Fab Lab: a digital fabrication laboratory. Nice self-explanatory play on words right? But what happens in these labs, and are they actually more than just rooms with 3D printers? Well, they are equipped with state-of-the-art technologies, which aim to popularize and expand access to personal (and collaborative) manufacturing, and invention. These are the labs where this … [Read more...]
Understanding Spain’s War On Uber: Is it Progress or are they Cheating?
Uber is a P2P transport company that allows users to get in touch with drivers through an app in their phones and be picked up and dropped off just as a regular taxi would. No cash is exchanged in the actual transaction as everything is managed through Uber, and the company is the one who actually pays the driver afterwards. To some, it seems like a natural next step in … [Read more...]
“Right To Forget” Translates Into Extra Work For Google In Europe
The European Union Court of Justice (ECJ) has set in motion a sensitive bill that will make all web browsers, governments, and control agencies around the world take notice. No, it is not Wikileaks all over again. I'm talking about the recent sentence by the ECJ in response to a claim by a Spanish citizen who found old information about him online and asked for it to be … [Read more...]
Heard@ ESADE’s 7th Annual Social Innovation Conference
ESADE held their 7th annual Social Institute Conference last week to share knowledge, inspire future projects and activate the international audience. Social Innovation is about addressing the challenges imposed on society related to housing, education, food, employment, poverty, safety and health. It shakes off indifference to rethink and improve upon the status quo: … [Read more...]
Barcelona VC Ysios Capital Opens New €100M Fund To Back Disruptive Biotech Companies
With all of the international events and hoopla surrounding Barcelona tech startups and mobile ventures, sometimes we overlook the fact that we are also a global epicenter of biomedical research and innovation. It’s not like they’ve been hiding. Thousands of scientists, researches, academics and PhDs cycle through Barcelona every year working the next generation of medical … [Read more...]
The Anti-Social Network: Have We Started Going Backwards?
Aristotle's idea that man is a “Zóon politikon”, or a “social animal”, has pretty much come into its full meaning in the 21st century. We can agree with Aristotle that the individual can only fulfill his true potential in a society that nourishes the feeling of belonging. Loneliness will drive us insane, therefore, individuals who do not need to live in a society are either … [Read more...]
Barcelona Wins The European Capital of Innovation Award
This week, Barcelona was named the European Capital of Innovation. The European Commission awarded the first-ever iCapital Award to Barcelona, Spain, “for introducing the use of new technologies to bring the city closer to citizens.” Barcelona was announced as the winner at the closing ceremony of the Innovation Convention 2014 in Brussels. We beat out Grenoble, France and … [Read more...]
Heard@ 4YFN: Startups, Wearables & ‘All You Can Eat’ Solutions In Barcelona
The 4 Years From Now (4YFN) event at the Mobile World Congress was all about experiences. Partly due to the popularity surge of the user-experience movement, but it's also related to the process of creating something from nothing. It was clear that the key to innovation is to build upon past achievements while keeping your eyes on the future. I want to touch upon two highlights … [Read more...]
Startupbootcamp Pitch Days Is Back In Barcelona At 4YFN On February 25th
Startupbootcamp Pitch Days is coming back to Barcelona to select some high quality startups for its leading accelerator program during the 4YFN event at the Mobile World Congress. The last time SBC Pitch Days came through town, Barcelona startups claimed three of the ten spots in the Eindhoven-based HighTechXL accelerator. On February 25th at the 4YFN event within Mobile … [Read more...]
Wayra Puts Out The Call For 50 New Global Startups
It’s that time of year again. The holidays are behind us, work is picking back up and Wayra is sending out the call for the global accelerator’s 2014 class of innovative new startups. Telefonica’s international startup accelerator announced yesterday the opening of a new global call for proposals in order to find new projects in the area of Internet and mobile … [Read more...]