Spain’s startup ecosystem has reached a new milestone: it is now worth more than €123 billion in enterprise value, according to The Spanish Tech Ecosystem Report 2026, a report prepared with data from Dealroom and supported by BBVA Spark.
The study highlights a market that is growing rapidly and gaining maturity. Spain is now the second-fastest-growing tech ecosystem in Europe over the past five years and currently ranks eighth by total value. Madrid and Barcelona remain the country’s two main hubs, accounting for around two-thirds of total investment.
One of the report’s key conclusions is the step change in scale: Spain has now joined the group of European tech ecosystems whose aggregate value exceeds €100 billion. According to the report, it is the second-fastest-growing ecosystem in Europe between 2020 and 2025, surpassed only by Belgium. Spain also ranks eighth in Europe by investment value, ahead of Ireland, Belgium, and Norway.
Regarding future growth, the report highlights a particularly relevant trend: almost half of the ecosystem’s total value has been created by startups founded since 2015 that have already moved from early stages to scale-up phases. In tech ecosystems, this typically translates into greater potential for new funding rounds and corporate transactions as companies mature.
Overall, this snapshot of the Spanish technology market suggests that the past decade has been decisive in consolidating a new generation of tech companies capable of competing beyond Spain and across international markets.
Another sign of maturity is that unlisted companies account for 53% of the total value of the Spanish ecosystem, compared with the value generated by companies that have already gone public.
This figure suggests that many companies still have significant room for growth and will likely require additional funding rounds and financing before becoming profitable businesses with the potential to go public or attract a strategic buyer.
Madrid and Barcelona, the main hubs for attracting capital
In 2025, Madrid and Barcelona emerged as the main hubs attracting investment, although with differences depending on the stage of funding. Madrid leads financing for companies in the mid-stage or “breakout” phase, close to reaching profitability, while in early- and late-stage investment both the Madrid ecosystem and the Catalonia region show similar levels, according to the report.
In the case of Barcelona, its tech ecosystem already exceeds €51 billion in enterprise value, positioning the city as one of Europe’s main technology hubs and a major engine of the sector in Spain.
At the same time, Spain is beginning to see a decentralisation of investment. While Madrid and Barcelona remain the main centres for startup creation and investment attraction, other cities are starting to stand out in terms of investment activity. In 2025, Valencia attracted €229 million in venture capital, followed by San Sebastián with €206 million, Bilbao with €68 million, and Santander with €40 million.
In per-capita terms, however, San Sebastián stands out in particular, with €524 of investment per inhabitant, far above the Spanish average. This is largely due to the strong concentration of research centres, technology companies and public innovation policies in the Basque Country.
Not only AI: health, deep tech and enterprise software
Artificial intelligence stands out as one of the most dynamic growth drivers, both because of the increase in the number of companies created in recent years and the growth in their value within Spain’s tech ecosystem.
Between 2020 and 2025, the AI ecosystem was the third fastest-growing, expanding 3.7 times, a figure surpassed in Europe only by Portugal (4.5x) and France (3.9x).
However, in terms of overall activity volume, sectors such as health, deep tech (technologies based on significant scientific advances) and enterprise software still account for a larger share of activity than AI. Smaller volumes are seen in sectors such as energy, foodtech and marketing technology.
A broader and more sophisticated investor ecosystem
The report also highlights the consolidation of an increasingly broad and sophisticated investment ecosystem in Spain. In 2025, Spanish startups attracted more than 600 unique investors, with venture capital funds accounting for 43% of total investment activity, while corporate investors and business angels together represented nearly half of the remaining activity.
Overall, the conclusions of The Spanish Tech Ecosystem Report 2026, which were recently previewed at 4YFN, paint the picture of a country accelerating: a startup ecosystem already worth more than €123 billion, with a strong presence of companies founded over the past decade, a predominance of privately held companies, and a combination of large hubs alongside promising regional ecosystems.
The full report will be released in April and will be available for download through the corresponding link
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