studio launch 3.11 version on Product Hunt
Improfit.ai wins AI Excellence Award at European Artificial Intelligence forum
Barcelona firms Yumminn, Grovy & Upwine crowned winners of the 2nd edition of Horeca Challenge
BCN startup Metrickal secures Enisa loan and grows to 26 staff & 14 recurring clients within just 6 months

Spanish investment news

Madrid-based ecommerce refund startup Reveni close €3M
Bilbao startup Innomy receive €1.3M for its mushroom-based meat alternative
Madrid-based insurtech LISA raise €1.2M

VC, investment & crowdfunding news

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews:

Kolyy: Health-tracking smart collar for dogs
Luggit: Like booking an Uber for your luggage
Narrativa Fèrtil, KOA Biotech & Ökollective: The 3 women-led projects awarded by Barcelona Activa
Eric Asunción: Wallbox CEO, “Our goal is to invoice €1B by 2025”