Valencia continues to strengthen its position as one of Europe’s leading technological innovation hubs by promoting initiatives that connect technology, the city and the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
In this context, Startup Valencia and València Innovation Capital are organising “Sandbox + Startup Valencia. Explore the Sandbox: a space to innovate”, a session that will take place on 7 May at La Harinera. The event is aimed at startups, tech companies, investors and key players from the technological innovation ecosystem interested in validating innovative solutions in real-world environments.
Valencia’s Urban Sandbox: technological innovation in real conditions
The Urban Sandbox of Valencia is a strategic tool promoted by Valencia City Council that makes the city’s resources available to the technological innovation ecosystem for the development and validation of solutions in a real urban environment.
Its objective is to enable startups, companies, research centres and universities to test products, services and business models under real conditions, accelerating their development and market access.
Through this model, Valencia reinforces its positioning as a city open to experimentation, providing access to more than 100 urban resources enabled for testing.
The Urban Sandbox is structured as a collaborative environment between the public administration and the technological innovation ecosystem. It promotes an approach based on co-creation, risk reduction and the generation of shared value.
This model allows projects to validate solutions in real and relevant contexts, increase their credibility among investors and the market, access public infrastructure already authorised for experimentation and accelerate the scalability of innovative solutions. In addition, Valencia City Council acts as a facilitator throughout the process, supporting participating organisations from the application stage through to pilot implementation and evaluation.
An opportunity for the technological innovation ecosystem
The session on 7 May aims to present the progress made by the Urban Sandbox during its first year of operation and bring its opportunities closer to the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
During the event, participants will learn about the main lessons and results obtained so far, how the Sandbox works, the access mechanisms available, real cases of startups already developing pilots in the city and the role of the Smart City model as a driver of technological innovation.
The event will also include a networking space designed to foster connections between startups, institutions, corporations and key ecosystem players.
Aimed at startups and ecosystem agents, the session is especially relevant for startups with solutions in advanced stages of development, between TRL 5 and TRL 9; founders developing applied technology for urban environments; incubation and acceleration programmes; investors; and organisations interested in urban technological innovation projects.
Sectors such as artificial intelligence, IoT, energy, mobility, health, climate tech and govtech can find in the Urban Sandbox an ideal environment to validate their solutions under real-world conditions.
Valencia, a city built for technological innovation
The Urban Sandbox represents a significant step forward in the way cities promote technological innovation by turning the urban space into a platform for experimentation.
This approach contributes to attracting and retaining tech talent, generating new investment opportunities, strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem and positioning Valencia as an international benchmark in urban technological innovation.
Ultimately, the Urban Sandbox reinforces the institutional commitment to technological innovation by providing a stable, accessible and results-oriented framework for startups, companies and organisations looking to test, validate and scale solutions in a real city environment.
