Hello and happy Monday,

This week’s main headlines:

• BCN startups raise €6M 🚀

• Holaluz partners with Tesla ⚡️

• AI regulation gets closer 🤖

Let’s build the BCN FinTech ecosystem together 🌍

Barcinno supports all local startup ecosystems in the city – but as you may have noticed, fintech has a special place in our hearts ❤️. Want to see the BCN FinTech ecosystem thrive too? Here are three ways you can help:

1. Network and learn: Join us at BCN FinTech Afterwork next Wednesday, 24 May @18.30. Get your ticket (🏷️ Barcinno member discount included) here.

2. Get involved as a speaker, sponsor, volunteer, or suggest another collab: Let us know by filling out this one-minute form.

3. Put BCN FinTech on the map: Help us build a 📇 BCN FinTech directory. If you’re a BCN fintech startup, use this quick submission form to add it to the soon-to-be-published directory. Or if you know a local fintech startup who should be on it, send them the link! 📧

Also, congrats 🎉 to our very own founder Scott Makin for his well-deserved spot in Novobrief’s 2023 40 under 40!

The Happiness ROI Programme
^{Week 5: Gratitude}

_{Powered by The -C- Coach, in collaboration with Barcinno and OneCoWork.}

This week, we're exploring the third pillar of wellbeing in the Happiness ROI Programme: practicing gratitude. Thank you to everyone that's taken the gratitude survey, let's take a look at the results:

Only 16.67% of us are living in the present, and 20% in the past, but nearly half of the community – a whopping 43.33% – are living anxiously and worrying about the future. That’s one in five of us unable to let go of the past and most likely dealing with ups and downs of depression.

Nearly half of the HROI community are thankful for the small things in life, leading to 36.67% of us expressing gratitude within the last week. To the 6.67% of us who are not sure of its importance and the 13.33% of us who haven’t expressed gratitude in a while - the cognitive science and extensive research speak for themselves (click to learn more).

It’s concerning that nearly 1 in 3 of us is in a negative mindset most of the time and 43.33% of us allow negativity to creep in. With only 20% of us always holding a positive outlook, there’s a real opportunity to improve our mental health and mindset resilience, and be a better version of ourselves - merely by practicing thankfulness.

I've developed a free toolkit with audios, videos, resources, and exercises to help you to explore and integrate sustainable habits into your daily routine:

Next week I’ll be featuring one of your stories! I’ll be providing guidance to one of you who is looking to make changes in your life and be happier. Share your story or feel free to contact me any time if you need further support or guidance on the Happiness ROI Programme.

With heart and integrity,
Mehibe, The -C- Coach.

Have a great week,

Startup & Investment News

Barcelona investment news

• Glasses brand Project Lobster gets €2M to double stores in Spain

• DeFi startup Xhype raises €1.8M

• Oncology biotech Oniria Therapeutics closes €1.28M seed round

• ‘TikTok of travel’ startup Beder opens €300K crowdfunding round

• Trendy fast-food restaurant chain Vicio launches €4M crowdfunding round; just raised €17M in April

Barcelona startup news

• Oscar Pierre recruits Atomico director for Glovo’s €50M Yellow Fund

• Holaluz partners with Tesla to install & market domestic batteries

• TravelPerk integrates Berlin fintech Moss

• Blockchain company Freeverse teams up with Volkswagen brand CUPRA to launch Metahype

• Ackcent named one of Spain’s best cybersecurity providers

• Wallbox posted its Q1 earnings; €35.1M sales (+24%) & a loss of €36.6M

• Circular parts startup Recomotor plans to exceed €5M & doubles workforce in 6 months

• The 13 Catalan finalists from South Summit Madrid

Spanish investment news

• Payroll SaaS Salsa secures €9M

• Boutique hostel chain Room007 raises €7.5M

• Cybersecurity firm Enthec gets over €1M led by DraperB1

• Hotel SaaS Checkin closes €460K

• Galician biotech Qubiotech gets investment from Sémola Tech Ventures & Nowture

• Audisense acquires Twitter analytics tool Tweet Binder

VC, investment & crowdfunding news

• Valencia & Miami-based Next Tier Ventures announces new VC fund for AI startups

