Just a few years ago, the challenge was persuading tech companies to look at Tenerife. Today, the tables have turned. Now it is the companies that come knocking – and they do not always find space. The island has become a genuine launchpad for innovation, to the extent that 41 companies are now on a waiting list to set up in facilities managed by the Cabildo (island government) through the Tenerife Science and Technology Park (PCTT). Demand has outstripped available capacity, forcing the island corporation to go in search of new spaces to keep fuelling one of the economy’s most promising engines.
Investment to expand capacity
The response comes with an expansion of the space offered by the Cabildo, backed by a €650,000 investment from the Innovation Master Plan. This financial injection is aimed primarily at preparing new facilities for companies dedicated to research, technological development and innovation. The search is on for between 3,000 and 10,000 square metres of land. With this modification, programme funding will reach €2.4 million this year – an effort designed to ensure a lack of space does not hold back growth in a sector that has become one of the great bets for diversifying the island’s economy.
Cabildo president Rosa Dávila sums up the paradigm shift with a revealing phrase: “Just a few years ago, the priority was attracting companies; today the problem is having enough space to accommodate them.” In her view, the constant increase in projects interested in establishing themselves in Tenerife “shows that the strategy developed in recent years is delivering results.”
From offices to business incubator
This phenomenon is no accident. Behind it lies a sustained public strategy developed over years to create an ecosystem capable of competing with other national and international tech hubs. The Canary Islands’ tax advantages are combined with a growing scientific network, specialist infrastructure, strong digital connectivity and collaboration between universities, research centres and private companies. The results are now becoming visible: centres such as those in the Science Park and the Institute of Technology and Renewable Energies (ITER) no longer act simply as places to rent office space, but as business incubators where projects in artificial intelligence, robotics, biotechnology, quantum computing, aerospace and audiovisual development coexist.
Pressure on facilities is such that the Cabildo will allocate €400,000 to leasing new infrastructure to increase available capacity. A further €250,000 will go towards boosting Tenerife’s international promotion as a tech destination and supporting initiatives such as the ‘Lo Que Se Viene 2026’ festival, considered one of the main professional gatherings for the Spanish audiovisual sector.
Record growth in just three years
The growth experienced by the Science Park is particularly striking compared with just three years ago. Some 63 companies now work in PCTT facilities alone – three times as many as then. Adding those established at ITER, companies receiving specialist services and those linked to various research projects, the number exceeds 100 companies for the first time – a historic record for the island.
That development explains why Tenerife has gone from competing to attract investment to being forced to seek more space so as not to miss opportunities. The PCTT currently has five physical sites – Cuevas Blancas, Barranco Grande, INnovaparq, Las Mantecas and the Dársena Pesquera (fishing dock) – plus a virtual enclave designed for companies that do not need a permanent physical presence. However, demand already far exceeds available supply, and the island corporation is running a tender to incorporate new facilities.
€300 million economic impact
The tech network that has grown in Tenerife is no longer measured solely by the number of companies based there, but also by the economic impact it generates. The combined structure of the Science Park, ITER and associated initiatives moves more than €300 million a year, while the island’s tech sector as a whole generates around 15,000 direct and indirect jobs – figures that place innovation among the main levers for diversifying the island’s economy.
Island innovation councillor Juan José Martínez attributes much of this growth to an element that until a few years ago barely featured in business attraction strategies: talent. Training offered by the University of La Laguna and specialist centres means there is an ever-growing supply of engineers, researchers and highly qualified professionals – a decisive factor for companies that need to take on tech profiles without leaving a competitive environment.
From satellites to quantum computing
The examples are multiplying. In Tenerife, satellites are being designed to observe the Canary Islands from space, artificial intelligence tools are being developed for the audiovisual industry, new systems are being researched to extend the lifespan of electric vehicle batteries, optical components are manufactured for the global semiconductor industry, and projects linked to robotics, biotechnology and quantum computing are being promoted.
This ecosystem has attracted both multinationals and emerging start-ups. Among the former are international giants such as Samsung, Telefónica, Intel Capital, Tokyo Electron, Leonardo, Thales and Astra. Alongside them, companies born or developed in Tenerife have flourished, such as Arquimea, Wooptix, Orbidi and EAVE, now established as leaders in their respective fields.
Canary Islands satellite constellation
One of the projects that best symbolises this transformation is the Canary Islands Satellite Constellation, awarded for €21.3 million to Telespazio Ibérica, part-owned by aerospace groups Leonardo and Thales. The programme covers the design, manufacture, launch and operation of four satellites that will provide strategic information on emergencies, territorial planning, agriculture and climate change, while also consolidating the Tenerife Space Horizon programme as one of the island corporation’s great bets for the future.
World-class scientific infrastructure
The island’s scientific capability is also underpinned by top-level infrastructure. ITER houses genomics and robotics laboratories, photovoltaic energy facilities, wind and solar farms, international fibre-optic connections and the D-ALiX data centre, where the Teide and Anaga supercomputers operate. Both will be expanded with an investment of €10 million, multiplying their processing capacity thirty-fold and placing them among the most powerful in Spain.
This network is further strengthened by the role of the University of La Laguna, the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands and other scientific bodies that sustain a constant flow of knowledge and professionals into the business community.
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