Nestled on the Atlantic Coast, a city that blends Innovation, sustainability and Cultural Identity: citizens act as active custodians of their ecosystem
Situated between the Atlantic Ocean and the French border just 25 kilometers away, it has long been a crossroads of ideas, people, and languages. This unique position fosters a naturally multilingual environment where Basque, Spanish, French, and English coexist, reflecting the city’s inclusive and outward-looking spirit.
Over the last 35 years, San Sebastian has undergone a great transformation, evolving from a post-industrial city into a leading hub of science, innovation, and quality of life. The city concentrates top-tier research institutions and fosters a dense innovation ecosystem, actively supported talent attraction, scientific outreach, and SME engagement.
From early investments in scientific and technological infrastructure to the creation of innovation centers and urban challenges that promote youth participation, the city has built a robust ecosystem that fosters experimentation, collaboration, and entrepreneurship. These initiatives have served as platforms for connecting research, education, and industry, while empowering citizens to co-create solutions to urban challenges where innovation thrives, complemented by a strong civic culture that values participation, inclusion, and shared progress.
This commitment has changed the economic fabric of the city, from a model based on more traditional companies to our current reality, where Knowledge Intensive Companies now account for nearly 50% of our GDP and more than 35% of employment. With around 15 400 companies, the city ranks Top 4 Business Density in Spain. Besides, the city is home to 30 research institutions, accounting for 6.800 researchers, 3.7% of the GDP invested in R&D, which means a 1936 euro/inhabitant investment (869 euros being the EU average), and currently is the Spanish capital with the highest R&D technological employment density in 2025. It is a city with a very strong educational offer, with four universities and 17 vocational training centers, a basque vocational training model that stands out, setting a benchmark at the European level.
These efforts represent their commitment to leading as a technological and innovative hub in Southern Europe. Key projects include the expansion of our Technology Park, collaborations with MIT in Artificial Intelligence, with IBM to host the world's sixth quantum computer and the only System-Two computer in Europe, home to Multiverse Computing, a world leader in quantum computing, the development of our Biosciences and Healthcare hub based on gene therapies, but also significant investments in Hydrogen Technologies. It highlights their ambition to remain at the forefront of technological advancement and sustainable urban living for their next generations, with a focus on becoming a leading technological and innovation pole in Southern Europe in Quantum and Biotechnology.
Nevertheless, the city's evolution hast not only been technological but profoundly social: innovation was embraced as a tool to improve citizens' quality of life, reduce inequality, and create inclusive opportunities.
Connecting for co-design: San Sebastian is a city platform for experimenting and innovating in Southern Europe
San Sebastian has positioned itself as a pioneering city in municipal public innovation, turning it into an Urban Laboratory, as a new space of opportunity open to experimentation. Innovation is continuously tested, validated, and scaled - while working on collaborative multilevel governance dynamics with a people – centric approach, using the city as a platform for collective innovation. The city also promotes the evolution of citizen-driven initiatives for social experimentation (with a bottom-up approach) into real time platform: Behobia–San Sebastian (B/SS) or Donosti-Cup. More than just sporting events, they act as an urban innovation labs, co-designed with the city and reflecting multi-level governance, turning the race into a testbed for scalable urban solutions. When talking about multilevel governance aligned to industry, they have good examples, such as MUBIL or MIT CITY SCIENCE LAB.
Connecting for growth: San Sebastian is a city at the forefront of entrepreneurship and a thriving business ecosystem
With a dynamic ecosystem, the city accelerates growth, attracts talent, and fosters global competitiveness, while supportive policies and strategic investments create fertile ground for high-impact companies. Today the city positions itself as a rapidly emerging hub for deep tech and life sciences, driven by visionary companies that anchor and accelerate its innovation ecosystem. More than 100 different support programs from over 45 public and private stakeholders, foster entrepreneurship and facilitates the growth and scaling of innovative projects from all areas of society.
EKINN initiative: the city co-designed with the ecosystem EKINN a new public initiative focused on promoting the entrepreneurial ecosystem in San Sebastian. Opened in early 2024, it becomes the “home of entrepreneurial projects” - offers resources to help transform ideas into business projects and it is designed to accelerate and scale start-ups (housing, one-stop shop for entrepreneurs, co-working spaces, and training). Almost 5 500 people have worked in the space, almost 1 000 of whom with business project ideas, and the support to 229 business projects. Projects Acceleration EKINN+ , National Winner and Finalist at the European Enterprise Promotion Awards 2025.
