The Spanish tech ecosystem has experienced a significant boom over the past two years, with investment on the rise and more founders than ever moving to the country to expand their business.
Spanish startups raised €4bn in 2025, according to Sifted data — an increase from the €3bn raised in 2024. Companies leading this surge include the likes of quantum company Multiverse Computing, which raised €157m earlier this month.
Agentic AI companies are also gaining traction with Barcelona-based AI sales platform Enginy ranking third on the Sifted’s leaderboard of fastest-growing startups in Southern Europe.
“In today’s uncertain world, stability is important for investors and in Spain we have both political and regulatory stability. We are very open to business,” says Micaela Arias, executive director of ICEX-Invest in Spain, a government body helping drive foreign investment into the country.
“International investors are often surprised by how much transformation has actually been happening in Spain over recent years,” she adds.
Stability and market access
Spain’s economy and geographic positioning is increasingly appealing to UK businesses looking to expand into Europe and further afield.
The country’s current growth rate of 2.8% is double the Eurozone average, according to data from Spain's National Statistics Institute (INE).
Tourism alone contributes between €180-200bn to the economy annually, data from ICEX Spain shows.
“Companies are looking for a combination of market access, high-quality talent and the ability to scale efficiently,” says Pablo Mira, Iberia director at data and AI company Quantexa. “Spain offers a strong balance across all three.
Spain is a good platform to access the wider European market without any barriers.
“We identified Spain as a key region where we could build on the success we’ve seen in the UK and US. This led us to open our largest technology and analytics hub outside of London in Malaga.”
Since the Brexit vote in 2016, Spain has become a prime location for UK companies seeking stable European expansion.
The post-Brexit surge has “a lot to do with the fact that Spain is a good platform to access the wider European market without any barriers,” says Arias.
Spain is very easy to get to from other European countries and from the UK, says Arias.
Spain also provides easy access to other global markets. “We’re a great point of entry not only into Europe but also into North Africa and the Middle East,” she says. “Going beyond geography we also have strong ties with Latin America.”
AI and green infrastructure
Spain presents several AI advantages due to its green infrastructure.
Other data centre hubs across Europe are using massive amounts of electricity. However, due to the climate, many data centres in Spain use renewable energy, including solar and wind.
“Where fossil fuel dependence has become a problem, Spain is creating an advantage,” says Fernando Chueca, partner at VC firm The Carlyle Group.
“We have plenty of renewable power. During the day, the price of electricity is almost free. For businesses that require data centre infrastructure, there is very good availability.”
Either we embrace AI seriously, or Europe, not just Spain, is going to be left behind.
Data centres also require large amounts of flat non-urbanised land. Regions in Spain such as Aragon and Castilla La-Mancha offer land directly beneath some of the highest solar zones in Europe.
Chueca warns that Spain and wider Europe shouldn’t try to build a €10bn frontier lab to try and compete against the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic. Instead, Spain’s opportunity lies in enterprise AI.
Spain’s dominant industries include tourism, telecoms, banking and pharmaceuticals. The next step is to take foundational models and build specific software wrappers to automate these traditional sectors.
“Either we embrace AI seriously, or Europe — not just Spain — is going to be left behind,” he says.
‘You find a combination of good but loyal talent’
One of the biggest advantages Spain has to offer is its pool of loyal workers.
“In London, it’s harder to retain talent and people move jobs often,” says Chueca “If you have a good job in Spain, you keep it for longer. That talent retention makes a big difference.”
Spain also hosts many international founders. Barcelona currently ranks as the second city in Europe for international startup founders.
We’re also seeing a lot of action in Málaga, for instance in semiconductors, and in Valencia.
Talent in Spain tends to be spread out within different hubs across the country rather than only in the capital.
“In Spain we have two solid hubs which would be Madrid and Barcelona, but we're seeing interesting things happening in other points,” says Arias.
“In the Basque Country we have the quantum company Multiverse. We’re also seeing a lot of action in Málaga, for instance in semiconductors, and in Valencia.”
Madrid is home to B2B SaaS, deeptech and fintech, while Barcelona culture is built on internationalism and offers many multi-lingual roles in sectors such as design and product management.
Málaga is also becoming the top choice for global companies looking to build dedicated offshore development centres. For example, fintech company Ebury opened a facility in the region in 2023 to serve as a hub for tech talent and developer training.
“There is a misconception that there is not much talent here,” says Chueca. “The biggest economy in Spain is tourism and people think everybody here is a waiter which isn’t the case.”
The rise of R&D
Since 2020, Spain has become the fourth-largest recipient of greenfield R&D investment projects globally, according to FDI Markets.
“More and more people are here to invest in R&D. We are really modernising the economy and moving up the value chain," Arias says.
There is a growing partner landscape, from consultancies to technology providers, working together to support these initiatives.
Quantexa’s Malaga hub dedicates R&D to support wider adoption not only in Spain but across Europe, Mira adds.
“This shift towards R&D facilities is driven by a combination of high-quality talent, a competitive operating environment and strong regional ecosystems like Málaga.
“Spain brings together several structural advantages, including talent, ecosystem and market opportunity, but what really stands out is how those elements come together in practice. There is a growing partner landscape, from consultancies to technology providers, working together to support these initiatives.”
