Barcelona's Weekly Tech Update

Hi community,

This week’s main headlines:

• FT: Catalonia has best EU foreign investment strategy 💪

• Apple logs record Spanish revenues 💻

• The 24 new tax havens 🤑

EBC was a blast, bring on MWC networking & events 🔥

We had a blast last week at the European Blockchain Conference here in Barcelona! Hope that all of you who attended did too.

😎 But the fun isn't over yet. BCN FinTech's networking event during MWC/4YFN is just a week away, and with the only BCN startups raising funding this week being fintechs, it seems the timing is right. Limited tickets are available, so don't miss out on the biggest fintech event of the week and get yours here now.

🎟️ If you haven't already, be sure to check out our MWC23/4YFN events guide too–it's regularly updated and by far our most comprehensive edition yet. And get in touch if you want to connect with us during MWC! Have a great week 🚀

Startup & Investment News

Barcelona investment news

• Insurtech Vitaance raises over €2M

• Fintech Payflow gets an undisclosed investment from Mango via their StartUp Studio accelerator

• Marketplace aggregator LIFULL Connect acquires Thai property platform FazWaz

• Orthodontic provider Impress acquires UK brand Diamond Whites in €30M+ deal

Barcelona startup news

• Delivery Hero reveals that Glovo suffered a €304M loss in 2022

• Scaleup Scytl chosen to develop Nova Scotia, Canada’s first online voting system

• Catalan healthtech startups landed record €455M investment last year

Spanish investment news

• Madrid water treatment pioneer Geodesi closes €3M

• Bilbao-based prenatal medtech Innitius lands €3M

• Mallorcan longevity healthtech CIRCE Scientific gets €1.7M

• Madrid-based wedding marketplace Zankyou acquired by The Knot Worldwide

VC, investment & crowdfunding news

• BCN-based Asabys Partners announces €100M first close for health & biotech fund

• Suma Capital opens Paris office & will close €150M green fund with Repsol this year

• New €3.75B European Investment Fund pot to back late-stage VCs

• Samuel Gil named new CEO of JME Ventures

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories

• Open call to present at Sónar+D 2023 for projects at the intersection between art, tech, science & society; apply until Feb 26

• The Repsol Foundation launches 12th call for its startup accelerator (biotech, energy etc); apply until March 10

• Telefónica Open Future is looking for tech startups in 7 provinces; apply until March 16

• Wayra & Hotelbeds launch TravelTech Lab, an accelerator to reimagine the future of travel

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews

• Javier Jiménez: CEO of Lanzadera: “People are worth more than ideas"

• M47 Labs: Spanish AI investment will double this year

• Santafixie: CEO Txampa Alberca on the urban bike service’s evolution

• Victoria Gago: EBC Co-Founder on Europe’s blockchain industry

Tech News

Tech news in Barcelona

• Financial Times’ fDi says Catalonia & BCN have Europe’s best foreign investment attraction strategy

• Amazon confirms Alexa will not speak Catalan yet, even after 745M interactions

• Port of Barcelona beats traffic record & boosts profits by 66%

• PepsiCo's Barcelona hub wants 400 more employees by 2024

• US group Equinix to build new BCN data center

• Renfe testing train linking Barcelona with Lyon & Marseille before summer

Tech & big company news in Spain

• Apple brings in record revenues in Spain after iPhone price rise

• Orange Spain switches on 5G SA network dubbed 5G+

• BBVA launches Spark, a financial service to transform the Spanish startup ecosystem

• French pay-to-walk app Macadam launches in Spain

Politics, legal & economics

• The 24 countries that make up the new list of tax havens

• EU economy to narrowly avoid a recession as inflation peak passes

• Spain opens applications for €200 low-earner grant

Good Reads

• The American dream: From Barcelona to Silicon Valley

• How Bing’s AI Chatbot went bonkers over Spanish prime minister’s ‘beard’

