The 4Y4N 2026

The Catalan Startup Phenomenon focused on the explosive growth of the local ecosystem.

4YFN 2026

The startup heart of the event, 4YFN, featured over 1,000 startups and attracted more than 900 investors managing a combined total of €60 billion in funds.

4Y4N Map

Catalonia now hosts 2,403 startups, representing a 5.2% annual increase. Catalan startups attracted €1,131 million in 2025, the third-best figure in historical records. Excluding major mega-rounds, Series B and C funding grew by 27%, accounting for 61% of the total investment. The Healthtech (31%) and Traveltech (20%) lead the investment landscape. The ecosystem is highly international, with 23% of all employees and 21% of founders coming from abroad. Notably, 21% of startups have women in their founding teams, a figure higher than the EU average. (Font: **Analysis of the Startup Ecosystem in Catalonia 2026)**

The 4Y4N Awards are the official startup competition held annually during the 4 Years From Now (4YFN) conference, the entrepreneurial event integrated into the Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona. This award recognises the most innovative digital startups with the greatest growth potential on a global scale.

This 2026 Finalists by Category: Health Tech (Winner): Biorce (Spain) — Optimisation of clinical trials with AI. Climate Tech: Doctor Scrap (China) — Digitising metal recycling. Digital Horizons: NeuralTrust (Spain) — Security for generative AI systems. Fintech: Dost (Spain) — Financial automation for businesses. Mobile Frontiers: ConnectHear (Pakistan) — AI-assisted sign language interpretation.

Health tech finalists from 4Y4N Awards

The 4YFN (Four Years From Now) startup event remained the heart of entrepreneurship at MWC.

This year’s spotlight shone on **Biorce**, an AI platform designed to accelerate clinical trials for pharma and biotech companies, which won the 4Y4N Awards.

Biorce, 4Y4N Awards Winner

Other notable finalists and featured participants in the 4Y4N Awards across categories related to climate tech included solutions to combat climate change and boost environmental resilience.

4yfn-awards

**Doctor Scrap **was selected for using AI to optimise recycling recoveries and pricing. The app tell you the recoveries, ratios, impurities, melting, up/downgrades, knowledges, and the most important, the best prices and best buyers.

In Digital Horizons, startups are leading digital transformation and introducing cutting-edge tech across industries.

4yfn-awards

The NeuralTrust is focused on security and control for Large Language Models (LLMs).

On Mobile frontiers, we can find startups driving telecom innovation and shaping the future of connectivity.

4yfn-awards

**ConnectHear:** Innovating in accessibility. South Asia’s first virtual sign language interpretation platform that connects users with professional on-demand interpreters via video. Very interesting is the AI for disaster management: in collaboration with Ufone 4G and the GSMA, they have launched the world’s first early warning system based on artificial intelligence that translates emergency alerts into sign language in real time.

Connecthear

The competition first selects a Top 20 startups, who participate in live semi-finals at the event. Benefits for participating companies include: The International Visibility: Exposure to top-tier investors and media from around the world. Metallic Prizes: In the 2026 edition, the 5 finalists received €2,500 each, and the winner received a grand prize of €20,000. Networking: Access to exclusive investor areas and mentoring sessions. The Winners of Previous Editions were: 2025: Bankuish (Colombia), a fintech platform that facilitates access to credit for platform economy workers. 2024: Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech (Spain), specialising in quantum computing.

Onsite jury are represants by venture capiutal and investors.

In the **ACCIÓ Catalonia Pavilion** at 4YFN 20 26, you could find the following startups selected in a demonstration space: Agrikola.AI, Agrin’pulse, Ocean Ecostructures and Shinephi.

Agrikola.AI: Farming deserves better tools and fewer chemicals. they make it happen, The company combines robotics, artificial intelligence and photonics to protect crops in a sustainable way. and Agrinpulse, a Catalan agrotechnology (AgTech) company, based in Alcarràs (Lleida), which is dedicated to the development of autonomous and electric agricultural robotics. The company was founded in 2024 by Pau Palau and Jordi García with the aim of modernizing the countryside and making it more sustainable and efficient.

Agrinpulse robot tractor and Agrikola.AI

**Shinephi** is a Catalan technology company specializing in high-precision optical metrology and advanced imaging systems. Founded as the 13th spin-off of the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO), the company's technology enables visualisation of transparent or extremely thin elements invisible to conventional cameras.

Ocean Ecostructures has developed an innovative biomaterial for the construction of structures for the regeneration of marine ecosystems.

**Ocean Ecostructures:** Implementing multi-technological solutions to regenerate marine biodiversity. Catalan blue technology company (Bluetech) based in Barcelona, ​​dedicated to the regeneration of marine ecosystems by transforming anthropic infrastructures (such as ports and wind farms) into biodiversity oases.

