Investment in ‘deeptech’ and the predominance of AI: key themes of 4YFN 2026

BBVA Spark took part in 4YFN for the fourth consecutive year. This forum dedicated to entrepreneurship, integrated into the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, celebrated its twelfth edition in 2026. The attendance of hundreds of startups from more than 110 countries, along with investors, corporate hubs and public entities, turned the Catalan capital into the focal point of the European entrepreneurial ecosystem for an entire week.

BBVA Spark attended the event with a record €1 billion in committed financing and more than 30 deals closed in 2025. “For BBVA Spark, it is a unique opportunity to be here and support entrepreneurs. Catalonia has become one of the main technological hubs in Europe in terms of the number of entrepreneurs, investors and corporate hubs,” said Miguel Ángel Alcalá, Head of BBVA Spark Europe.

In this new edition, artificial intelligence (AI) continued to be the undisputed leader, integrated into the value proposition of many companies. “AI must be something foundational within the company, part of its purpose,” explained Oriol Agustí, CFO of Zynap, the Catalan cybersecurity startup. “It helps automate internal processes while also shaping product design and the value proposition offered to customers,” he added.

Spain is the second‑fastest‑growing country in Europe between 2020 and 2025, behind Belgium, and the value of its ecosystem stands at €123 billion, according to The Spanish Tech Ecosystem Report 2026, prepared by Dealroom in collaboration with BBVA Spark.

According to the same report, which will be fully available by April, Barcelona and Madrid account for more than two‑thirds of the capital raised in the country. For this reason, 4YFN is not only an essential event in Spain, but also across Europe. “Barcelona is one of the main technological hubs in Europe”, said Manal Belaouane, Principal at the German fund HV Capital. For her, one of the main reasons the Catalan capital is so relevant is that “it has built a technological cluster and a geographical concentration — something that is rare in Europe.”

Many attendees highlighted that Barcelona “brings together many people from abroad who come to see what is happening in Spain and around the world,” explained Miguel Arias of Kfund, adding that this creates “a very interesting breeding ground for innovation.” Others, such as Aquilino Peña, co‑founder and managing partner at Kibo Ventures, stressed the business opportunities an event like this generates: “An event like this in Barcelona is a real opportunity and a privilege for the entrepreneurial ecosystem because it concentrates a huge amount of business and investment opportunities in just a few days.”

Europe is entering a new phase of technological competitiveness thanks to artificial intelligence, particularly in its earliest stages. The continent retains 81% of AI‑specialised founders, an increase of 74% since 2016, according to The State of European Tech by Atomico. This momentum is also reflected in the rising weight of deep tech, which accounted for 36% of all European venture capital investment in 2025, almost double that of 2021, according to the same report.

According to The Spanish Tech Ecosystem Report 2026, Spain stands out as the sixth European country with the highest venture capital investment in AI between 2020 and 2025, reaching €3.3 billion and consolidating its position on the continent’s technological map.

This trend was strongly felt at 4YFN. As Aquilino Peña of Kibo Ventures explained, “AI is clearly the dominant technology and is driving new categories such as agentic AI or cybersecurity applied to the physical world and robotics.” Regarding these emerging categories, he added: “Thanks to them, product development is being reshaped and the limits of what is possible are expanding.”

AI’s impact on the speed of creating and validating business models is also transforming investors’ roles in Europe. As Miguel Arias, General Partner at Kfund, pointed out, “AI startups are born today with international ambition from day one.” This is translating into faster growth, shorter validation cycles and a greater capacity to raise investment. At TaxDown, for example, “around 70% of enquiries are already answered using AI,” said Álvaro Falcones, Co‑CEO and co‑founder of the Madrid‑based fintech.

As a key meeting point for the European entrepreneurial ecosystem, 4YFN concentrated much of the conversation on the need to strengthen the continent’s technological sovereignty. According to Atomico, almost half of the capital invested in the largest and growth‑stage funding rounds in Europe comes from foreign investors, mainly from the United States.

In this context, Belaouane emphasised that “the goal is to ensure that entrepreneurs who want to grow in Europe have access to the capital they need, so that they do not have to move their headquarters outside the continent.” She also stressed that HV Capital is actively investing in European AI, defence and space technology companies — strategic sectors for building internal capabilities and reducing structural dependence on U.S. capital. Indeed, the Atomico report highlights that security investment in Europe has quadrupled between 2016 and 2025.

For his part, Aquilino Peña underlined the importance of European technological sovereignty: “Defence is emerging as an important technological field, along with a concept that is increasingly present — technological sovereignty — which is gaining greater focus in Europe compared with the United States.”

BBVA Spark took part in 4YFN 2026 with a very full agenda. After announcing the milestone of having granted €1 billion in financing since its launch, it organised, together with HV Capital, Bonsai Partners and Kibo Ventures, an exclusive brunch with founders and investors to strengthen the BBVA Spark community. Among the attendees were European funds such as Atomico, Partech, Acurio Ventures and Cathay Innovation, as well as various companies from the ecosystem. In addition, an early preview of The Spanish Tech Ecosystem Report 2026, prepared with data from Dealroom.co in collaboration with BBVA Spark, Endeavor, Enisa, GoHub Ventures, Kfund, SpainCap and Wayra, was presented.

The presentation of this report during 4YFN in Barcelona comes at a time when the city is positioning itself as the country’s main technological hub, concentrating 42% of the enterprise value generated in Spain  €51 billion  according to the report.

For Miguel Ángel Alcalá, Head of BBVA Spark Europe, this edition highlights the position Spain occupies on the European technological map: “Catalonia receives more than 40% of the venture capital invested in Spain, and half of entrepreneurial talent has an international profile.” This reinforces Catalonia’s position in Europe, where, Alcalá explained, they see great potential: “We see Europe as we saw Spain four years ago when we launched BBVA Spark, but with a scale effect and a size twenty times greater than what exists in Spain.”