Barcelona's Weekly Tech Update

Happy Monday,

This week’s main headlines:

• More BCN startup cuts 😔

• Kave Home to hit €200M in sales 💰

• Microsoft recruits for AI boom 🤖

1. Poll results: ChatGPT both ➕ and ➖

Thanks for the responses! We had some interesting results from last week's poll, How do you believe ChatGPT will impact society?

 The majority of you see both the positives and negatives, which FYI is now officially the fastest-growing app of all time.

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Positively - It will greatly enhance our ability to access information and complete tasks efficiently. Hail the machines! (23%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Negatively - It will lead to job loss and a decrease in critical thinking skills. F*** ChatGPT! (8%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Neutral - It will have little impact on society as a whole. It's all just hype. (0)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Both positive and negative - It will bring benefits but also raise ethical concerns. (69%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ I am not sure - WTF is ChatGPT? I don't know enough about it to form an opinion. (0)

2. Big event month for BCN: EBC, MWC/4YFN & BCN FinTech 🗓️🎪

Barcelona's tech calendar is always impressive, but this month (as the weather finally seems to be thawing a little) it's on 🔥. In case you missed it:

• European Blockchain Convention has announced more awesome speakers 🎤

• We published our yearly guide to all the best events & parties surrounding and during Mobile World Congress/4YFN. As ever, let us know if you have one to share 🙏

• BCN FinTech is this Wednesday! Early bird tickets are now sold out but you can still secure a ticket for just 5.77€ (which includes free drinks & snacks) 🎉

Have a great week! 

Startup & Investment News

Barcelona investment news

• Luxury co-living for entrepreneurs Circles exceeds Crowdcube financing; here's a profile of them & their future plans

Barcelona startup news

• Next in the firing line, Glovo lays off 250 staff members

• More BCN startup cuts: Wallbox, Typeform, Paack & Colvin 

• Furniture store Kave Home ups turnover by 34% (€153M) & plans to exceed €200M in 2023

• Edtech robotics startup Ro-Botica acquired by Catalan cooperative Abacus 

• BCN financial consultancy Upbizor secured €75M for startups & SMEs in 2022, up 50% YoY

• Business school Founderz & fintech Qonto partner to offer training to future entrepreneurs

Spanish investment news

• Valencian service superapp Jeff lands €83M 

• Valladolid improvement software Mlean raises €3M

• Aragon nightlife ticket marketplace Nyxell gets first €500K

• Madrid fintech Citec Solutions acquired by Boston-based Sandbox

VC, investment & crowdfunding news

• Seaya invests in UK-based AI recycling sorter Recycleye Robotics

• Spanish manager Q-Impact closes its second VC PE fund supporting growth of SMEs in Spain and Portugal

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories

• Ship2B also opened a new edition of its third-sector entity accelerator B-Value; apply until Feb 19

• Industrial tech accelerator Stage2 is looking for 10 new startups; apply from Feb 26

• Zurich Insurance has launched the 4th edition of its global startup collaboration program; apply until Feb 27

• Esade Alumni Real Estate Innovation Challenge 5th edition is open; apply until March 8

• Damm launches new open innovation platform LAB1877 in BCN

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews

• Ducky Logistics: From fruit & veg delivery to scooter maintenance 

• El Grifo Rojo: App to find a handyman or tradesperson

• Iñigo Aguirre, Payhawk: Finance, a pillar in times of uncertainty

Tech News

Tech news in Barcelona

• Microsoft announces 100 new jobs to promote new AI tech like ChatGPT 

• UK proptech Lilo, who enable purchase of fractional property share, arrives in BCN’s Eixample 

• Barcelona Supercomputing Center installs MareNostrum 5, a ‘new jewel’ that will promote innovation in the whole of Spain

Tech & big company news in Spain

• Spanish court rules Amazon 'Flex' couriers were falsely self-employed

• Santander brings in record €9.6B profit on lending income; rival BBVA also turned in record profits from double-digit lending increase; while Caixabank turned 39.8% less due to merger with Bankia

• Just Eat signs delivery agreement with supermarket Dia

• Inditex to guarantee fixed minimum salary in all brands and provinces

Politics, legal & economics

• Spain to raise minimum wage by 8% as elections loom

Good Reads

• Business angels’ 15 most promising Spanish startups, incl. BCN’s Improfit.ai & Solfy

• What the streaming boom has done to documentaries

• Ignacio Arriaga, Acumbamail: Tips when creating the first version of a SaaS

Good Videos & Podcasts

• Unlocking mobility in space with IENAI Space CEO Daniel Pérez (Product Hackers podcast, ES)

• Bootstrapping & values, with Ignacio Arriaga, co-founder of Acumbamail (Life on Mars, ES)

• How much should a founder earn? (Itnig, ES)

• Interview with Marina Teixidor, blockchain expert and CEO of Colmeia (YT video, ES+EN subs)

• Interview with Marta Frenna, CEO of Grey Hounder (Minimalism podcast, ES)

Great Events 

This week:

• Wed, 8 Feb @18:30: #005 BCN FinTech: FinTech Winter

Join BCN FinTech this week to network, pitch for help at the open mic, and learn from our expert panel discussing the "FinTech Winter". All of this at a beautiful venue in the heart of Barcelona & supported by free drinks & snacks. Get your ticket here.

Upcoming:

• Wed, 15 Feb–Fri, 17 Feb: European Blockchain Convention

• Wed, 22 Feb @18:00: Growing through a downturn: Lessons from 35k SaaS companies talk with Patrick Campbell

• Wed, 1 Mar @15:00: Unveiling the Official 2022 FoodTech 500

• Mon, 27 Feb–Thu, 2 Mar: Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023

• Tue, 7 Mar @18:00: Dozen Talks: Starting before 30

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

Startup Jobs:

• Bourbon Creative is hiring:

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

  • Freelance Content Writers (English, 100% remote)

• Opticks is looking for a:

  • Account Executive Adtech

  • Sales Development Representative - Mercado Español 

• Qonto is hiring several tech and non-tech positions

• Service Club Delivery is looking for a Head of Marketing

• eDreams is recruiting an SEO Associate Data Analyst

• WebCargo by Freightos is hiring a Marketing Director

• Sd

• Revolut is looking for a Copywriter (Remote)

• Wattwin is looking for a CMO

• Cognizant Netcentric has various open Tech roles