INDPULS at Connectio Day 2025: Open Innovation, Technology, and Collaboration

At INDPULS, we took part in Connectio Day, a business innovation event organized by Barcelona Activa at the Cibernàrium Auditorium in the 22@ district. Held on May 30th, 2025, the event highlighted the potential of open innovation as a strategic tool to connect startups, SMEs, and large corporations within a collaborative ecosystem.

A Day to Rethink the Technological Future

With an agenda focused on digital transformation, artificial intelligence (AI), and emerging trends, the event kicked off with top-tier keynote presentations. Cecilia Tham, founder of Futurity Studio, delivered an inspiring talk titled “From Open Innovation to Collective Intelligence.” Her futuristic vision transported us beyond today’s imagination: highly specialized AI in fields like architecture, law, or gastronomy, digital clones, and even interspecies communication. She also introduced the emerging concept of the Machine Economy—a scenario where intelligent, autonomous machines operate independently in markets.

In contrast, Ulises Cortés, AI professor at UPC and researcher at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, offered a more critical and thoughtful perspective in his talk titled “Is There a Future Beyond AI?” He emphasized the need to develop technologies that are resource-efficient and ethically responsible, pointing to quantum and neuromorphic computing as key areas for the future.

Success Stories That Connect Real-World Challenges with Technological Solutions

One of the key moments of Connectio Day was the presentation of success stories emerging from the CONNECTIO platform. A standout example is the collaboration between Bitmetrics and Familia Torres, which originated from a quality control challenge on the bottling line. The startup developed a solution using computer vision to detect glass particles inside bottles, and the project is now in its pilot phase.

Another case presented was the collaboration between ERIA (the Innovation Hub of the company Estabanell) and Zenit, a startup offering a decentralized energy consumption management solution. Their aim is to interconnect energy generation and consumption in a more direct and sustainable way. Although still in the early stages, this project reflects the type of collaboration the platform seeks to foster.

Startups with Impact: Technology Applied to Social and Industrial Challenges

As part of the event, several startups were showcased to demonstrate how technology drives transformation in both social and industrial sectors. Highlights include:

• Vaive Logistics: last-mile logistics solutions.

• Footprint Mappa: sustainability applied to the industrial sector.

• Improfit: use of computer vision to improve physical health.

• Aima: virtual assistants for the elderly.

• Blindstairs – Merified: AI for recruitment processes.

• Lawwwing: application of law in the digital environment.

These initiatives not only respond to immediate challenges but do so with an innovation mindset geared towards sustainability, inclusion, and operational efficiency. Projects like Footprint Mappa and Blindstairs clearly show how the combination of data, automation, and human-centered design leads to disruptive solutions capable of transforming industrial and organizational processes, while delivering strategic value and sustainable impact.

Dynamic Activities to Strengthen the Innovation Ecosystem

Connectio Day also offered highly engaging spaces for interaction, such as the CONNECTIO Meetings, which were bilateral meetings designed to initiate strategic collaborations, or the pitch sessions in virtual reality, allowing participants to refine project presentations in an immersive environment. In addition, the Scouting Corner gave companies the chance to find tailor-made solutions or strategic partners, while the sessions “Respond to a Challenge and Discover CONNECTIO” guided startups on how to access real challenges and opportunities through the platform.

A Commitment to Open Innovation

At INDPULS, we value this event very positively, both for the quality of its content and for the opportunities it offered to connect with other key players in the ecosystem. Events like Connectio Day reinforce our commitment to fostering collaboration between industrial companies and tech startups, while exploring new pathways to apply open innovation to production processes and develop more sustainable and efficient business models.