Being the best is not easy. And being the best in the vast international entrepreneurial ecosystem, even less so. Biorce has won the distinction of the prestigious 4YFN26 Awards, and a cash prize of 20,000 euros, after an intense pitching competition in which it faced four other finalists. Of these, the majority have been Catalan; three of the five competitors have emerged from the Barcelona entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Four minutes and a quick round of questions from an expert jury. This is the format with which the five startups have had to defend their projects and their value proposition, from the Banco Sabadell Stage, within 4YFN and the Mobile World Congress. Facing the five startups, five jury members, all of them investors or sector experts.
Founded in 2024 as an AI platform for clinical trials, Biorce encompasses homogenized data and information from public trials of recent years and, through its Aika software, the startup allows generating protocols for trials in minutes: "Normally it takes months to design protocols. Biorce shortens this process, and makes it faster and less costly," highlights Lynn Bröker from the startup, founded in the Catalan capital by Pedro Coelho, Clara Bernardes, José Faria and Diogo Pisoeiro.
"Normally, it takes years for medicines to reach the market. With our tools, we streamline processes, and medicines reach patients sooner," emphasizes Bröker. Biorce, which closed a 44 million euro funding round just over a month ago, now prioritizes continued growth in Europe and boosting its international expansion, especially in the United States. With this award, it will do so with greater strength and with the seal of recognition from the startup event, consolidated as a benchmark within the ecosystem.
Five finalists, from scrap metal to deafness
The health techhas emerged as the winner against four other finalists: the Barcelona nativeNeutralTrust,that helps companies deploy and scale generative AI from cybersecurity; the ChineseDoctor Scrap, which aims to transform the global scrap industry through data and automation; thefintechfrom BarcelonaDostand, from Pakistan,ConnectHear, which creates accessible communication for deaf people through real-time sign language interpretation and AI-assisted alerts.Each of the finalists was selected as the best in their sector, with five categories: Digital Horizons, Climate Tech, Fintech, Health Tech, and Mobile Frontiers. This selection is in itself a recognition, and each finalist received a cash prize of 2,500 euros.
But, for all of them, more than the cash prize, this recognition means, above all, visibility. "4YFN gives us connection and visibility, and this recognition, even more so," highlights Dost CEO, Adam Barbera. Founded in 2021 by four partners after detecting inefficiencies in business management, the startup now has more than 50 employees, distributed in its headquarters in Barcelona and its offices in Madrid, London, and Pakistan, from which they offer software solutions for companies to automate financial processes, such as supplier payments and customer collections.
This visibility is also key for NeutralTrust, which has become a finalist also emerging from the Barcelona ecosystem. And the company has achieved this at a good time for the startup: it is finalizing a funding round, and has just opened new offices, its first headquarters after leaving the Barcelona Activa facilities where it was incubated, as highlighted by Alessandro Pignati. The company, also recognized in 2025 at the South Summit, is thus preparing to grow even more, to consolidate itself as a reference in Europe and looking towards the United States.
Five out of twenty
Becoming one of these five finalists has not been an easy path either. First, a jury made a selection within the ecosystem, from which it chose 20startupsof each of the sectors—with four projects for each area—. Then, it was the moment for the entrepreneurial format par excellence: thepitches. The first morning of 4YFN, the differentstartupsdefended their projects on stage, and a jury made up of investors and industry experts chose the five finalists. They did so following criteria such as innovation, scalability, and the real impact they generate in society from each of their respective sectors."The 4YFN Awards were created to identify the startups that will truly make a difference, those that are building real solutions for real problems and on a real scale," highlights the event director, Pere Duran. "From climate to connectivity and health, these companies have the potential to transform their industries and change lives"; and that is what matters: real impact.