Barcelona, February 18 – Catalonia has attracted 12 new international technology hubs in 2025, bringing the total number of active hubs to 203. This development reinforces the region’s position as a leading innovation hub in Southern Europe and solidifies Barcelona’s status as a technological capital.
Catalonia’s Growing Tech Ecosystem: A Strategic Move for Global Companies
The announcement was made during the presentation of the fourth edition of the Tech Hubs Overview, an initiative by Mobile World Capital Barcelona (MWCapital) in collaboration with ACCIÓ and the Barcelona City Council’s International Economic Promotion Department. Francesc Fajula, General Director of MWCapital, highlighted Catalonia’s attractiveness as a hub for innovation and digital talent.
The 12 new hubs originate from Germany, China, France, the United States, Malta, Japan, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Seven have established themselves in Barcelona city, four in the metropolitan area, and one outside the metropolitan perimeter. Collectively, these new centers have already created 609 skilled jobs and generated an economic impact exceeding 54 million euros.
These are not merely commercial offices or administrative delegations, but rather strategic centers for development, engineering, artificial intelligence, and applied research, exporting technology and innovation globally.
Key Players and Their Strategic Investments
The new hubs demonstrate significant technological relevance:
- Trend Micro: Established its European cybersecurity center.
- CoreWeave: Located a high-performance computing hub specializing in artificial intelligence.
- Foundever: Opened its global AI laboratory for customer experience.
- Monzo: Chose Barcelona for its first engineering office in Spain.
- Smith + Nephew: Launched a medical robotics and advanced surgical training campus.
- DHL Express: Developed a mega-logistics hub.
- Kage: Focused on battery development and energy solutions.
- Symrise: Created a global data and AI hub to optimize fragrance creation and nutrition solutions.
- Fast Track: Developing its digital CRM platform.
- PTC: Specialized in digital thread technology.
- Dsm-firmenich: Established a bioscience center.
- Walldorf Consulting: Set up an SAP solutions hub.
According to the MWCapital report, 82% of these hubs operate with mature technologies ready for commercialization. Furthermore, 65% are involved in deep tech projects, with artificial intelligence featuring in 88% of these cases. API and back-end development, system architecture, and application development continue to be the leading technological specializations.
Sustained Growth and Economic Impact
With these additions, Catalonia now boasts 203 active international technology hubs, with over half having been established or consolidated in the last seven years. Projections indicate a
