Barcelona's Weekly Tech Update

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Hello and happy Monday,

New year, new connections! 💫

Join BCN FinTech’s Vermut & Networking event this Thursday 22nd for an easy-going evening of fintech networking. Perfect for reconnecting after the holidays, sharing what you're building, and talking plans for 2026.

RSVP here on LinkedIn to boost your networking. 

Have a great week! 

Startup & Investment News

Barcelona investment news

• RepScan raises €3.5M to remove unwanted online content

• Robotics startup (of 4YFN robot dog fame) Keybotic acquired by German defence firm Helsing

Barcelona startup news

• Burger chain Vicio arrives in Lisbon

• Homecare startup Cuideo accelerates diversification & adds second day center

• Nutrition influencer supplement company Synsera Labs surpasses half a million revenue in its first year

• Factorial launches Factorial IT, a new product that automates HR security & IT ops

Spanish investment news

• Madrid’s Zepo Intelligence gets €12.8M to safeguard workspaces from AI risks

• Asturias-based AI healthtech Pragmatech closes €650K

• Bankinter acquires stake in Bit2Me after participating in its €30M funding round

VC, investment & crowdfunding news

• Goparity integrates Bolsa Social, Spain’s first crowdfunding platform authorized by the CNMV

• Draper B1 invests €4M in deeptech during 2025

• Miura Partners completes the exits of Barcelona-based NOABRANDS (TVC) and Madrid’s Gloval

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories

• Ship2B Foundation & Fundación Banco Sabadell’s 10th edition of B-Value is open, an  accelerator helping non-profits in Spain grow their impact through innovation

• Johnson & Johnson Open Innovation Challenge: Invites startups to develop surgical AI solutions; deadline 31 Jan

• Call for Catalan innovators to scale sustainable, food-safe packaging in Canada’s retail market; deadline 1 Feb

Tech & Business News

• South Korean firm Naver seeks regulatory approval from CNMC for its purchase of Wallapop

• Tradeinn grows by 5.6% & reaches record turnover of €585M in 2025

• AI education provider Cambridge Spark establishes in Barcelona and partners with TB

• China’s leading industrial robotics company chooses Barcelona for its European expansion

Good Reads & Watches

• Tech reads: The 1000 most popular books on Hacker News on an interactive map

• Barcelona’s packed 2026 list of international fairs and congresses

• Generalist or specialist? Inside our biggest business debate: Building MarsBased #4 (EN)

• Revolut's growth machine: real numbers and unfiltered strategy (ES)

Great Events

This week:

• Mon, 19 Jan @09:30: Founders Fundamentals: Fundraising Like a Pro

• Tue, 20 Jan @18:30: DeepTech Talks BCN: Engineering Security in a Regulated & Post-Quantum World

• Thu, 22 Jan @19:00: BCN FinTech Vermut & Networking

Upcoming:

• Tue, 27 Jan @10:20: SIA Startup/Investor Open Coffee 

• Wed, 28 Jan @18:30: Applied AI beyond the hype: InnoIT & Back Market

• Thu, 29 Jan @17:00: The Elephant in the Room: An experiential workshop for co-founders

• Mon, 2 Feb @17:00: Formalize your business: Guide to setting up an SL 

• Wed, 11 Feb @13:00: Women Investors' Lunch by SIA

Got news or an event to share? Fill out this form.

Startup Jobs

• SeQura is hiring for 2 senior legal positions

• Permisso (formerly Bankflip) needs a Product Designer

• HappyScribe is recruiting an English SEO Specialist (Freelance)

• Powens Group is hiring a Senior Software Engineer