August has reinforced the Valencia startup ecosystem’s focus on the practical application of technology. The launch of Startups for the Climate, the new pilot projects rolled out in the city, and advances in health, mobility, and artificial intelligence bring together entrepreneurship, research, and institutional capacity to address specific challenges.

This month’s developments show how Valencia is transforming urban spaces into testing grounds for startups and tech companies, translating scientific knowledge into market applications, and expanding the infrastructure and programs that support business growth. At the same time, the September and October calendar offers opportunities for funding, international expansion, and collaboration with sectors such as food, sports, urban resilience, and healthcare.

Climate innovation connects funding, technology, and real-world needs

The climate emergency has gained prominence as an area for innovation and entrepreneurship with the launch of Startups por el Clima, an initiative promoted by the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, through ENISA, in partnership with Startup Valencia and VDS.

The program aims to identify, support, and connect startups capable of developing solutions to address wildfires, droughts, extreme temperatures, torrential rains, and other risks associated with climate change. The work will focus on five priority areas: environmental health and urban livability, fire prevention and management, energy and storage, adaptive agriculture, and drought and water cycle management.

Among the planned actions are the creation of the first national directory of the climate innovation ecosystem and the selection of five projects; this initiative will help connect participating companies with investors, corporations, institutions, and potential application environments.

At the same time, ENISA has launched “Innovación x Clima,” a participatory loan program with a maximum budget of 300 million euros. Funding can range from 25,000 to 1.5 million euros per company and is aimed at startups and SMEs developing technologies for mitigation, adaptation, and recovery from the effects of the climate emergency.

The combination of project identification, funding, and collaboration with public and private stakeholders addresses one of the main challenges of climate innovation: ensuring that solutions move beyond the experimental phase, find their first customers, and can be deployed in the regions and economic sectors that need them most.

Valencia is turning the city into a laboratory for innovation

Validation in real-world settings has been one of the key themes this month. Through the Valencia Innovation Capital urban sandbox, the City Council is making municipal infrastructure, spaces, and services available to test technologies before a potential larger-scale implementation.

One of the new projects is a smart urban irrigation pilot program being developed in a 1,680-square-meter landscaped area on Almassora Street. The solution, developed in partnership with The Mother Trees and implemented by Grupo Simetría and Fliwer, uses sensors, real-time data, and the Fliwer One Internet of Things platform to tailor irrigation to the actual needs of the plants.

The pilot project will measure reductions in water consumption, the technology’s ability to integrate with existing systems, and its performance under different conditions. Its approach demonstrates how climate innovation can translate into measurable interventions in urban resource management.

Artificial intelligence will also be applied to the City Council’s internal management through SIGMA-IT, a solution developed by the Valencia-based company Foqum Analytics in collaboration with the Information and Communication Technologies Service.

The system aims to automatically classify and prioritize IT incidents, facilitate self-service for users, and anticipate peaks in demand. The trial will determine whether artificial intelligence can reduce response times and improve the operation of a cross-functional service for municipal operations.

Another demonstration will bring augmented reality and virtual production to the Palau de Congressos in Valencia. Edison AR technology, developed by Brainstorm Multimedia, allows for the integration of three-dimensional scenes, data, and content into presentations without the audience needing glasses or additional devices.

The solution will be tested for approximately nine months at conferences and events. In addition to enhancing presentations, the pilot project may generate insights applicable to new formats for communication, training, outreach, and audiovisual production.

The usefulness of these testing environments is also evident in BuildingEye, the structural monitoring system installed at Las Naves by EMAC Grupo following four years of research in collaboration with the Polytechnic University of Valencia. The technology creates a digital twin of the building and uses Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to detect movements, vibrations, changes in tilt, temperature, and humidity.

The project has received the national Facility Management & Services Award for best asset management project. Its progress demonstrates that the city can serve not only as the setting for a one-time trial, but also as a space to generate evidence, refine the technology, and facilitate its implementation in other buildings and infrastructure.

Research in Valencia is making progress in health and mobility

University research has yielded one of the most significant scientific advances of the month. A team from the Polytechnic University of Valencia is leading EPICA+, a new noninvasive technology for detecting cardiac arrhythmias.

The project, developed by the COR group at the ITACA Institute in collaboration with the company Corify Care, combines electrocardiographic imaging, artificial intelligence, and digital twins of the heart. The goal is to reconstruct cardiac electrical activity in three dimensions and identify the source of arrhythmias not only on the surface but also in deeper layers of the myocardium.

More than 100,000 electrophysiological simulations have been generated to train and validate the models. The next phase will expand the clinical validation to hospitals in Valencia and Barcelona, with a projected sample size of 144 patients.

