The Spanish tech ecosystem continues to accelerate its growth and enters a new phase of consolidation and maturity. Spain closed 2025 with 10,294 active tech companies, compared with 8,580 registered the previous year, representing a 20% increase and confirming the sustained expansion of the national innovative fabric.
According to the National Report on Tech and Innovative Companies 2026, by Scoutyn based on data validated with information from the Commercial Registry, Spanish tech companies now generate 137,042 jobs and an economic impact of €19.442 billion, with increases of 26.9% and 31.2%, respectively, even surpassing the growth in the number of companies.
The report also reflects a structural shift within the ecosystem. Although the number of startups declines slightly, going from 5,010 to 4,856 companies, the growth of scaleups and tech SMEs signals greater business maturity. Scaleups now stand at 672 companies and tech SMEs rise to 4,605, consolidating as the great economic engine of the Spanish ecosystem.
Madrid narrows the gap with Catalonia
Catalonia remains the national leader by number of tech companies with 2,632, though Madrid already reaches 2,607 and reduces the gap to just 25 companies. Both regions continue to concentrate a large part of the national tech ecosystem and invested capital.
Moreover, Greater Madrid solidifies its status as Spain’s leading tech city, with 1,801 tech companies, 833 startups and 140 scaleups, leading the three major categories ahead of Barcelona.
Meanwhile, Andalusia is behind one of the year’s biggest advances and becomes the fifth-largest national autonomous community by percentage growth. The region rises from 714 to 885 tech companies and is also the only among the major communities to increase its number of startups.
Artificial Intelligence leads the big leap of the Spanish tech ecosystem
One of the most relevant phenomena the report highlights is the explosion of Artificial Intelligence within the national tech ecosystem. AI is already positioned as the third vertical with the most tech companies in Spain and the sector that grows the most during 2025.
Spain currently counts 959 AI-specialized companies, compared to 309 registered the previous year, representing a growth of over 210% in just twelve months. The figure confirms the acceleration of adoption of AI-based technologies and the growing strategic weight of this sector within the Spanish innovation fabric.
The AI boom is also driving transformation across multiple tech verticals and economic sectors, from health, fintech or advanced industry to energy, mobility, education or business automation. The report notes that much of the new tech entrepreneurship in Spain now emerges directly linked to AI-based models, consolidating a new phase of specialization and sophistication for the national ecosystem.
In parallel, SaaS emerges as the country’s leading tech vertical with 1,387 companies, followed by eHealth, with 1,000 companies, and Artificial Intelligence, with 959.
Among sectors with strong presence also stand out: Foodtech (568), Energy (526), Biotech (523), Edtech (515), and Fintech (479). The report also notes sustained growth in sectors such as Big Data, sustainability, mobility, cybersecurity or automation, reflecting a growing technological specialization of the Spanish ecosystem.
More than €3.21 billion invested in Spanish startups
Investment in startups and innovative companies surpassed €3.21 billion across 327 deals in the last year. Catalonia and Madrid continue to be the major hubs for capital raising and together account for about 77% of all national investment.
The report also highlights that Spain has accumulated more than €15.5 billion invested in startups over the last five years and remains one of the few European ecosystems able to sustain high investment levels in a global context marked by uncertainty.
The Spanish ecosystem also shows increasing business and financial consolidation, marked by the rise of scaleups, the growth of mid- and large-rounds, and the emergence of companies capable of competing internationally and attracting global capital.
