Smart City Expo World Congress Barcelona 2024

It's the end of the third day at the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona.
And that means the expo is done for now.
This year's edition has seen a bigger exhibition floor with the expansion, the space for the innovation area also increased.
We've seen big names with big booths.
However, many of these large booths were shared with smaller companies and startups, proving that the smart city industry has become one of partnerships.
This expansion has also brought the creation of an investor's pass, which may make the event even more attractive to startups, for example We've seen the return of the China Pavilion with a focus on mobility, as well as a higher presence of Saudi Arabian companies and municipalities.
The question with the Saudi Arabian presence is what is their role in the industry?
Mere clients or also contributors?
Water utility companies were there once again consolidating their position as key players in smart cities, something the street lighting vertical also did with many vendors and alliances present and ready to work together.
Like DALI, TALQ and ZHAGA, who announced a collaboration to unify data streams for smart street lighting solutions.
As for trends, the hype for AI has calmed down.
Some attendees did point out that many companies are using AI for the same use cases.
So as artificial intelligence becomes more and more accessible, opening the door to more organizations.
Companies will have to look for their uniqueness within the ecosystem.
In general, most startups were present at this year's edition keeping the industry fresh.
At Kurrant, we had our investment event, The Smart Deal The Deal reveal and hosted many pitch sessions, business agreements and interviews with key players and city and region representatives like Eugenio Patanè from Rome.
We'll be bringing you all the coverage from the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona, from this year's edition, so as always, keep an eye on Kurrant.