Barcelona Startup News April 9 2018

Hello and happy Monday! We hope you had a great weekend!

IESE is hosting their annual MBA Startup Career Fair this week which offers startups an opportunity to pitch their companies to new graduates and alumni. 

Next Tuesday, April 17th, I’m hosting a quick-and-dirty Overview of the BCN Startup Ecosystem at OneCoWork Port Vell. You should come. There’s free beer. 

Lastly, the EU Startup Summit arrives on Tuesday, April 24th. Save 15% with the code BARCINNO.

Join 500+ innovators, investors and influencers of Europe’s startup ecosystem!

Ok, let’s take a look at the latest Barcelona startup news from this week: 

THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS:

BARCELONA STARTUP NEWS

Startup & Investment News

• Barcelona firm The Hotels Network secures €3M investment
• Spanish startup PlayFilm closes €1.1M investment round
• Catalan startup Vytrus Biotech lands €1M investment
• Spanish startup Bugaloop receives a €150K investment
• Japanese firm Kaneka spends €10.2M to acquire a 27% stake in Barcelona biotech firm AB-Biotics
• Barcelona VC Mediterrania Capital Partners invests in Groupe COFINA
• Barcelona-based firm AVUXI expands its partnership with KAYAK
• Barcelona startup Typeform opens new Partner Program
• Toby Oliver (former CTO of Typeform) joins VC-firm K Fund
• Catalan Legal firm Delvy joins IP protection firm Mac et Bel
• The Government of Catalonia is set to spend €980K to boost entrepreneurship 
• ESADE Alumni and Grant Thornton team up to promote start-up development
• HIMSS Europe & Health 2.0 are looking for digital health startups to join their Young Innovators Competition
• Barcelona startup profiles, interviews & success stories:
  • Eelp!: the app that manages anything you need
  • Barsun: ethical & local swim shorts for men
• • Grupo Intercom: the VC behind Infojobs, Softonic & co
  • Earthdas: batteries that can charge e-bikes in 5 minutes

Tech News

• Chinese video-gaming giant IGG set to open new office in Barcelona, plans to hire 60 people this year
• Spain’s government to invest €5M into video gaming industry
• Catalan firms Alainsa, iTravex and Marfeel amongst fastest growing companies in Europe
• Uber Eats arrives in Barcelona
• KPMG becomes Global Partner of Barcelona Tech City
• “Amazon effect” is boosting investment in logistics in Catalonia as 50% more logistics spaces were contracted in Q1 2018
• Barcelona-based CaixaBank is accelerating its digitalization process
• Public institution CDTI invests €67M into 133 R&D projects in Spain
• Explaining the planned “sandbox” in Spain that aims to make it easier for fintech startups to launch & experiment faster
• eFintech Show comes to Barcelona & will discuss the seven key fintech trends for 2018
• Caixa, Telefonica & Corte Ingles are the firms with the best reputation in Spain
• Spain announces new measures to make life easier for Venture Capital and Private Equity firms

Good Reads

• Digital transformation in Catalonia
• Overview of Spain’s proptech industry
• Overview of Spain’s legal tech industry
• How technology is hijacking your mind
  
• New lift technology is reshaping cities
• How to treat cryptocurrencies in Spanish income statements

GREAT EVENTS THIS WEEK

• Mon, 9 Apr @ 18:30: Digital Sapiens
• Wed, 11 Apr @ 16:00: Empowering Digital, Innovation, Growth & Community
• Wed, 11 Apr @ 18:30: Best practices and technology for event-related brands
• Thu, 12 Apr @ 19:00: Networking Inversores de Criptomonedas
• Fri, 13 Apr @ 13:30: Neuromarketing: aumentar ventas con la disciplina más eficaz
• Fri-Sun, 13-15 Apr: UAA Symposium: Digital Ethics, Future of Society in a Connected World
• Fri, 15 Apr @ 10:00: Networking Chez Flo edición 2

See the full Event Calendar here

STARTUP JOBS IN BARCELONA

• Scoot Networks is recruiting an Engineering R&D Technician
• PayFit Espana is hiring a:
  • Business Developer
  • Product Builder
• ShoeSize.Me is seeking a Content Marketing Manager
• Flylancer is looking for two co-founders (CEO/CFO & CMO)