The new Porsche Digital offices in Barcelona will reach 50 workers in 2022

Porsche Digital is a subsidiary of this German manufacturer focused on creating new digital business models for the automotive sector. Before the pandemic, the company decided to open one of its European offices in Barcelona. Seat:Code was the chosen space, with the aim of benefiting from the synergies that could arise between the two brands, which are part of the Volkswagen group, explains Scott Francis, spokesperson for Porsche Digital Barcelona. Also playing in favor of this choice was the fact that the software factory of the Martorell automaker is located in the city center, on La Rambla, where the Montecarlo hotel used to be.

But, with the COVID crisis, these plans were delayed. It wasn't until March of this year, 2021, that Porsche Digital Barcelona began operating. It will close 2021 with a staff of 15 employees, who come from more than ten countries. Precisely, the international factor is one of the great attractions that the Catalan capital offers to this Porsche subsidiary. "We believe that to develop good products, diversity of opinions is necessary, and Barcelona has it naturally," says Francis.

With this guideline as a guide, the company is growing unhurriedly in the city, ensuring that it adds different profiles and achieves parity among its workers. "It is essential that we find the right people with the right attitude. Company culture is everything," he adds. Looking ahead to 2022, it plans to increase the workforce to between 40 and 50 employees. Globally, Porsche Digital expects to reach 1,000 employees, without specifying when it wants to achieve this figure. In addition to its offices in Europe, the company is also present in Israel, China, and the United States.

The first months of Porsche Digital Barcelona have served to develop solutions such as a tool to facilitate Porsche brand dealerships in creating their websites and generating content. Looking ahead to next year, Francis indicates that they expect to start designing digital products for the cars themselves.

Francis has been one of the speakers on the first day of Tech Spirit Barcelona. This event, organized by Tech Barcelona, emerged in February 2020 as a response to the cancellation of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) and, especially, Four Years From Now (4YFN), the international showcase for local startups during the four days of the mobile phone trade show. Some 5,000 people participated in the first edition of this initiative, which has returned this week with the aim of reactivating the sector after the impact of the pandemic. From Monday to this Tuesday, the Llotja de Mar will bring together more than 140 representatives of startups and multinationals, who will debate the challenges facing the city to continue positioning itself as a pole of attraction for talent and investment.