A total of 360 Catalan companies will participate this year in the MWC and 4YFN, the most important technology congress in the world, which takes place in Barcelona from this Monday until February 29. This is the highest figure in the history of the Mobile World Congress, 8.1% more than the 2023 edition.
Specifically, 69 Catalan companies, technology centers, and entities will have a stand at MWC 2024 and 291 startups at the 4YFN 2024 event, which celebrates its 10th edition this year. The Generalitat de Catalunya will host 107 of the Catalan firms present at the congress at Fira Gran Via, 2% more than in 2023.
Catalonia, a leading technology 'hub'
The MWC contributes to positioning Barcelona and Catalonia internationally as hub technological. Thus, the Govern's commitment to the congress and Barcelona's mobile world capital status have allowed this event to become one of the great assets to boost the economic, technological, and social progress of the country.In this regard, the Generalitat has for years promoted the presence of Catalan companies and the digital ecosystem at the congress, providing them with exhibition space in its pavilions. In addition, it gives visibility and international projection to the Govern's digital strategy and to outstanding projects it promotes in the field of advanced digital technologies. In fact, since the first edition in Catalonia in 2006, the Generalitat has promoted the participation of 408 Catalan companies and technology centers in the event. In the case of 4YFN, 183 startups have participated in the exhibition with the executive's support since 2015.
The Minister of Business and Labor, Roger Torrent i Ramió, emphasizes that the "MWC has become an important source of innovation" and "is the best international showcase for Catalan companies to present their technology to the world." "The impact of Mobile goes far beyond the days the congress lasts: it leaves a legacy in the form of high value-added investments that generate more quality jobs and shared prosperity," he concludes.
Likewise, within the framework of the MWC, the Govern organizes the Open Innovation Challenge, a series of meetings where large Catalan and international companies pose technological challenges for Catalan startups to propose the most innovative solution. The objective is to connect emerging companies with the most consolidated business fabric.
This year, 45 corporations (25 of which are foreign) participate, such as Astrazeneca, Acciona, Fujitsu, LG, Rabobank, Samsung, Turkish Airlines, or Volkswagen, among others, and they pose about eighty technological challenges between companies, startups, and solution providers.
SUPERCOMPUTING AS NEVER SEEN BEFORE
With the motto Catalonia: shaping the future with supercomputing, the Generalitat's demonstration space at MWC 2024 will offer a unique humanistic proposal that contrasts with the hyper-technological environment of the congress. Based on the metaphor of a grain of sand, it explains the importance and transformative power of supercomputing to address major global challenges and build a more human and sustainable society of the future.
The proposal projects Catalonia's leadership as a technological hub and its commitment to becoming a world reference in the field of supercomputing, with the impulse of the Government, the knowledge of Europe's largest supercomputing center, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, and the power of the MareNostrum 5 supercomputer as a cornerstone.
The Catalonia stand invites visitors to discover the power of supercomputing with a unique proposal featuring sand as the protagonistThrough a tour of three installationspixel free(without screens) in which sand and stones are protagonists, the demonstration invites to discover the past, present and future of supercomputing. And it highlights its impact on solving strategic challenges in the fields of earth and life sciences, technological sovereignty and the presence of all languages in the digital era, among others.
Catalonia: modeling the future with supercomputing will officially open at the Catalonia stand this Monday, February 26, the first day of the MWC, and will be freely accessible throughout the four days of the congress.
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