Powering startups at 4YFN25: Meet the Top 20 Startups

Most people know GSMA MWC Barcelona as the world’s largest and most influential connectivity event, but what many people do not know is that it is co-located with one of the world’s most iconic startup events – 4YFN.

4YFN brings together the most innovative startups from across the global ecosystem, and springboards them onto the radar of some of the most powerful decision makers in the connectivity ecosystem. Last year, over 2,000 founders of world-leading startups from 110 countries, and 1,000 investors, venture capitalists and corporate venture capitalists – representing over €50 billion of funds – came to 4YFN to showcase their cutting-edge solutions, network with like-minded founders and investors, and propel their ideas to a global audience.

4YFN25 is presented under the theme AI XL, which pays homage to the bold disruptors advancing this groundbreaking technology in new and exciting ways. Across its seven stages in Halls 8.0 and 8.1, the 4YFN agenda will tackle the latest trends reshaping industries, whether it’s the role of AI in fast-tracking innovation or the technology’s transition from the digital realm to our physical world. 4YFN is open to every attendee at MWC25 Barcelona.

Introducing the 4YFN Top 20 Startups

One of the highlights of 4YFN each year is the 4YFN Awards, a global startup competition dedicated to discovering the best digital startups on the planet. The winner is crowned at a ceremony following a high energy on-stage pitching competition taking place at the Banco Sabadell stage on Wednesday 5 March 2025 at 5pm, chosen by a panel of judges representing some of the most influential figures from the investor community.

Participating startups are selected from the recently published Top 20 Startups, which recognises leading startups driving progress in five key areas:

Digital Health – recognising the digital solutions and technologies striving to improve healthcare prevention, detection and delivery across services, systems, approaches and locations.

• The Blue Box (Spain) – transforming breast cancer screening through groundbreaking urine-based tests.

• Cure Bionics (Tunisia) – revolutionising the prosthetic market for low- and medium-income communities.

• Horus ML (Spain) – enhancing clinical decisions with AI assistance.

• Kemtai (Israel) – offers digital musculoskeletal care through its AI exercise platform.

Green Tech – shining a light on the solutions driving environmental sustainability across different sectors, whether it’s protecting our natural resources, environments and biodiversity or battling climate change.

• EnergyX (Republic of Korea) – revolutionising sustainable architecture by driving the creation of zero energy buildings.

• Mitiga Solutions (Spain) – empowering resilience in a changing climate through its climate risk intelligence platform.

• Phelas (Germany) – transforming renewable energy through its energy storage and planning platforms.

• Qflow (United Kingdom) – minimising materials waste to drive circularity across the construction industry.

Fintech – introducing the startups that are improving and automating the delivery and use of financial and insurance services, as well as driving financial inclusion globally.

• Bankuish (Colombia) – platform providing freelancers, gig workers and creators with easy access to credit and banking services.

• Embat (Spain) – transforming financial management through its platform designed by financial experts for financial experts.

• Okoora (Israel) – providing businesses with the financial infrastructure to scale their international operations.

• Spendbase (Ukraine) – empowering companies to optimise their SaaS, cloud and corporate card spending.

Digital Horizons – the pioneers that are transforming traditional industries and markets with cutting-edge technologies.

• Orquest (Spain) – optimising retail scheduling through its AI-powered platform.

• Rockfish Data (United States of America) – eliminating data bottlenecks across product lifecycles in the telecoms ecosystem.

• Sakak (Republic of Korea) – researching safe and reliable AI applications and improving interactions between people and technology.

• Shakers (Spain) – reimagining the way companies and freelancers connect and collaborate.

Mobile Frontiers – dedicated to the startups powering innovation in the telecommunications sector.

• Fossa (Spain) – delivering IoT connectivity solutions for remote asset and infrastructure management.

• IS-Wireless (Poland) – providing reliable Private 5G solutions for Industry 4.0.

• Quantum Industries (Austria) – offering secure and scalable quantum communication networks for critical infrastructure.

• Ramon Space (Israel) – driving the digital transformation of space systems.

One company from each category will be chosen to take part in the on-stage pitching competition, for their chance to be crowned best digital startup at the 4YFN25 Awards. The finalists will be announced on Thursday 10 December 2024, so keep an eye on the latest news coming out of 4YFN here.

Whether you’re a founder, investor or corporate trailblazer, 4YFN shines a light on the disruptive players powering the startup ecosystem and transforming vertical sectors. Secure your place to attend here.