The expansion of Campus Donostia at Illunbe to host BIC Gipuzkoa’s new headquarters, driving a new era of science and technology entrepreneurship in Gipuzkoa
The future headquarters will provide almost 5,000 square metres of laboratories, scientific infrastructure and collaborative spaces to accelerate the growth of science and technology-based companies. The relocation, scheduled for the first quarter of 2027, will strengthen Gipuzkoa’s innovation ecosystem and consolidate a benchmark public-private collaboration model in the Basque Country.
The expansion of Campus Donostia at the Basque Country Technology Park in Illunbe will host the future headquarters of BIC Gipuzkoa, which will relocate from its current premises to these new facilities. The new site is expected to become operational in the first quarter of 2027 and will strengthen the territory’s capabilities to foster science and technology entrepreneurship, supporting the creation and growth of innovative, high value-added companies.
A new chapter for science and technology entrepreneurship
The Provincial Deputy for Economic Promotion and Strategic Projects, Unai Andueza, highlighted that:
“BIC Gipuzkoa represents a way of understanding the development of our territory that is based on collaboration, innovation and the creation of opportunities. The results achieved over recent years enable us to take a further step forward through a strategic commitment that will strengthen Gipuzkoa’s capabilities to foster science and technology entrepreneurship and accelerate the creation and growth of high value-added companies. This is an investment in Gipuzkoa’s future, as it means generating new industry in the medium and long term, promoting quality employment, strengthening our competitiveness and creating new opportunities for people.”
The relocation of BIC Gipuzkoa, a leading organisation in promoting science and technology entrepreneurship, reflects the significant evolution experienced by the centre over the past decade. During this period, it has supported the creation and consolidation of 460 innovative companies, which maintain an 80% survival rate nine years after incorporation, have generated 3,243 jobs and achieved an estimated return of €71.25 for every euro invested.
The move to the new headquarters is intended to maximise the potential offered by the specialised environment that Campus Donostia of the Basque Country Technology Park will provide in the Illunbe area for future business initiatives. The future BIC Gipuzkoa headquarters, covering almost 5,000 square metres, will expand the incubation and acceleration capacity for science and technology-based companies through specialised laboratories, shared scientific infrastructure and spaces specifically designed to support high value-added projects, particularly in biotechnology, health and life sciences.
The Basque Government’s Minister for Industry, Energy Transition and Sustainability, Mikel Jauregi, stated:
“For an entrepreneur, attracting talent is as important as, if not more important than, securing funding. Locating the new BIC in an urban environment makes it easier to attract talent to our start-ups. We need to bring Parke closer to young people, to attractive, dynamic environments that are accessible by public transport, bicycle or on foot. A new BIC in the heart of Donostia-San Sebastián, where the expansion of Parke’s Campus Donostia is taking place, combines an unrivalled quality of life with top-level professional challenges. This model of urban entrepreneurship centres is what we see in leading ecosystems across Europe and the United States.”
He added:
“The Industry Plan – Euskadi 2030 aims to create the quality employment that our sons and daughters aspire to have. When creating new workplaces, we must also listen to the kinds of environments in which they aspire to work.”
The new headquarters will encourage collaboration between start-ups, companies, technology centres, universities and investors, while fostering projects in artificial intelligence and data, biotechnology, health, foodtech, advanced materials, energy and climate, advanced industry and other strategic technologies.
Infrastructure dedicated to science and technology entrepreneurship
Marisa Arriola, Managing Director of BIC Gipuzkoa, emphasised:
“The new headquarters represents a qualitative leap forward for BIC Gipuzkoa and for the ecosystem as a whole. We have designed a space intended to support companies from their earliest stages through to consolidation, combining specialised laboratories, shared scientific infrastructure and collaborative environments. Access to BSL-2 laboratories, clean rooms, culture rooms and biocoworking spaces will provide start-ups and emerging companies with strategic resources to innovate, grow and accelerate their route to market.”
The facilities will occupy almost 5,000 m² and will include 11 dedicated laboratories, 21 modules for start-ups and incubated companies, a shared scientific laboratory of more than 100 m², biocoworking spaces, a coworking area exceeding 120 m², 21 meeting rooms and a multifunctional space for technical events and networking activities.
SOKAI Gipuzkoa Hub: A New Innovation Pole
The project is based on a public-private partnership model designed to strengthen Gipuzkoa’s and the Basque Country’s capabilities in science and technology-based entrepreneurship, knowledge transfer and competitiveness.
Javier García Cogorro, President of Columbus Venture Partners, stated:
“SOKAI Gipuzkoa Hub is much more than a real estate infrastructure project; it is a life sciences innovation hub designed to bring together science, entrepreneurship, industry, talent and capital. The incorporation of BIC Gipuzkoa reinforces our ambition to make SOKAI, from Donostia-San Sebastián, a node connected to the world’s leading bioscience innovation centres, capable of attracting international projects and helping companies born here to grow and establish themselves in Gipuzkoa.”
The future headquarters will be integrated into SOKAI Gipuzkoa Hub, a space designed to encourage collaboration between start-ups, companies, technology centres, universities and investors, strengthening its ability to attract talent and international projects.
The Mayor of Donostia-San Sebastián, Jon Insausti, highlighted:
“The consolidation of BIC Gipuzkoa at its new headquarters further reinforces San Sebastián’s character as a city of knowledge and innovation. Illunbe is becoming a strategic location for a high value-added economic sector thanks to a strong science and innovation ecosystem. Projects such as BIC Gipuzkoa attract skilled employment and talent, but above all they place science and technology at the service of people, citizens and the people of Donostia-San Sebastián, with the goal of improving their quality of life. Donostia-San Sebastián does not simply aspire to be Europe’s most prosperous city; it also aims to be its happiest, and I am convinced that entrepreneurial projects such as this bring us closer to that goal.”
The completion of the relocation, scheduled for the first quarter of 2027, will provide a new boost to science and technology entrepreneurship in Gipuzkoa and further strengthen the positioning of both Gipuzkoa and the Basque Country as benchmark territories for innovation and competitiveness.