• Miura Partners to sell off dental firm Proclinic Group for €200M, 2 years after it acquired a majority share

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories

• EIT Food’s RIS Straight2Market call connects startups and retailers to develop & launch new products (both can apply); until May 31

• ABANCA has opened its 8th Innova Startup Program for fintech, insurtech, regtech & cybersecurity innovators; until June 14

• Incubators or accelerators (or people with knowledge of startup centers) can register to be considered for the FT & Sifted’s guide to Europe’s leading startup hubs; until June 15.

• LaLiga & SportBoost are looking for AI-based tech solutions to improve business processes and maximize productivity; until June 16

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews

• Julio Martínez, Abacum: Cash management best practices: Set up your business for success in 2023

• Lawwing: Helping SMEs legalize their websites

• Alun Evans, Freeverse: How NFTs can help shift us towards a sustainable, low-carbon future

Tech News

Tech news in Barcelona

• Barcelona ended 2022 with with a 15% growth of tech professionals in the city, despite the big tech crisis

• Cabify awaits Court of Justice support to annul its BCN restrictions; it’s also back on the path to profitability

• BIG C to open Europe’s largest eSports center in Barcelona

• BCN Aquarium gets €13M investment ahead of Copa America to increase digital exhibits & sustainability

• Mango opens 15 stores in the US

Tech & big company news in Spain

• NextNorth launches the first EVTOL air taxis in the Balearics

• Telefonica open to discuss potential fiber deal with Vodafone in Spain

• Domino's Pizza teams with Goggo Network for autonomous delivery pilot in Madrid

Politics, legal & economics

• 2 EU committees have already passed the first AI regulation Act

• MWC’s organizer slapped with GDPR fine over biometrics ID checks due diligence

Good Reads

• Novobrief’s 2023 40 Under 40

• The Guardian: AI machines aren’t ‘hallucinating’. But their makers are

• From medical diagnoses to artificial voices: the Spanish AI startups attracting millions

• The Economist: Spanish renewable-energy development is waking from its siesta

Good Videos & Podcasts

• Remote, async & more, with Job van der Voort, CEO @Remote (Life on Mars, EN)

• Minerva Sánchez, PcComponentes: "My challenge is to bring SEO to the entire organization" (ES)

Great Events

This week:

• Tue, 16 May @10:30: Work in Barcelona! Job Fair

• Tue, 16 May @16:00: Conference: Young Entrepreneurs: The Women's Revolution

• Wed, 17 May @08:00: BxCat: Catalan blockchain and metaverse fair

• Wed, 17 May @16:30: 4th edition E-Health Investment Forum

• Thu, 18 May @14:00: Esade Entrepreneurship Summit 2023

• Thu, 18 May @17:30: HRinTech: Resilience in the Workplace

• Thu, 18 May – Fri, 19 May: NTWKSummit 2023: Summit for Digital Business Models

Upcoming:

• Wed, 24 May @18:30: BCN FinTech Afterwork X Barcinno #008: FinTech Regulation 

• Wed, May 24 – Fri, May 26: Kaospilot Masterclass Barcelona: Designing & facilitating learning spaces #1

• Thu, 25 May @19:00: No Bullshit Talk #09: Josep Casas, investor & Co-founder of Naturitas

• Wed, 31 May @18:30: Fuckup Nights Barcelona Vol. XLI

• Wed, 7 June: The Marketing Meetup with Olga Andrienko, VP of Brand Marketing @Semrush

• Thu, 15 Jun @09:00: Hired!Bcn: Talent acquisition conference

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

Startup Jobs:

• OneCoWork is hiring a Community Associate

• SeQura is recruiting a Head of Marketing

• SolarMente need a Founders Associate - Tech Startup Internship

• Xpeer is recruiting a Customer Success Specialist

• Red Points need a Brand Protection Specialist

• Timup is looking for a Startup CEO

• Antai Ventures is looking for a SaaS Specialist