Barcelona's Weekly Tech Update

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Hello and happy December,

It’s the final month of the year and (sneak preview) Barcelona startups have already raised nearly €700M this quarter – compared to 2023’s full Q4 total of €93M, that’s incredibly impressive. Why do you think that is? 💭 Share your thoughts below.

Have a great week!

Startup & Investment News

Barcelona investment news

• SME marketing tool provider Serviceform secures €2.45M (while now HQ’d in Finland, its founding office was in Barcelona, where it continues to grow)

• Climbing tracker startup Lizcore pulls in €600K pre-seed

Barcelona startup news

• ERIA's first Demo Day showcases four pioneering solutions in the energy sector

• Audiovisual localization platform Happy Scribe opens Speakeasy Media Lounge, a new space for media professionals

• Layers of Reality is opening the world's largest XR Sports center in Barcelona

• The University of Barcelona creates spinoff Electraqua Tech to eliminate microcontaminants from industrial wastewater following new EU regulations

Spanish investment news

• San Sebastián-based security startup CyberTIX closes €1M seed round

• Valencian large-format 3D printing firm Ziknes gets €1M

• Málaga-based renewable energy solution Zonox raises €440K

VC, investment & crowdfunding news

• AshGrove Capital closes its €650M Fund II, a game changer in European private credit

• BBVA Spark finances its first Portuguese firm operation with real estate software company Casafari

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories

• CaixaBank Tech Coding Challenge: Contest to attract young talent offering cash prizes; open now

• For fintechs or tech companies looking to scale globally: Join the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Inneürope’s IT Finance Data Challenge; deadline 6 Dec

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews

• Munich: History of the shoe company with CEO Xavier Berneda

• Novapedra: Sustainable ceramics made from orange peel

Tech & Business News

Tech news in Barcelona

• Barcelona Health Hub expands into Madrid with new center MHH

• World leader in reusable packaging solutions IFCO opens a global digital hub at Tech Barcelona

• Level Airlines becomes independent from Iberia to "connect Barcelona to the world"

• Canadian company Neuron IP to invest €10M in first European R&D center in BCN

Tech & big company news in Spain

• Deep Tech Momentum launches pan-European deeptech marketplace

• Airbnb names new general manager in Spain amid veto on business in Barcelona & Madrid

Politics, legal & economics

• Spanish banks first to onboard to EU instant cross-border payment scheme

Good Reads

• NYT's 100 Notable Books of 2024 

• AI can now create a replica of your personality in 2 hours, according to new research from Stanford & Google DeepMind

• The real reason Spain’s economy is bucking the trend of European decline: Abacum Co-founder & COO Jorge Lluch

Good Videos & Podcasts

• 10 Spanish recommendations from a podcast enthusiast; from entrepreneurship to mental health

• Oura Ring founder Petteri Lahtela on fending off acquisition offers from Big Tech (EN)

Great Events

This week:

• Tue, 3 Dec @18:00: Aticco Startup Talks: Add an M to your marketing

• Wed, 4 Dec @18:30: Fuckup Nights Barcelona 

• Thu, 5 Dec @16:00: Trans Atlantic Angel Conference 6: Final Demo Day Event

• Fri, 6 Dec @09:00: Tech Marketing Casual Breakfast

Upcoming:

• Wed, 11 & Thu, 12 Dec: Tech Spirit Barcelona 2024

• Thu, 3 Jan @18:30: LinkedIn + ChatGPT: The Secret Formula to Break Through in the Professional Network

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