Catalonia consolidates leadership in deep tech spin-offs in the State

BarcelonaCatalonia retains the throne of technology transfer through companies in the State. This is revealed by the third edition of the report on the ecosystem of spin-offs of deep technologies in Spain, published this Thursday by the Mobile World Capital Barcelona foundation. The document detects up to 1,014 spin-off companies –that is, businesses created from scientific research in research centers, universities and other institutions– active in the Spanish fabric at the close of 2025; a year-on-year increase of 4.6%. Of these, 290 are Catalan, 28.5% of the entire ecosystem, and they generate 2,885 highly specialized jobs.

Catalonia, it must be remembered, has been the first ranked in this area in the three editions of the report about spin-offs of the foundation. The Community of Madrid, with little more than 20% of the business fabric, and the Valencian Community, which slightly exceeds 10%, look at it from afar. In the presentation of the report, the general director of the foundation, Laia Corbella, pointed out as the source of this success the density of “universities and research centers that generate all the potential knowledge that allows for leading a proprietary technology”. In Corbella's opinion, the data is especially relevant, given that the spin-offs is a “niche market, but strategic for technological sovereignty”.

The power of the biotechnology and health sciences sector in Catalonia is replicated in the trends of the spin-off ecosystem. According to data from Mobile World Capital, more than 47% of spin-offs of the country belong to this industry. However, technologies linked to computing and artificial intelligence are approaching it, accounting for nearly 35% of active spinoffs. In fact, as Corbella indicated, 40% of new deep tech companies in Catalonia work with chips, computing, and AI. This is, in the executive's opinion, a “trend shift aligned with the country's strategic priorities”.

Growth

The entire Spanish spin-off ecosystem, according to data from the foundation, recorded an estimated turnover of 1.132 billion euros in 2025 and has accumulated intangible assets of up to 1.340 billion euros. The director of technology transfer at Mobile World Capital, Albert Mascarell, highlighted the turnover figure, which he considers particularly promising among a profile of companies that usually go years without billing. "These are not companies that bill directly, they take 7 or 8 years to do so. Therefore, the fact that they already exceed 1 billion means that they are starting to work," pointed out Mascarell.

The growth of spin-off companies also accelerates their financing needs. According to the report, more than 400 of the thousand spin-offs registered in the State have been involved in some investment event, between rounds, innovation grants, and other instruments. In total, the foundation has detected more than 2.88 billion euros in funding. The document highlights the role of public investment, especially in the initial stages: 45% of the spin-offs, according to the study, resorted to public capital for their financing, compared to 35% that accessed private capital.

According to Fernando Escobar, deputy director general of citizenship, talent and entrepreneurship at the Secretary of State for Digitization and Artificial Intelligence, administrations arrive “when there is still no public, no market, nor anyone willing to take the risk” of investing in a deep tech company. “Private capital is larger, but it arrives later,” observed Escobar, who believes that “the figures show an appropriate distribution” of the investment channels that deep tech startups access.