Barcelona's Weekly Tech Update

Hello and happy Monday! Let’s get straight into this week’s news:

Startup & Investment News

Barcelona investment news

• Pharmacelera raises €6M for its Quantum-AI drug discovery 

• Digital assets fintech Iqana raises €1.1M

• Roiward acquires Madrid-based Qoala’s tech to offer new employee benefit solutions

• Legaltech Maite AI acquired by Paris-based Doctrine

Barcelona startup news

• Lizcore expands to the US & will present its AI solutions for climbing walls at MWC

• Fintech Belvo launches new brand & AI product suite

• Sportstech Collectibol partners with Sofascore to accelerate international growth

• Ocean Ecostructures partners with Zamil Group to expand in Saudi Arabia

Spanish investment news

• Optimitive completes €5M Series A to boost industrial energy efficiency with AI

• AI driver training company Mettis AI closes €1.1M

• Itnig invests in Madrid edtech platform Proxus

VC, investment & crowdfunding news

• BCN-based Asabys’ portfolio company Agomab Therapeutics debuts on Nasdaq

• Cardumen Capital backs German spacetech constellr’s €37M Series A

• Miura Partners strengthens its leadership with 3 key promotions

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories

• SeedRocket opens applications for its 35th Entrepreneurs’ Campus to discover the next leaders of the startup ecosystem

• Fundación MAPFRE & European Social Fund grant €17.9M to 25 social projects in rural areas

• Bending Spoons offers €1.5M in tech scholarships through new Fellowship program

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews

• Unifit: Platform already used by 500K students to get ‘hooked’ on university

• Overview of the Catalan startups at 4YFN & The UAB’s entrepreneurial talent at 4YFN

Tech & Business News

Tech news in Barcelona

• Catalonia hits record investment in health startups & scaleups

• CaixaBank is the best-rated company in Spain, says Forbes’ Best Reputation 2026

• AstraZeneca’s Barcelona Hub ranked Top 5 in Europe by Financial Times

• US-based Elian begins plant-based protein facility at the Port with €2.25M from ACCIÓ

Tech & company news in Spain

• PATIO Campus incorporates Freepik into its ecosystem

• Enisa surpasses 2000 startups certified under the Startups Law

• OpenAI & Tuio announce the launch of a Spanish insurtech app on ChatGPT   

• Bnext to close neobank operations & transition to B2B financial services

Good Reads & Watches

• Jordi Poll, Director at Outvise: The race for technological talent in Catalonia

• El Referente: Top 26 startups to watch in 2026

• Sifted: The funding round article is dead. Here's what to do instead

• Interview with Davide Dattoli, Founder & Executive Chairman of Talent Garden (EN)

Great Events

This week:

• Mon 23 Feb @18:00: Road to START Summit: Deeptech pitch battle

• Wed 25 Feb @18:30: Sony AI: Transforming scientific literature into discovery

• Thu 26 Feb @17:00: How to visualize & optimize New Product & Marketing Ideas

• Thu 26 Feb @18:00: Portfolio Power: How Smart Angels Reduce Risk Through Diversification

Upcoming:

• Mon 2 Mar @19:00: Post-Quantum Security Talks & Drinks

• Mon 2 Mar @19:00: AI Afterwork: Real AI for Real Problems

• 10+ more added to our MWC & 4YFN side events and parties list 🍸

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