Acció main 2026 startups

In the Accio panel, we can find interesting proposals like: – **Flamaid,** Compact personal safety device, often called a “peace grenade”, specially designed to improve the protection of women from situations of harassment or danger on the street.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clwYCtydO8E&t=1s

– TrueData certifies any user data directly from its original online source in under 30 seconds, without integrations or dedicated infrastructure. Verifications like : Age, Personal assets, Background checks, Income, Driver’s license, Proof of subsidy eligibility

TrueData

– **Beyond Reality** integrates a smart camera capable of capturing the user’s environment and recognizing visual identifiers such as barcodes and QR codes.

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Considering the Wayra proposals for 4YFN: – **Mitiga: Climate risk analysis platform that combines science, AI and advanced computing to help companies measure, manage and report physical risks derived from climate change. – [Red Sift](https://redsift.com/es): Cybersecurity solution that automates the authentication and protection of email and domains to stop phishing and brand abuse. – [Kymatio](https://kymatio.com/es): Cybersecurity startup that develops solutions to protect industrial systems and critical networks, detecting advanced threats and guaranteeing operational continuity in sensitive environments. – [ElevenLabs**:](https://elevenlabs.io/) Technological company specialized in voice synthesis through AI, capable of generating, cloning and editing realistic voices for conversational agents and content in multiple languages.

ElevenLabs

– **Glide identity: Digital identity verification platform that automates KYC processes and advanced authentication. – [Lets Data](https://letsdata.net/): Platform that uses AI to detect and counter disinformation campaigns in real time on media and social networks. – Wise CX Omnichannel customer service solution that integrates all contact channels and uses AI to improve traceability and incident resolution. – Whalebone Cybersecurity company that offers DNS-based protection and AI capabilities to block malware, phishing and other threats. [– Hiya Platform](https://www.hiya.com/) that protects users from fraudulent calls and spam through AI, and helps operators and companies to improve the connection with their customers. – Insider Navigation Platform that offers intelligent positioning and navigation solutions based on augmented reality without the need for additional hardware, improving asset tracking, equipment efficiency and operational processes in different sectors. – Beegol Platform powered by AI and machine learning designed to monitor and diagnose broadband and Wi-Fi networks in real time. – Crata AI (DesafIA Madrid) Startup that develops AI solutions for advanced data analysis, aimed at optimizing processes and improving decision-making in organizations. – Remuner Platform that applies AI to optimize compensation and payroll processes, facilitating salary simulations and remuneration decisions. – Aiphoria AI-based voice processing platform that offers efficient transcription and analysis of conversations in real time. [– LuxQuanta](https://www.luxquanta.com/): Deep tech spin-off of the ICFO (Instituto de Ciencias Fótonicas) that develops cybersecurity solutions based on quantum cryptography to protect digital communications against current and future threats. – Shakers Platform powered by AI to manage teams on demand, centralizing recruitment, administrative processes and operational monitoring in a quick and secure way. – Sycai Medical (AstraZeneca) AI platform that helps radiologists detect and follow abdominal lesions to improve the early diagnosis of cancer and other pathologies. – Nedsys AI (AstraZeneca) AI platform that assists medical professionals in consultations and diagnosis with real-time suggestions and automatic generation of clinical reports. [– Capably](https://www.capably.ai/): Business management platform that automates operations and improves productivity through AI integrated into business processes. [– Foliume](https://www.foliume.com/es): Platform that automates the tasks of insurance brokers and agents through AI-based assistants, improving efficiency and accelerating commercial processes. – IKUSA (INCIBE Emprende): Spin-off from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya that develops cybersecurity solutions focused on data protection and privacy, supported by advanced analytics and AI. – Omniloy: Generative AI startup focused on the healthcare sector that automates and optimizes hospital and clinical management. – Rever: Plataforma que automatiza y optimiza las devoluciones en comercio electrónico mediante IA, mejorando la retención y las ventas adicionales. – Ciudadela: Proptech que digitaliza la gestión de comunidades y fincas, usando tecnología e IA para automatizar administración y comunicación. – Osmium (INCIBE Emprende): Empresa de ciberseguridad que protege sistemas y comunicaciones en los sectores espacial y de aviación, incorporando IA para entornos críticos. – Bether AI** (INCIBE Emprende): Plataforma que utiliza IA para analizar datos de equipos en tiempo real y ayudar a líderes a retener talento, mejorar el rendimiento y anticipar riesgos de rotación.

The **BStartup **Main Sponsor de 4YFN 2026, supports: Epinium, Floatech, QCentroid, Incapto, Verifait, ADmit Therapeutics, Gate2Brain, Timeisbrain, Oniria Therapeutics, Miramoon Pharma, xNova International, Soundstorming, Plesh, NeuralTrust and Cofers

You can read resumes of MWC 2026 and previous years at 4Y4N 2025, 4Y4N 2024, 4Y4N 2023 here on my Medium Page.