Catalonia now has over 200 international technology hubs
These centers employ 46,080 workers, of whom 38% are foreigners
BarcelonaCatalonia already hosts 203 hubs International technology centers, after 12 more have arrived in the last year. We are talking about centers of foreign companies that export digital services or products from the Catalan capital to the rest of the world and that now employ 46,080 workers, 10% more than in 2024. This data is collected in the fourth edition of the reportTech Hubs OverviewThe initiative, presented this Tuesday, is promoted by Mobile World Capital Barcelona (MWCapital) in collaboration with ACCIÓ, the Catalan government's business competitiveness agency, and the Barcelona City Council's Department of International Economic Promotion. In 2025 alone, 4,443 new jobs were created in these sectors. hubswhich expect to reach a workforce of 51,526 employees this year. "Many are professionals we must import because we don't have the capacity to generate qualified talent at the rate these companies are looking for," explained Francesc Fajula, director of MWCapital. In fact, according to the results of previous editions of the report, nearly 38% of these workers are of foreign origin, and the rest are local. That is to say, these centers have attracted approximately 17,500 foreign professionals.
In this regard, the Deputy Mayor for Economy, Finance, Economic Promotion, and Tourism of the City Council, Jordi Valls, asserted that without an internationalized and digitized economy, Barcelonans will not achieve more decent wages either, and he emphasized the need to generate job opportunities "for those here." "It is important that there is exados"This City Council will not point the finger at them," he said. The footprint of the hubs The concentration is clearly in Barcelona, where 70% of these centers are located. Twenty percent are headquartered in the metropolitan area, and only 10% have chosen the rest of Catalonia as their base. Furthermore, in the Catalan capital, almost half (46%) have landed in the 22@ technology district. According to the report, the main reasons these corporations choose Barcelona include the city's global reputation, the parent company's existing presence there, and the quality of its technological infrastructure. They also highlight the available talent pool, the established ecosystem, and lower real estate costs compared to other locations. In Barcelona, the average price per square meter of office space is €31.25, while in London's West End it exceeds €170 and in Paris, €100. The study also calculates that the average annual salary—another factor influencing location choice—in these workplaces amounts to €48,380.
"Ten years ago, we had a strategy focused on the contact centers and the outsourcing of business processes, but not anymore. We are attracting higher value-added and more strategic jobs for multinationals,” remarked Jaume Baró, Secretary of Business and Competitiveness of the Generalitat and CEO of ACCIÓ.
What do these hubs do?
One in four of these centers focuses on the development of software and technological products. The next most common types are: hubs These companies focus on the experience industries—especially the video game sector—and business consulting and services. The largest and oldest remains HP's plant in Sant Cugat del Vallès, employing 2,700 people. However, the second largest in terms of employment is a new addition, having opened last November. The pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca inaugurated its hub global in the iconic Estrella building on Roma Avenue in Barcelona, where 1,600 people work.