A leading technological and innovation pole in Southern Europe in Quantum and Biotechnology
The Quantum Mile is rapidly positioning San Sebastian as a European epicenter for quantum innovation. The Quantum Innovation Pole connects leading actors such as Multiverse Computing (is recognized as the largest quantum AI company in the EU), IBM Quantum Computer (San Sebastian hosts Europe’s first IBM Quantum System Two computer) and regional universities in pioneering work on quantum software and hardware, together with a whole list of start-ups and companies that are being attracted by the city.
San Sebastian’s Biosciences Hub has rapidly evolved into a leading center for biotech investment and scientific collaboration, anchored by flagship companies like Viralgen, that has attracted over €120 million in investment and employs more than 440 professionals in the city. The Miramon Tech Park, home to over 80 companies and research centers, provides advanced infrastructure and hosts more than 2 500 highly qualified jobs. The investment in the sector has risen 114% during the period 2017-23, while the R&D human capital of the sector has increased by 74% (with a dramatic increase of Researchers). The investment in this sector already stands at 17% of the global R&D investments of the city.
Connecting for cooperation: San Sebastian is an international reference as high intensity innovation hub
San Sebastian's innovation journey is deeply rooted in its collaborative public-private partnership model, which has driven significant advancements in research, development, and innovation (R&D+i). It enables us to act as co-creators, orchestrating synergies among the Innovation ecosystem. The role of the municipality is dual: to facilitate infrastructure and regulatory support while also activating programmes that attract talent, support SMEs and promote scientific literacy.
This model is the product of a cumulative organic process: the City’s ecosystem is structured around a dense network of institutions and platforms that facilitate interaction, collaboration and institutional proximity around RTD players, Education agents or Innovation Hubs. For instance, they have launched our Local Innovation Plan as the Strategic multilevel Governance tool or the Innovation Week.
When looking beyond their borders, the city has evolved into a platform for Innovation, connecting dots between education, innovation, and global partnerships. Its strategic vision positions it as a “bridge city” - one that fosters mutual learning and knowledge transfer across Europe.
San Sebastian has firmly established itself as a globally connected innovation hub through active participation in a wide range of international networks and collaborative platforms. The city is an active member of different European Networks, such as ENERGY CITIES, EUROCITIES, ICLEI, SCALABLE CITIES, RECI, or COTEC, showcasing its leadership in urban transformation dialogue. These networks serve as strategic instruments for knowledge exchange, policy influence, and the replication of innovative urban solutions. Participating in over 120 European projects over the last decade, building bridges with other European cities is part of our DNA.
Connecting for All: A balanced model of innovation for everyone
Social economy is at the heart of the city´s socioeconomic development model (the city was designated the 2023 national capital of social economy), a model of inclusive urban development, promoting gender equality, inclusion and civic engagement. With immigrants and foreign residents representing over 15% population, the city offers strong integration and diversity services, language support and inclusive policies that celebrate diversity.
The principle of “connecting for all” through participatory processes shapes San Sebastian into a resilient, balanced city where solidarity is embedded in both policy and daily life: ASETT project (Social Economy Think Tank), establishing an international hub for the social economy and inclusion. EMAUS merges social entrepreneurship with circular economy principles to create green jobs and empower vulnerable populations. UBA Innovation for Inclusive Employment. Since 2023, UBA municipal hostel has been transformed into an inclusive experimental employment space that offers itineraries for training and job opportunities. GUREAK, a Social Economy Business Group based in the city provides employment to people with disabilities. It is, currently, the largest enterprise in the San Sebastian's region with 6 100 employees.
One of city’s pillars in this field is the development of strategic projects in less developed areas to foster an integrated city development: East District Strategic Plan. The plan targets improvements in public space, mobility, social cohesion, and economic vitality through innovation and culture. It is important to highlight the importance of participatory processes (Parte Hartu) and cross-sector collaboration in this community-driven transformation.