For a borderless ecosystem

An ecosystem is born when different forms of life connect, interact, and evolve together. In the case of Barcelona, just over fifteen years ago, a digital and technological seed planted long ago germinated and, thanks to collective perseverance, has blossomed into one of Europe's most dynamic ecosystems.

The first entrepreneurs paved paths that today are followed by more than 2,300 startups in Catalonia. The various public administrations, investment funds, and large corporations have contributed to consolidating fertile ground, where more than 160 international technological hubs have taken root, along with reference scientific infrastructures such as the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO), or the Alba Synchrotron, and a broad network of specialized service firms that support them. Not to mention that the vital force of this ecosystem is talent: more than 200,000 professionals—130,000 in the digital field—trained at internationally prestigious universities, vocational training centers, and business schools. A mosaic that is increasingly broad and diverse.

Success is explained by what drives the ecosystem, its ambition, but also by what sustains it, its cohesion. At Tech Barcelona, we aspire to be the platform of the present and, above all, of the future, from which any entrepreneur—wherever they come from, whatever phase they are in, and whatever field they work in—finds support, connections, and opportunities. Whether they develop their activity from a coworking space in Barcelona or are part of a digital community. Whether they live in Sant Cugat or Olot. In Valencia, Madrid, Brussels, Helsinki, Boston, or Hong Kong.

This vocation for connection also includes those groups that have historically been less related to the entrepreneurial world: scientists, technologists, researchers who work on transformative projects but at a certain distance from the market and the business world. I think of my friend and hero, Paco Solé Parellada, who back in 1998, from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), launched the Innova program with the aim of instilling entrepreneurial culture in the university. His vision was clear, brilliant: it was necessary to cross the doors of the ivory tower of research and incorporate it into a living, collaborative innovation system committed to social reality.

The will for change materializes today with brave decisions, such as that of the i2CAT research center, which after two decades at the UPC North Campus will move at the end of the year to Pier01 of Tech Barcelona, the great zoological exhibition of the ecosystem. It is not just a change of physical space, it is a declaration of principles. A gesture that confirms that innovation is not born in watertight compartments, but in living and porous ecosystems, where ideas flow, collide, combine, and replicate. A space where constant contact acts as a spark.

These steps forward must lead us to overcome new frontiers. The geopolitical moment we are experiencing, as the Draghi and Letta reports warn, demands that Europe redefine its priorities: more technological sovereignty, more resilience, more competitiveness, and more capacity for global leadership. We must strengthen the development of disruptive or deep tech technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud, cybersecurity, photonics, quantum, semiconductors, biotechnology and health, energy and green transition, mobility, industry 4.0, space and technology for peace and security.

Barcelona wants to play this game with a prominent role. Companies like Sateliot and Aistech Space put us in orbit; Qilimanjaro and Quside open the doors to quantum computing; Elem Biotech allows us to see simulations of virtual humans; Inbrain Neuroelectronics develops brain implants to improve medical treatments; and Openchip works to design its own European chips. And these are not isolated cases: more and more spin-offs are born from our knowledge centers, and more and more resources are arriving to make them grow.

Success will depend, more than ever, on reducing obstacles, simplifying procedures, and ensuring equitable access to opportunities

European funds are an example: 95.5 billion euros from the Horizon Europe program until 2027, or the 800 billion euros annually that the European Commission proposes until 2040 to accelerate strategic sectors. At the state and local level, efforts to boost the ecosystem are multiplying, from organizations such as CDTI, Enisa, Red.es, Sett, ICF or Avançsa, as well as through initiatives such as the Advanced Technology Investment Fund, Acció's Startup Capital or theBarcelona Investment Fund of the City Council. But the success of these instruments will depend, again, and more than ever, on reducing obstacles, simplifying procedures, and guaranteeing equitable access to opportunities.

Of course, we still have more internal borders to overcome. The gender gap must be reduced. Yes, we insist, because only one in three digital professionals in Barcelona are women. We also need to close the gap between the growing demand for digital talent and the capacity of the educational system to provide it. We need to rethink alliances between companies, research centers, universities, and the administration to train profiles adapted to new times. And we must bravely face the leadership of strategic projects such as one of the seven AI Factories of the European Union that we will host in Barcelona.

Wanting a borderless ecosystem, as is the case, does not mean an absence of limits, but a persistent attitude to collectively overcome them. It means that no one is left out. That every person, every institution, every discipline has a space, a role, and an opportunity to transform the future. This is the way. And from Tech Barcelona we will continue to walk it with conviction, with our feet on the ground, our eyes on the horizon, and our doors, always, open.