Barcelona City Council will contribute 10 million euros to the Deep Tech Fund to promote scientific start-ups

As part of the second edition of the REACT conference, which aims to position Barcelona as a European innovation capital, Barcelona City Council has announced the investment of 10 million euros in the Deep Tech Fund. This fund aims to help scientific and technological start-ups and spin-offs to access the market. In addition, it is expected that this public investment can attract about twice as much private investment, raising at least 20 million euros.

..
01/04/2022 - 14:23 h - Culture and leisure Octavi Planells

The activation of this fund will take place in autumn 2022 and is aimed primarily at financing innovation within the ecosystem of deep tech start-ups in Barcelona. These companies use techniques such as big data, artificial intelligence or machine learning and are those arising from a scientific discovery or a disruptive technological innovation, so they require a high level of investment capital to create their solutions.

The implementation of this fund is part of the Barcelona Innovation Coast (BIC) initiative, promoted by the City Council, and aims to promote innovation at all levels in Barcelona and its economic environment. In addition, it is expected to have an impact on the creation of 40,000 jobs over the next 10 years and an economic impact of 235 million euros on the city of Barcelona.

Currently, the BIC has instruments to support innovation – legal, financial, relational – to help different agents such as universities, business schools and research centres, among others, and has already launched projects such as the Deep Tech Node, a space for mentoring and accompanying spin-offs and start-ups.

Investment in innovation is a key element for Barcelona within the framework of the Barcelona Green Deal, since every euro in investment means 18 euros in the city’s GDP. The BIC is an instrument at the service of all the projects promoted by the Barcelona Green Deal, while ensuring that this drive for innovation is focused on projects with a positive impact on the planet, people and progress, within the framework of the 2030 Agenda.