• "There are startup investors with shitty 'tickets', who want to be in control, and that is ego", Àlex Rodríguez

• Big tech jobs were once a golden ticket. Not anymore 

• RevenueCat’s Miguel Carranza: My role as a founder CTO: Year Five

Good Videos & Podcasts

• Catch up on talks from European Blockchain Convention (EN)

• Meet Europe’s biggest competitor to OpenAI (Sifted podcast, EN)

• Market consolidation and fintech predictions, with Nomo CEO Xavier Capellades (Life on Mars podcast, ES)

• Cris Carrascosa: Everything you've always wanted to know about crypto but didn't dare to ask (ES podcast)

• Founding 2 startups at 23, with Victor and Aitor from Vermú & Buscoresi (ES video +EN subs)

Great Events

This week:

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

• Thu, 23 Feb @18:30: Startup Grind Mataró with Jan Amat, CEO & Co-Founder @ Recomotor

Upcoming:

• Mon, 27 Feb @19:30: BCN FinTech X Barcinno Networking Event

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

• Tue, 28 Feb @19:00: Startup Grind BCN Corporate Innovation Summit 2023

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

• Thu, 2 Mar @11:00: Startup Grind @4YFN with Lina Chong

• Thu, 2 Mar @19:00: Startup Grind: A Founder's Story & Networking Evening

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

• Wed, 8 Mar @17:30: International Women's Day 2023 Global Event

• Thu, 9 March @18:00: ESADE Masterclass on Purposeful Curiosity

Going to MWC/4YFN? Check our MWC events & parties guide (regularly updated) for more!See the full event calendar here & add your event here.

Startup Jobs:

• Bloobirds is hiring a Product Content Specialist

• Happy Scribe want an SEO Manager

• UserActive is looking for an Executive Administrative Assistant

• Lexidy is recruiting a Global Head of People

• Bourbon Creative is hiring:Freelance Content Writer/Editors (Native Spanish, 100% remote)Freelance Content Writers (English, 100% remote)

• Opticks is looking for a:Sales Development Representative - Mercado EspañolAccount Executive Adtech

• Qonto is hiring several tech and non-tech positions

• Service Club Delivery is looking for a Sales Agent (English Speaking Markets)

• eDreams is recruiting an SEO Associate Data Analyst

• Cognizant Netcentric has various open Tech roles

🎟️ If you haven't already, be sure to check out our MWC23/4YFN events guide too–it's regularly updated and by far our most comprehensive edition yet. And get in touch if you want to connect with us during MWC!

Have a great week 🚀

Startup & Investment News

Barcelona investment news

• Insurtech Vitaance raises over €2M

• Fintech Payflow gets an undisclosed investment from Mango via their StartUp Studio accelerator

• Marketplace aggregator LIFULL Connect acquires Thai property platform FazWaz

• Orthodontic provider Impress acquires UK brand Diamond Whites in €30M+ deal

Barcelona startup news

• Delivery Hero reveals that Glovo suffered a €304M loss in 2022

• Scaleup Scytl chosen to develop Nova Scotia, Canada’s first online voting system

• Catalan healthtech startups landed record €455M investment last year

Spanish investment news

• Madrid water treatment pioneer Geodesi closes €3M

• Bilbao-based prenatal medtech Innitius lands €3M

• Mallorcan longevity healthtech CIRCE Scientific gets €1.7M

• Madrid-based wedding marketplace Zankyou acquired by The Knot Worldwide

VC, investment & crowdfunding news

• BCN-based Asabys Partners announces €100M first close for health & biotech fund

• Suma Capital opens Paris office & will close €150M green fund with Repsol this year

• New €3.75B European Investment Fund pot to back late-stage VCs

• Samuel Gil named new CEO of JME Ventures

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories

• Open call to present at Sónar+D 2023 for projects at the intersection between art, tech, science & society; apply until Feb 26

