Technological capital status is not declared; it is built year after year, project after project, and hub after hub. In 2025, twelve new multinationals have chosen Catalonia —and especially Barcelona— to establish their technology hubs with strategic functions for their global organizations. Neither commercial offices nor administrative delegations: development centers, engineering centers, artificial intelligence centers, and applied research centers that export technology and innovation to the rest of the world.
The result? 203 active international technology hubs, an aggregated economic impact of 4,109 million euros and 46,080 professionals employed who consolidate Barcelona as the technological capital of Southern Europe and confirm "Catalonia's attractiveness as a hub for innovation and digital talent." This was stated by the general director of the Mobile World Capital Barcelona foundation, Francesc Fajula, at the presentation of the fourth edition of the Tech Hubs Overview, promoted by MWCapital with the collaboration of ACCIÓ and the International Economic Promotion department of the Barcelona City Council.
The twelve new hubs: strategic decision, not symbolic presence
The new centers come from Germany, China, France, the United States, Malta, Japan, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Seven have been established in Barcelona city, four in the metropolitan area, and one outside the metropolitan area. Together, they have already generated 609 skilled jobsand more than54 million eurosof economic impact.But beyond the figures, what defines this wave is the technological relevance of the 12 projects that have decided to set up in the territory. Trend Micro has established its European cybersecurity center. CoreWeave has located a high-performance computing hub specialized in artificial intelligence there. Foundever has opened its global AI laboratory applied to customer experience. The British neobank Monzo has chosen Barcelona for its first engineering office in Spain. Smith + Nephew has promoted a medical robotics and advanced surgical training campus there.
And the list continues, with DHL Express's mega-logistics hub, Kage's battery and energy solutions development, or Symrise's global data and AI hub to optimize fragrance creation and nutrition solutions. Also with Fast Track's center to develop its digital CRM platform, PTC's specialized digital thread center, Dsm-firmenich's bioscience center, and Walldorf Consulting's SAP solutions hub.
82% of the hubs operate with mature technologies, "ready to be commercialized in the market"
And the maturity of the technologies that these new hubs will develop is not an exception: according to the MWCapital foundation report, 82% of the hubs operate with mature technologies, "ready to be commercialized in the market." 65% develop deep tech projects and, within this segment, artificial intelligence is present in 88% of cases. API and back-end development, systems architecture, and application development continue to lead the technological specialization of the hubs.
An innovation infrastructure that has surpassed the emerging phase
With these additions, Catalonia reaches 203 active international technology hubs, and more than half have been created or consolidated in the last seven years. In addition, projections confirm a "growth spiral": by 2026, more than 51,500 professionals will be surpassed and 4,642 million euros of economic impact will be reached, a projected increase of 13%.
For the Deputy Mayor for Economy of the Barcelona City Council, Jordi Valls, the debate has a clearly European dimension: "Europe needs more industrial sovereignty and more technology, and this is created in territories where there is a concentration of technological innovation and talent." Barcelona —he maintains— is part of these territories.
The most sought-after profiles in these hubs are software engineers, artificial intelligence and machine learning specialists, cloud architects, and cybersecurity experts.
The international reputation of the territory is the main attracting factor, but talent is the backbone. "Talent is Catalonia's main strength for the hubs. It is our traction capacity," said Jaume Baró Torres, Secretary of Business and Competitiveness and CEO of ACCIÓ. However, he also warned of the associated responsibility: "We have an obligation to help create new talent for these companies."
According to Fajula, 38% of the talent in the hubs is international, but most of it already resided in the city before being hired. And he highlights the role of universities and especially Vocational Training, which are managing to significantly expand the offer to reinforce local talent, since the most requested profiles —software engineers, artificial intelligence and machine learning specialists, cloud architects or cybersecurity experts— are also the scarcest in a highly competitive global market.
Barcelona as a consolidated node
Barcelona concentrates 70% of the hubs established in Catalonia. The city is no longer just an emerging pole of attraction, but a consolidated node within the international technological geography, with a critical mass sufficient to generate its own dynamics.
According to the companies that have settled in the city, Barcelona competes directly with capitals such as Berlin, London or Amsterdam. And it does so with a combination of factors that goes beyond cost: consolidated technological infrastructures, leading universities and research centers, international connectivity and more moderate real estate costs than the major European financial centers.