'Startups' in Catalonia exceed 2,100 and grow in revenue and employees

The entrepreneurial ecosystem maintains its growing trend, both in terms of the number of startups operating in the territory and their size in terms of turnover and workforce. Catalunya reached its peak number of startups in 2023, with 2,102, which represented a 4% increase over the previous year. Of these, 339 were newly created, while 259 ceased to be part of the ecosystem: 106 due to bankruptcy, while 153 left the list, not because they had closed, but because they had abandoned their startup category after completing a decade of activity.

Companies in the healthtech and software as a service for businesses sectors are the most prominent within Catalunya's entrepreneurial landscape. Specifically, those in the healthtech field represent 17% of the total, while those in software as a service account for 15.2%. They are well above the following sectors, which are located in figures close to 5%, such as e-commerce, foodtech and the energy sector, according to a report by the Generalitat's competitiveness agency, Acció.

The healthtech startups also led investment capture in 2023, with 18% of the total volume. Globally, last year 288 financing rounds were closed, totaling 688 million euros. Among the different rounds, Series A rounds stand out, those aimed at the initial phase of projects, which increased by 12% compared to the previous year. This figure consolidates Barcelona and Catalunya as a whole as a location of opportunities for entrepreneurs, in an environment where investment has fallen by 51% in the main European startup hubs due to the instability that characterized 2023.

The sum of investments captured by startups in Catalunya over the last five years exceeds 5.2 billion euros

Regarding the business volume that Catalan startups are capable of generating, the latest available data from 2022 placed the figures at 2,122 million euros in turnover. In the same year, more than 20,600 people were employed by the more than 2,000 startups as a whole. This growth in both turnover and employees demonstrates "the maturity and dynamism of the ecosystem," as highlighted by the Minister of Business and Labor of the Generalitat, Roger Torrent.

Along these lines, emerging companies have also increased their average turnover: those with a turnover of more than 500,000 euros have gone from being 26% in 2020 to 39% in 2022. "In general terms, we have startups with higher turnover, more mature, with a more consolidated business model," defended the Secretary of Business and Competitiveness and CEO of Acció, Albert Castellanos. This increase in size is also palpable in the case of the workforces of these companies: startups with more than ten employees in 2020 represented 18% of the total, while in 2022 the figure rose to 32%.

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Torrent has predicted a promising future for the startup ecosystem in Catalonia, as the ecosystem experiences a "solid and sustained growth since 2016, with a vocation for durability." Despite having reduced its growth rate in terms of the number of companies, the growing workforces and turnover indicate a strengthening sector. The minister has highlighted the role played in the entrepreneurial landscape by the 4 Years From Now (4YFN) event, which will be held in the Catalan capital parallel to the Mobile World Congress at the end of the month as a showcase for this ecosystem.

Catalan startups also contribute to facilitating the attraction of investments from multinationals and foreign companies, including industrial ones, as they improve their connections and innovation possibilities, according to Torrent: "They help position us as a hub for startups, but also for attracting other investments that help the business fabric in all dimensions."