The Mobile World Congress (MWC) ended this Thursday in Barcelona after four days in which artificial intelligence (AI) consolidated itself as the central axis of the fair, both in the stands and in the speeches and technological demonstrations.
Catalan presence and commitment to ethical AI
The Generalitat de Catalunya gathered 44 companies and technology centers at the Catalonia stand. The debate focused on the ethical use of AI, an issue that marked the week's agenda. The Minister of Business and Labor, Miquel Sàmper, announced a program of more than 6 million euros until 2028 through ACCIÓ to support SMEs in the adoption of ethical AI.
Local businesses and business opportunities
The Catalan business fabric took advantage of the congress to establish contacts and seek new opportunities. OTC Engineering, based in Olot, recorded between 20 and 30 daily contacts in the smart mobility sector and the connected vehicle. From Glam Software, Jordi Garrido highlighted the importance of the event for the visibility of companies and the generation of projects, although he recognized the difficulty of competing with large multinationals.
"We offer custom software, aimed at digitizing processes that give a competitive advantage to each company and that often do not fit into products sold by large companies designed for 150,000 companies worldwide" - Jordi Garrido, commercial director of Glam Software
Along the same lines, Guillem Giner, marketing director of Clockio.net, highlighted the importance of meetings and post-congress work to close deals. Carles Rodella, from CodiTramuntana, remarked that the value of the MWC lies in the entire process, from the previous meetings to the subsequent months, when projects are finalized.
"The value of the fair is not only what happens at the stand, but the entire chain before the fair, meetings during the congress and a process after the fair that can extend for months, because there are projects that close after half a year or even a year" - Carles Rodella, co-founder and operations director of CodiTramuntana
Innovation in Girona and new tools
Girona City Council presented the Pigall tool, an AI-based application to improve the management of Social Services through data analytics. This solution was showcased at the Catalonia AI 2030 Strategy stand and was introduced to other sector agents. The municipal participation aimed to generate exchanges and alliances in the innovation ecosystem.
The University of Girona was also present with business initiatives such as Cubics, a platform that connects buyers and manufacturers of custom-made industrial products. Martí Güell, co-founder, valued the congress as an opportunity to make themselves known.
The advance of AI in startups and international investment
At the 4YFN hall, director Pere Duran pointed out that close to a 56% of startups present products with artificial intelligence. This year, many have moved from experimentation to the commercialization of solutions. Investors, some 900 international ones representing globally 70 billion euros, are looking for human teams with high potential.
Practical applications and new developments in mobility and services
The Airport of the Future space hosted the presentation of Outsight, a company created by the Catalan Raül Bravo, which showed systems capable of generating digitized 3D and real-time replicas of infrastructures to improve security and reduce queues. Vueling presented an AI-based travel search engine and Airbus exhibited solutions to reduce waste in the in-flight meal service through satellite connectivity. The Chinese company Agibot brought humanoid robots to guide passengers and assist with check-in.
Talent and automation as keys of the future
The Talent Arena, a satellite event of the MWC dedicated to the talent of the future, closed on Wednesday after hosting more than 200 conferences. Claire Joster, from the Girona group Eurofirms, positioned AI as a tool to automate processes and free up time for tasks that require greater human interaction.
"Automate everything that is automatable and gain time for the essential plus human interaction with candidates and clients" - Claire Joster, Eurofirms
The MWC concludes with artificial intelligence consolidated as a priority for the Catalan technology sector and with an agenda marked by ethics, innovation, and the search for international alliances.