Strategic autonomy
To address the challenge of technological sovereignty, Barcelona has designed a set of strategic actions aimed at consolidating its position as a leader in the development of key technologies.
These actions are based on collaboration among the public sector, private sector and academic institutions, with the goal of fostering innovation and research in strategic areas such as semiconductors, quantum communication and artificial intelligence.
Barcelona focuses on enhancing areas where it can exert an influence and make a real difference. With this vision, the proposed measures aim to reduce external dependency in strategic technological sectors, strengthen the local production capacity of key technologies and simultaneously encourage the adoption of emerging technologies.
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This initiative aims to invest 30 million euros to open new calls for choosing venture capital entities to invest in emerging and growing companies within the city's strategic sectors. By investing in private venture capital funds, it seeks to drive the growth of Barcelona's business community, enhance innovation and competitiveness in key areas of the local economy and thereby solidify Barcelona's position as a entrepreneurship and business development hub both nationally and internationally.
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In a bid to increase its productivity, the city has committed to science and technology as drivers of a new model for a more competitive and cutting-edge city with a diversified economy.
With this goal in mind, the Barcelona Innovation Coast (BIC) was born, a public-private platform that brings together the city's most important innovation stakeholders (universities and business schools, research and knowledge transfer centres, business associations, clusters, funding agents and public administrations). The focus of BIC is to position innovation as the core of the city's development strategy and to make Barcelona a leading European science and research city. It aims to drive knowledge transfer between the scientific ecosystem and the business community, thus serving as a key economic engine for the city.
In this context, the Barcelona Innovation Coast will prioritise work in the following areas over the coming period: BioHealth, artificial intelligence and quantum technologies, chip design and cybersecurity.
These areas will be addressed through the Connectio platform, an open innovation platform aimed at connecting emerging companies, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large corporations with specific innovation opportunities and offering solutions to social, environmental and economic challenges.
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Thanks to the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Barcelona has become a leading city in semiconductor design. Companies such as OpenXip, driven by the BSC, as well as Cisco and Intel, have chosen to set up chip design centres in the city. Additionally, Innofab, in partnership with IC2N, aims to become the first clean room dedicated to semiconductor deployment.
This situation is exceptional, but it is essential to continue moving in this direction. Barcelona and its surrounding area must focus on the rollout of a new knowledge-based industry, where semiconductors are designed near research centres and manufactured locally. This strategy will not only strengthen the city’s tech sovereignty but will also contribute to its economic and industrial development.
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Quantum communication is a strategic opportunity for Barcelona, as it is becoming an essential underpinning for the robustness of cybersecurity in Europe. Thanks to the collaboration with ICFO (Institute of Photonic Sciences), the city has the potential to become the first quantum bubble, ensuring 100% secure communication.
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The Barcelona Investment Office will be an investment attraction service for Barcelona, aiming to seek opportunities for companies that want to grow or settle in the city, thereby boosting the local job market. Through a public-private initiative, the goal is to have a 360° approach to attracting companies, including recruitment, support, settling in and ultimately ensuring their integration with welcome services.