The ability to pinpoint the source of an arrhythmia more accurately can improve the planning of interventions, reduce unnecessary invasive procedures, and help tailor treatment. EPICA+ also demonstrates how collaboration between universities, companies, and the healthcare system can accelerate the transfer of advanced medical technologies.

In the field of mobility, the Valencia Biomechanics Institute is coordinating BERTHA, a European project aimed at making autonomous vehicles behave in a more human-like and safer manner. The initiative brings together 14 partners from six countries to develop a driver behavior model that can be integrated into automated driving systems.

The project focuses on cognitive, affective, and motor control components to help the vehicle better interpret its context, anticipate human reactions, and make more predictable decisions. The solutions will be tested under real-world conditions, with the goal of increasing both safety and user confidence.

Valencia’s university talent has achieved yet another outstanding result. The Formula Student UPV Team has won competitions in Michigan, Austria, and Spain all in the same season. The team, made up of nearly 40 students from various technical degree programs, has taken the lead in the global rankings for the internal combustion category.

Beyond the competitive results, Formula Student serves as an applied learning environment where design, manufacturing, electronics, software, operations, and project management come together. The season reinforces Valencia’s ability to train professionals capable of working in advanced engineering and transferring technical knowledge to industry.

Artificial Intelligence Comes to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Strengthens Their Digital Capabilities

The adoption of artificial intelligence by small and medium-sized enterprises will receive a new boost through INNDIH AI Connect, the Valencian network coordinated by the Technological Institute of Informatics.

The new phase, which will take place from 2026 to 2028, brings together nearly 30 universities, technology institutes, business entities, and support organizations. The goal is to provide up to 1,000 services to some 600 companies through a 100% funded model that reduces the financial barrier to experimenting with these technologies.

Companies will have access to assessments, proof-of-concept projects, pilot projects, training, advice on securing funding, and connections to the European digital innovation ecosystem. The “test before investing” approach is particularly relevant for SMEs, which need to verify a technology’s return on investment and integration before committing resources on a large scale.

Valencia will also strengthen specialized training through a partnership between València Innovation Capital and the United Nations International Computing Center. The program will offer free sessions on artificial intelligence, data, cybersecurity, and quantum technologies at La Harinera.

The first day, scheduled for September 10, will focus on artificial intelligence for the common good and the prevention of bias. The initiative will share UNICC’s international expertise with startups, entrepreneurs, accelerators, students, and technology professionals, and will strengthen the connection between local capabilities and global knowledge.

New infrastructure, acceleration, and capital to support growth

The ecosystem will expand its physical capacity with the upcoming opening of the Alinghi building at Marina de Empresas. The building, which spans 7,600 square meters across three floors, will be able to accommodate up to 1,000 people associated with Lanzadera, Angels, and EDEM.

The first teams will begin moving in on September 7. The expansion will make it possible to bring in new companies, provide more space for growing projects, and bring together training, acceleration, and investment in a single environment.

In Castellón, the ten startups selected by Órbita are entering the decisive phase of their acceleration program. The initiative, sponsored by CEEI Castellón and the Provincial Council, will resume in-person activities on September 3 and will culminate on November 20 with a Demo Day, during which the five highest-rated companies will each receive 20,000 euros, for a total of 100,000 euros without any equity stake.

According to data compiled by the program through 2025, the 80 startups that had gone through Órbita had a combined revenue of over 177 million euros, had created 771 jobs, and had raised 64.5 million euros in investment. The track record of companies such as Internxt, Arkadia Space, CoCircular, Inversiva, Momoven, GuruWalk, and Howlanders demonstrates the role that specialized acceleration programs can play in consolidating projects launched or developed in the Valencian Community.

Specialized capital continues to evolve in parallel. Mission is making progress toward closing a new fund with a target of 35 million euros to invest in early-stage technology companies. The investment firm, which emerged from the transformation of Demium, plans to make about 15 investments per year, with average initial investments of 250,000 euros and the capacity to support subsequent phases with up to two or three million.

The availability of seed and follow-on capital is crucial for teams to validate their product, attract talent, and scale up without leaving the market prematurely. It also helps build a more sustained relationship between startups and their investors.

The Annual Report by BIGBAN Investors Spain and Comillas Pontifical University provides context on the conditions demanded by the market. Seventy-five percent of the business angels, family offices, and venture capital funds surveyed consider tax incentives a priority, while corporate investors prioritize regulatory sandboxes and public-private co-investment mechanisms.

The results show that the growth of the ecosystem does not depend solely on increasing the amount of capital. It also requires frameworks that reduce the risks associated with innovation, allow technology to be validated with real customers, and facilitate collaboration among private investors, companies, and institutions.

