The spin-offs of the University of Barcelona obtained fourteen million euros in funding during the year 2024
The Bosch i Gimpera Foundation (FBG), the knowledge transfer office of the University of Barcelona (UB), continues to promote the creation of innovative companies and favor their growth and consolidation with a very positive balance during 2024.
During the past year, the 23 active spin-offs of the UB, companies that emerged from a technology or knowledge developed at the University, obtained around fourteen million euros in financing. This figure represents a remarkable increase compared to previous years, and highlights the capacity of these companies to attract investments. This financing allows the spin-offs not only to consolidate, but also to expand and innovate, and thus contribute to the creation of new technologies.
The head of the FBG’s Business Creation Area, Jose Conde, points out that “our companies are no strangers to the lack of liquidity that is currently making the financing of start-ups very complex.” However, in this context, he points out that “the majority of UB companies in 2024 obtained resources, mainly, through public funding, which has allowed them to exceed the funding figures achieved in previous years.”
The companies derived from the University also had a total turnover of 10.2 million euros and generated 227 jobs, contributing to boosting the economy and creating employment in the region. These companies generate qualified employment and stimulate the competitiveness of the region’s industrial fabric.
“It is important to highlight that the UB spin-offs maintained their aggregate turnover volume,” emphasizes Jose Conde, “especially if we take into account that this year we no longer include the data from Enantia (sold in 2024), which contributed nearly three million euros to aggregate turnover. This indicates that the rest of the spin-offs have grown significantly during 2024.”
Success in technology transfer: divestment of Enantia
In 2024, the spin-off Enantia was acquired by the venture capital fund Inveready. This allowed the University of Barcelona to successfully carry out the divestment in this leading spin-off in pharmaceutical chemistry. This operation is part of the UB’s strategy to promote technology transfer and ensure the return on resources invested in innovative projects.
Enantia, founded in 2003, is a leader in the design and production of advanced chemical products for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. This transaction freed up resources that the UB can dedicate to new innovation initiatives, while strengthening the international projection and R&D capacity of the acquired company.
New spin-off: Electraqua Tech
Another of the novelties of 2024 was the creation of Electraqua Tech, a spin-off focused on developing and commercializing systems to eliminate chemical compounds from industrial wastewater. The company has generated an innovative decontamination system that will effectively convert toxic and bio-recalcitrant pollutants into harmless compounds. In this way, the company will be able to help the pharmaceutical and cosmetic sectors to treat water pollution at source, before it is discharged into an industrial or urban treatment plant.
More than fifty spin-offs created
Since 2001, the FBG has contributed to the creation of more than fifty emerging companies. In 2024, the University of Barcelona had a total of 23 active companies: Accure Therapeutics (2020), Aigecko Technologies (2020), Becytes Biotechnologies (2015), Biocontrol Technologies (2004), Bluephage (2016), Braingaze (2013), Colorsensing (2018), DapCom Data Services (2013), Disrupt Therapeutics (2023), ElectrAqua Tech (2024), Gate2Brain (2020), Impetux Optics (2012), Kiin Tech (2015), Kumux (2017), Mind and Identity (2020), Neurekalab (2019), Nimble Diagnostics (2022), Nostrum Biodiscovery (2015), Oniria Therapeutics (2021), Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech (2019), Reveal Genomics (2021), Smart Classroom Project (2023) and Virmedex Virtual Experiences (2022).