Barcelona's Weekly Tech Update

Hello all,

This week’s main headlines:

• Bard finally available in EU ✨

• €80M+ funding for Spanish startups 💰

• FC Barcelona promotes Catalonia in the US 🇺🇸

Startup Heatmap Europe poll results: BCN ecosystem 🚀

Over a third (38.4%) of you voted that the report results, which saw BCN retaining its #3 position, are a good thing and showcase Barcelona as a leading startup hub. Interesting insight from one reader too–that the best results have more to do with the city itself than the startup scene.

Tech hiring in Spain 2023 🧑‍💻

Madrid tech recruitment firm Manfred just published its State of Hiring Report, in which it shared its analysis and stats on technical talent attraction and management in Spain.

With news of layoffs still trickling in every week and everything else going on in the economy, it’s perhaps not surprising that over 92% of its database is “actively seeking or open to new job opportunities”.

👉 Other interesting takeaways:

• The average time-to-hire in the tech industry is a huge 49 days (46 with Manfred), with UX/UI design roles taking the longest (65 days) and developer roles the shortest.

• It’s fitting, then, that the success rate by role was led by tech leads (76%), followed by the same trio of mobile, backend, and frontend developers.

• The success rate of hiring by worker location was 59% for hybrid or on-site, and 74% for remote opportunities. There does seem to be a noticeable shift in more tech companies switching from fully remote to hybrid or in-office roles this year (like Travelperk building a new post-pandemic office and publishing a statement explaining why). But it’s clear that many don’t want to give up the benefits of working from home.

💭 If you’re actively looking for a new role (or might in the future), what are your thoughts?

Have a great week!

Startup & Investment News

Barcelona investment news

• Edtech Preply gets €62M

• Biotech spinoff Orikine closes €5.5M seed round

• Sofa startup Puumba opens €250K round & seeks international growth

• Social app for seniors Vermut is crowdfunding; currently at €953K of €100K goal

Barcelona startup news

• Heura collaborates with schools to provide plant-based nutrition; it also announces layoffs affecting 10% of workers to support a change in business model 

• BCN’s Roka Furadada, Sateliot, ELEM Biotech & Rob Surgical make 10 most promising startups list

• Traveltech Lodgify integrates with Google for vacation rentals

• Sustainable fashion brand Sepiia opens first physical store backed by an intriguing ad campaign

Spanish investment news

• Basque biotech Cimico gets €7M, with Moira Capital & Inbergune acquiring 30%

• Madrid edtech Ucademy secures €1.5M

• Seville circular economy solution NEWE closes €1.1M

• Valencian wellness SaaS Flowww raises €1M

• Andalusian beauty brand LICO Cosmetics closes first €1M

VC, investment & crowdfunding news

• French early Glovo backer Eurazeo closes 2nd fund at €400M, targeting high-growth European smart city startups

• Geneva-based Giano Capital launches €50M later-stage fund to invest in up to 15 European companies

• CVC raises €26B for its 9th Europe/Americas private equity fund

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories

• Desafía’s Tel Aviv Fall 2023 immersion bootcamp is open for Spanish startups looking to scale internationally; until Jul 25

• New RedZone accelerator call for high-tech early-stage startups focused on advanced materials (smart packaging, cosmetics, biotech, etc); apply now

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews

• Catalonia's 10 most disruptive companies of 2023

• Cinesmart: App to interact with brands before the movie starts

• The CX Lab: Solutions for vulnerable groups, with a 40% neurodiverse team

• The Spoon Army: The ready-to-eat update of grandma’s garbanzos

Tech News

Tech news in Barcelona

• FC Barcelona & the Catalan government promote Catalonia in the United States

• Mango bills record turnover of €1.45B in the first half of the year, up 20%

• AkzoNobel will create 80 new jobs in Catalonia by expanding its Barcelona plant

• SEAT to invest €300M in a battery cell assembly plant in Catalonia

• UK visual effects firm Milk opens new studio in 22@

• Ad network ExoClick is now a member of Adigital, a leading business association representing the digital economy in Spain

Tech & big company news in Spain

• Bard finally launches in the EU

• Murcia’s UCAM becomes the first Spanish university to create a Venture Studio, replicating Oxford, Stanford & Cambridge models

• Revolut migrates to Spanish IBANs, allowing users to pay direct debits & receive their salary

Politics, legal & economics

• Amazon and Apple fined $218M by Spain antitrust watchdog

• Spain ranked joint 2nd as most powerful passport in the world, with Singapore taking the lead

Good Reads

• Barcinno x ETHBarcelona: Interview with Co-Organizer Tomás Mujica

• Meta offers its new AI model for free, giving startups a low-cost opportunity to compete with ChatGPT & Bard

• Forbes: What Can Leaders Learn From Sustainability Entrepreneurs? (feat BCN healthtech Doctomatic)

• The history of Wallapop, on its 10-year anniversary

• Philip Gelis, Kantox: Some thoughts on fundraisings and exits, beyond bull**it

Good Videos & Podcasts

• Why we invested +100K€ in fitness app BeJao, with Alberto Sanz (Itnig, ES)

• Assuming failure & the role of therapy, with Demium’s Jorge Dobón (Product Hackers, ES)

Great Events

This week:

• Wed, 26 Jul @18:30: Women+ who have transitioned to tech: Online fireside chat by CodeOp

• Thu, 27 Jul @19:00: No Bullshit Talk #11: Elisabeth Martinez, COO & Partner @Nuclio

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

Startup Jobs:

• Bourbon Creative is hiring a Content Writer (FR)

• Momentum Data is looking for a Head of Sales

• Keybotic is recruiting a Business Development Junior

• Games for a Living (GFAL) need a C#/Unity Software Developer

• Incapto Coffee is hiring an Ecommerce Manager

• European Blockchain Convention need an Event Director