New opportunities for startups, talent and open innovation

The schedule for the coming weeks features opportunities for visibility, funding, validation, and international expansion for companies and professionals in the ecosystem.

On September 5, DLD Sports 2026 will bring together athletes, entrepreneurs, investors, scientists, and industry professionals in Valencia. The event will explore the impact of artificial intelligence, data, robotics, connected devices, nutrition, and new content formats on athletic performance and the sports business.

The event will be held at Base2 and will feature Startup Valencia among its collaborating organizations. Admission is by application only and is subject to limited availability.

València Innovation Capital will select up to 24 companies through its call for Valencian startups interested in participating in Web Summit Lisbon 2026. The selected companies will be part of Valencia’s Startup Island, will have exhibition space for one day, and will receive credentials, institutional visibility, and networking opportunities.

Web Summit will take place from November 9 to 12 and will provide an opportunity to connect with investors, corporations, potential partners, and the international media. The official deadline for submitting applications is September 6.

Startups with solutions applicable to sports can submit their applications for the Groundbreakers Pitch Sessions through September 7. The call for entries will select ten projects to give a three-minute presentation and participate in a Q&A session with investors, buyers, and innovation leaders.

The sessions will be part of the GSIC Summit Valencia 2026, which will take place on October 7 and 8. The event will bring together startups, technology companies, sports organizations, institutions, and investors to explore how to validate, implement, and scale sports tech solutions.

City Resilience Hack will hold an international hackathon in Tallinn on September 24 and 25 to develop solutions for emergencies, crises, and disruptions to essential services. Valencia is participating alongside Tallinn, Helsinki, Dnipro, and Lviv.

The call for proposals is open to startups, professionals, and multidisciplinary teams working in technology, data, cybersecurity, logistics, urban planning, healthcare, and design. Projects will compete for a total prize pool of 75,000 euros, as well as opportunities to participate in pilot programs and accelerator programs. The deadline for submitting applications is September 10.

Food innovation will once again take center stage at the ftalks Food Summit 2026, organized by KM ZERO. The eighth edition will be held on September 16 in Valencia and will bring together more than 80 international experts.

The program will examine trends such as personalized nutrition, longevity, artificial intelligence, new genomic techniques, biodiversity, food security, and the impact of geopolitics on the value chain. The event will bring together startups, industry, investors, scientists, and distributors to discuss the changes that are transforming the food sector.

Nealis Tech is seeking startups to address two urban service challenges as part of the first edition of the Nealis Innovation Challenge, organized by Nealis Innovation Hub with the support of València Innovation Capital.

The call for proposals seeks, on the one hand, predictive digital twins that can be deployed and adjusted quickly and, on the other hand, automated systems for detecting gas leaks. Up to three finalist companies will be able to validate their solutions on Nealis’s infrastructure and gain access to Valencia’s urban sandbox, with the opportunity to develop pilot projects and establish future partnerships. The application period remains open throughout September.

The third edition of Savia Innova is seeking startups, spin-offs, entrepreneurial teams, and research projects capable of improving the care, independence, and well-being of older adults.

The program offers a prize of 3,000 euros, one year of workspace at The Terminal Hub, and the opportunity to test the solution at Savia’s network of centers in the entrepreneurship category. The research category comes with a prize of 2,000 euros. Applications may be submitted until October 15.

The City Council, through València Innovation Capital and in collaboration with Startup Valencia, has also launched the 11th edition of the VLC Startup Awards. The awards will distribute 60,000 euros across ten categories.

The best startup and the best seed-stage company will each receive 10,000 euros, while the eight sector-specific categories will award 5,000 euros. The categories include GovTech, agrotech, digital health, semiconductors, emergency response and defense, immersive technologies and gaming, urban tech, and sustainable tourism. The deadline is October 25.

An ecosystem that transforms knowledge into the ability to execute

August paints a picture of a Valencian startup ecosystem that is moving forward not only through new companies, investment, and events, but also through its ability to transform knowledge into verifiable solutions. The urban pilot projects—EPICA+, BERTHA, INNDIH AI Connect—and the accelerator programs demonstrate, from different perspectives, the value of connecting research, business, talent, and validation infrastructure.

Open calls for proposals expand the avenues for companies to internationalize, test products, access funding, and enter strategic sectors. The challenge will be to turn these opportunities into pilot projects that reach the market, contracts that enable scaling, skilled jobs, and companies capable of competing from Valencia within international value chains.

The developments in August point toward greater execution capacity. Consolidating this capacity will require continuity, collaboration, and a rigorous evaluation of results so that innovation translates into business growth and a real impact on the economy and society.