España movilizará 8.000 millones hasta 2030 para liderar las 'Deep Tech'

Spain has earmarked over 8 billion euros for its Deep Tech Strategy 2026-2030. Eighty percent of this funding will be directed towards Spanish companies – Spain aims not merely to adopt technology, but to lead it. Juan Cruz Cigudosa, Spain's Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Universities, argued that Spain must align its innovation efforts on deep tech, as they form the core of global competitiveness, strategic autonomy, and ultimately, a country's ability to influence and shape its own future.

Cigudosa, who attended the 40th Digital Economy and Telecoms Encounter organized by Ametic in Santander's UIMP, noted that Spain has made available more than 8 billion euros for the Deep Tech Strategy 2026-2030. Of this amount, 80% will be earmarked for companies directly.

Deep technology demands patient capital, long timelines, and a willingness to accept failure – qualities that scientists are accustomed to, but entrepreneurs have yet to fully embrace. To illustrate this new financial approach, Cigudosa cited the DeepTech fund, jointly managed by CDTI and the Next Tech fund, which has already deployed its first line, Montaña, focused on deep technology for pediatric health.

The strategy is structured around three pillars: consolidating infrastructure and talent, strengthening the business ecosystem, and enhancing governance of the system. Examples of the latter include the National Deep Tech Observatory, tasked with coordinating regulatory sandboxes and living labs, as well as concrete projects like the IFMIF-DONES fusion nuclear materials testing center in Granada.

Additionally, the development of computing capacities around the Barcelona Supercomputing Center has led to the emergence of companies such as Qilimanjaro and Multiverse Computing. On talent, Spain has lost approximately 10,000 scientists over the past decade during the economic crisis, but has since recovered 23,000, more than doubling the loss.