PEPSICO-Barcelona

PepsiCo Digital Hub Barcelona

PepsiCo’s Digital Hub in Barcelona is a major global center of excellence focusing on data science, analytics, and digital transformation to drive innovation. The hub, acting as a startup incubator, plans to employ up to 400 professionals, focusing on AI and machine learning. 

Key Aspects of the Barcelona Digital Hub:

  • Purpose: The hub acts as a center of excellence for PepsiCo’s global digitalization programs, aiming to accelerate innovation, improve time-to-market, and reduce operational costs.
  • Role & Function: It serves as a hub for technology and data analytics, supporting PepsiCo’s supply chain and digital efforts. It also acts as an incubator for internal culture change.
  • Talent & Diversity: The hub has a diverse team of professionals specializing in data science, machine learning engineering, and product management.

The hub is part of PepsiCo’s global strategy to improve its technological capabilities alongside a similar center in Dallas

Glovo Yellow Park Barcelona

Glovo Yellow Park Barcelona

Glovo Yellow Park Barcelona is the innovation hub and the international headquarters for GLOVO and also it serves as the company’s primary global center for engineering and data. 

Key Details of the Barcelona Tech Hub

  • Capacity: The 30,000  facility can house nearly 3,000 employees and brings all engineering, data, and product teams under one roof.
  • Sustainability: The campus is LEED Platinum certified, featuring solar panels, 57% water consumption savings, and 36% energy savings.
  • Work Environment: Offers a hybrid model (typically 2 days working from home) and vibrant spaces designed to foster “Glownership” and collaboration.

Innovation & Ecosystem Programs

Beyond its daily operations, the hub serves as a springboard for the wider startup community: 

  • Glovo House: An initiative launched in 2022 to support Glovo alumni in building their own startups by providing resources and mentorship.
  • Glovo Startup Lab: An annual competition (most recently held for Ukrainian startups) that offers cash prizes and internships at the Barcelona headquarters for winning founders.
  • Focus Areas: The hub drives innovation in Q-Commerce (Quick Commerce), logistics optimization, and AI-powered customer experiences like “Discovery Wall” and AI gifting assistants. 
ESADE Creapolis

ESADE Creapolis

Esade Creapolis is a premier innovation and business park located on the Esade campus in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona, designed to bridge academia and industry. It acts as an open innovation hub for startups and corporations, featuring modern workspaces, specialized labs, and the Rambla of Innovation to foster collaboration and entrepreneurship.

Concept: A unique ecosystem connecting students, researchers, and company professionals.

Key Features: Over  of space housing corporations, startups, and academic areas, including the #RamblaOfInnovation.

Services: Startup accelerator, corporate innovation consulting, and flexible workspaces.

Goal: To stimulate creative thinking, open innovation, and real-world application of academic research. 

Essentially, it is a business school-led innovation hub where firms co-locate to work with faculty and students to foster innovation.

Barcelona Startup Ecosystem Open Innovation Safari

Barcelona Startup Ecosystem Open Innovation Safari

Explore one of Europe’s most vibrant startup ecosystems

Location: Barcelona – Themes: Startups / Venture Capital / Entrepreneurship – Duration: One Day

The Barcelona Startup Ecosystem Open Innovation Safari is a one-day immersive experience designed for professionals who want to understand how successful startup ecosystems are built and how they generate innovation and economic growth.

Led by Certified Innovation Safari Sherpa Francesc Saldaña, this Safari introduces participants to the Barcelona entrepreneurial ecosystem, one of the most dynamic startup hubs in Southern Europe.

During the experience, explorers will discover how startups, investors, accelerators and innovation hubs collaborate to create a thriving environment that supports entrepreneurship, technology development and venture creation.

Explorers will explore topics such as:

  • Startup ecosystems
  • Entrepreneurship and venture creation
  • Venture capital and startup funding
  • Startup acceleration and scaling

Innovation Safaris allow professionals to experience innovation where it actually happens.

The experience

Explorers will explore a key innovation hotspot in Barcelona’s startup ecosystem:

  • Barcelona Tech City – one of the most important startup hubs in Southern Europe, bringing together entrepreneurs, investors, corporates and innovation organizations.

Participants will:

  • Exploration walk at the innovation hub and startup community spaces
  • Meet startups & entrepreneurs and ecosystem builders
  • Innovation workshop with other explorers: Discuss emerging trends in startups
  • Learn how startup communities attract talent and investment
  • Discuss how startup ecosystems generate innovation and new business opportunities

This immersive approach helps participants better understand how entrepreneurial ecosystems operate in practice.

What explorers will gain

Explorers will learn and design by:

  • understanding how successful startup ecosystems are built
  • discovering how startups attract investment and scale internationally
  • connecting with entrepreneurs and innovation organizations
  • generating ideas and inspiration for future ventures and collaborations

Who Should Join

  • corporate innovation leaders
  • entrepreneurs and startup founders
  • investors and venture capital professionals
  • public sector innovation managersresearchers and academics

Participants from different sectors are encouraged to join and share perspectives.

Join this Open Safari

Limited group to ensure a high-quality exploration experience.