• The Repsol Foundation launches 12th call for its startup accelerator (biotech, energy etc); apply until March 10

• Telefónica Open Future is looking for tech startups in 7 provinces; apply until March 16

• Wayra & Hotelbeds launch TravelTech Lab, an accelerator to reimagine the future of travel

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews

• Javier Jiménez: CEO of Lanzadera: “People are worth more than ideas"

• M47 Labs: Spanish AI investment will double this year

• Santafixie: CEO Txampa Alberca on the urban bike service’s evolution

• Victoria Gago: EBC Co-Founder on Europe’s blockchain industry

Tech News

Tech news in Barcelona

• Financial Times’ fDi says Catalonia & BCN have Europe’s best foreign investment attraction strategy

• Amazon confirms Alexa will not speak Catalan yet, even after 745M interactions

• Port of Barcelona beats traffic record & boosts profits by 66%

• PepsiCo's Barcelona hub wants 400 more employees by 2024

• US group Equinix to build new BCN data center

• Renfe testing train linking Barcelona with Lyon & Marseille before summer

Tech & big company news in Spain

• Apple brings in record revenues in Spain after iPhone price rise

• Orange Spain switches on 5G SA network dubbed 5G+

• BBVA launches Spark, a financial service to transform the Spanish startup ecosystem

• French pay-to-walk app Macadam launches in Spain

Politics, legal & economics

• The 24 countries that make up the new list of tax havens

• EU economy to narrowly avoid a recession as inflation peak passes

• Spain opens applications for €200 low-earner grant

Good Reads

• The American dream: From Barcelona to Silicon Valley

• How Bing’s AI Chatbot went bonkers over Spanish prime minister’s ‘beard’

• "There are startup investors with shitty 'tickets', who want to be in control, and that is ego", Àlex Rodríguez

• Big tech jobs were once a golden ticket. Not anymore 

• RevenueCat’s Miguel Carranza: My role as a founder CTO: Year Five

Good Videos & Podcasts

• Catch up on talks from European Blockchain Convention (EN)

• Meet Europe’s biggest competitor to OpenAI (Sifted podcast, EN)

• Market consolidation and fintech predictions, with Nomo CEO Xavier Capellades (Life on Mars podcast, ES)

• Cris Carrascosa: Everything you've always wanted to know about crypto but didn't dare to ask (ES podcast)

• Founding 2 startups at 23, with Victor and Aitor from Vermú & Buscoresi (ES video +EN subs)

Great Events

This week:

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

• Thu, 23 Feb @18:30: Startup Grind Mataró with Jan Amat, CEO & Co-Founder @ Recomotor

Upcoming:

• Mon, 27 Feb @19:30: BCN FinTech X Barcinno Networking Event

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

• Tue, 28 Feb @19:00: Startup Grind BCN Corporate Innovation Summit 2023

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

• Thu, 2 Mar @11:00: Startup Grind @4YFN with Lina Chong

• Thu, 2 Mar @19:00: Startup Grind: A Founder's Story & Networking Evening

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

• Wed, 8 Mar @17:30: International Women's Day 2023 Global Event

• Thu, 9 March @18:00: ESADE Masterclass on Purposeful Curiosity

Going to MWC/4YFN? Check our MWC events & parties guide (regularly updated) for more!

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

Startup Jobs:

• Bloobirds is hiring a Product Content Specialist

• Happy Scribe want an SEO Manager

• UserActive is looking for an Executive Administrative Assistant

• Lexidy is recruiting a Global Head of People

• Bourbon Creative is hiring:

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

  • Freelance Content Writers (English, 100% remote)

• Opticks is looking for a:

  • Sales Development Representative - Mercado Español 

  • Account Executive Adtech

• Qonto is hiring several tech and non-tech positions

• Service Club Delivery is looking for a Sales Agent (English Speaking Markets)

• eDreams is recruiting an SEO Associate Data Analyst

• Cognizant Netcentric has various open Tech roles