Catalonia has practically tripled the number of companies dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) in the last five years. This is one of the main conclusions of the Generalitat's study, carried out through the Agency for Business Competitiveness (ACCIÓ), Artificial Intelligence in Catalonia, presented this Friday, which states that there are currently 488 companies dedicated to this technology. This proliferation has translated into a business of 2.155 billion euros (60% more than in 2019), which means the creation of 14,525 jobs. In this regard, the Secretary of Business and Competitiveness and CEO of ACCIÓ, Albert Castellanos, highlighted that AI "generates employment and does not replace it."
Castellanos also pointed out that this technology is the second in company creation, "very close to the first, cybersecurity, where there are 495 companies in Catalonia." The report has mapped the AI ecosystem in Catalonia to update "the first approximation," according to Castellanos, of the first version from 2019. The analysis highlighted that 44% of businesses are startups, reports ACN.
The CEO of ACCIÓ estimated that AI has an impact that represents 0.8% of Catalan GDP and added that Catalonia has positioned itself as the fifth region in Europe in attracting international investment in this field with 475 million euros. Likewise, the secretary specified that "Barcelona has become the leading city in Southern Europe in startup funding rounds."
Services sector, industry, and health
Castellanos enumerated the sectors that apply AI and placed services at the forefront, followed by companies that apply solutions for industry and health. In this regard, ACCIÓ's Market Intelligence Manager, Imma Rodríguez, indicated some advantages of incorporating this technology into companies, such as that it "reduces costs, makes them more efficient, and improves competitiveness." In turn, she pointed out its usefulness "in decision-making, with the capacity it offers with a large amount of data." Rodríguez emphasized that it allows "personalization," for example, in online commerce.
Rodríguez pointed out that artificial intelligence has an annual growth forecast of 35.5% and expectations of a global market value of 1.85 trillion dollars by 2030. She specified that the United Kingdom and Germany lead AI companies in Europe and that globally they are the United States, Japan, and China.
However, Rodríguez listed some challenges posed by AI, such as "the increase in the consumption of resources like energy and water," as well as "readaptations of certain jobs." Furthermore, she warned that "it can be used as a geopolitical weapon in an increasingly fragmented world."
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