If the Sagrada Família is the ground zero of Barcelona tourism, so too is the Torre Glòries for Barcelona technology. But whereas the basilica’s iconic spires stretch for the heavens, the futuristic skyscraper – rocket shaped and all-glass facade – points to the stars. It looms over the Catalan city’s Poblenou neighbourhood: once an industrial centre, its former factories are now home to hipsters, designers and some of the Continent’s most innovative startups.
“It has a very ten-years-ago Shoreditch feel – but with less rain,” explains Jon Norris of local coding bootcamp Codeworks. “Barcelona has traditionally been a creative hub. Add a great quality of life which attracts global talent, then mix that in with technologists, and interesting things are bound to happen.”
Heura
Founded in 2017 under parent company Foods for Tomorrow by activists Marc Coloma and Bernat Añaños, Heura produces plant-based chicken and veal substitutes – taking up a fraction of the water, emissions and farmland required for meat products. Alongside the environment, it’s saving waistlines: Heura technicians have discovered a fat analogue which means its Mediterranean burgers contain 85 per cent less saturated fat.
In just a few years, the foodtech company has grown from being in specialist supermarkets to launching in territories as far-flung as Chile, Hong Kong and Canada – plus Planet Organic stores in the UK. Its last round of seed investment saw it raise nearly £200,000, with the company turning over £7 million in 2020, triple its previous figures. Closer to home, it’s helping to pioneer veganism in Spain – no mean feat considering the traditional diet of jamón and cheese. heurafoods.com
Laagam
Riding the wave of the e-commerce surge, this eco-conscious brand aims to make affordable fashion a bit more sustainable. Purchases are handmade to order in Spain and Portugal and, importantly, in the right quantity – reducing waste in production. Laagam delivers worldwide, but its manufacturing process means that no unsold units go to landfill.
Launched by Diego Arroyo (formerly of food delivery service and WIRED 2019 Hottest Startups pick Glovo), Inés Arroyo and Cristian Badia in 2017, Laagam has raised more than £1 million from investors which include Madrid firm Cabiedes & Partners. It now sells to 60,000 customers in 50 countries, with an annual average growth rate of 100 per cent. Going forward, the startup is working towards its zero-stock vision by developing a platform which connects audiences to independent labels. laagam.com
X1 Wind
Many of Barcelona’s most exciting young companies are mission focused. Take X1 Wind: its floating buoy technology self-aligns with the sea breeze, reducing weight and helping to minimise installation and maintenance costs; its turbine blades bend away, making them lighter, longer and cheaper. In short, this sustainable energy startup is disrupting the multi-billion pound offshore wind industry.
Launched in 2017 by Alex Raventos and Carlos Casanovas, X1 Wind has so far secured more than £3.5 million in seed funding through the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme. It’s now preparing to deploy its first fully-functional prototype, the X30, in the Canary Islands. Look out for the distinctive pyramidal structure: the traditional turbine tower has been eliminated to allow for more efficient deep water transmission. x1wind.com
mediQuo
Spain’s 24-7 medical chat app has seen a seven-fold increase in sales since the pandemic. The digital health startup – founded in 2018 by Albert Castells, Bruno Cuevas and Guillem Serra – connects patients to 1,500 validated medical professionals, reducing travel and unnecessary in-person appointments. It’s so far raised £5.5 million in funding, including a recent Series A £2 million round. mediquo.com
Amenitiz
The travel industry may be ravaged by Covid, but this all-in-one hospitality platform saw its clients and revenue quadruple in 2020. The aim of Amenitiz is to build an operating system for all small independent properties: a digital toolkit enabling hoteliers to easily update websites and revamp unintuitive booking engines. Launched in 2017 by Alexandre Guinefolleau, Emmanuelle Guinefolleau and Frederic Cadet, the startup has secured £710,000 in funding. amenitiz.io
Factorial
As an HR platform that allows companies to automate processes like holiday time, payroll and onboarding, Factorial has flourished during the work-from-home era. Founded in 2016 by serial entrepreneur Bernat Farrero and Jordi Romero and Pau Ramon of management software startup Redbooth, it has raised a total of £15.8 million – including £13 million from its last Series A round, led by Silicon Valley’s CRV. Alongside a UK team, it also plans on expanding to the US and Latin America. factorialhr.co.uk
Learnlife
With a learning centre in Barcelona’s bustling Eixample district, this edtech startup has opened its digital doors, welcoming students from all over the world through its Home Hub remote learning service. Founded in 2017 by Christopher Pommerening, Blair MacLaren and Stephen Harris, Learnlife secured £2.7 million in pre-Covid seed funding. The ultimate goal? Digital nomad parents enrolling their children on purpose-led courses, wherever they call home. learnlife.com
Hubtype
Think of Hubtype as chatbots 2.0: helping businesses upgrade traditional communication channels to automated, conversational messaging for the e-commerce age. Rather than develop new tools from scratch, Hubtype’s open-source framework means teams can quickly launch their new customer service on the likes of WhatsApp and Twitter. Created by Eric Marcos and Marc Caballé in 2016, the platform has raised approximately £1.4 million in seed funding. hubtype.com
Koa Health
This digital wellbeing service focuses on the workplace: providing an organisation support for its teams; connecting employees to mental health experts; tackling issues such as stress, sleep and self-confidence. Through various contracts with employers and healthcare providers, its Foundations app is now available to more than three million people. Created in 2016 by Oliver Harrison, Koa has secured £38.3 million total funding, including a £26 million Series A round in February. koahealth.com
Unnax
Capitalising on the neobank boom, this fintech service offers open banking solutions so innovators can build their digital payment products faster. Having become the first fintech to have secured a triple license from the Bank of Spain, Unnax is quickly growing in Europe, and is already expanding to Latin America. Founded in 2016, it’s most recent investment was a £6 million Series B round. unnax.com
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
