Innovation has become a determining factor for the competitiveness of companies and productive sectors. With this vision, ACCIÓ has held a new edition of Exponential Day 2026, the benchmark event dedicated to disruptive technologies in Catalonia. Since its first edition in 2019, the meeting has established itself as a point of connection between companies, startups, administrations and agents of the innovative ecosystem.

The organisation of the Exponential Day reaffirms ACCIÓ’s role as one of the main drivers of innovation in Catalonia. This work is also reflected in his active participation within the Institutional Committee of the Barcelona ConTech Hub, together with BIMSA, Barcelona Innova, Barcelona Provincial Council, AMB, INCASÒL, Infraestructures.cat, the Federation of Municipalities of Catalonia and the ITeC Foundation.

Among the highlights of the day were keynote speeches by Daniel Susskind, economist and international expert on the impact of technology on the economy and work, and Albert Esplugas, who provided his vision of the changes that are redefining business competitiveness in a context of technological acceleration.

The conference culminated with the recognition of the 10 companies selected as Catalonia Exponential Leaders 2026, chosen from among 175 candidates for their ability to generate disruptive innovation and positive impact.

The distinguished companies have been:

• Arq Quantum Technologies, specialized in quantum internet.
• Evidenze, a benchmark in health data and artificial intelligence.
• FetaLife Technologies, pioneer in liquid fetal incubation.
• Fluidra, with smart solutions for efficient water management.
• GasN2, a promoter of industrial decarbonisation technologies.
• Ignion, a leader in connectivity for IoT devices.
• Nanoligent, dedicated to new therapies against cancer.
• NovaMeat, an innovator in high-tech vegetable protein.
• PLANeT Biotech, focused on climate-resilient agriculture.
• WIVI Vision, specialized in AI-based visual health.

This time, unfortunately, the participation of the construction sector has not been very visible, despite the ConTech talent that exists in our territory.

For this reason, we hope that in future editions we will be able to see among the semifinalists, finalists or winners a company linked to innovation in construction, a sector that is playing an increasingly important role in the technological and entrepreneurial ecosystem of Catalonia.