The first time worked. That's why we came back.
In the evolving landscape of audiovisual technology, Barcelona's Fira de Barcelona has become a quiet crossroads where young companies and global capital find each other. Innovation Park, a dedicated zone within Integrated Systems Europe, has grown into something more than a trade show feature — it is a structured ecosystem where pitch sessions, matchmaking, and proximity to decision-makers compress years of business development into days. As ISE returns February 2–5, 2027, the program carries forward a proven record: 130 exhibitors, 84 pitch sessions, and over 160 meaningful connections in 2026 alone. The deeper story is about how industries renew themselves — not through incumbents alone, but through the deliberate cultivation of what comes next.
- Audiovisual startups face a familiar paradox: they carry transformative ideas but lack the networks and capital to move them from prototype to global market.
- Innovation Park's 2026 edition cracked that barrier open — 84 pitch sessions and 160+ matchmaking connections turned a trade show floor into a deal-making engine.
- Companies like Turtle AV grew from concept to nearly 40 worldwide distributors in a single year, while first-timers like amperry immediately saw pathways beyond their home markets.
- The program's architecture — pitching stages, structured matchmaking coordinated by Ambivation, partner sessions, and a closing hackathon — ensures that momentum is built by design, not by chance.
- ISE 2027 arrives with founders already planning returns and new startups watching closely, signaling that the platform has achieved something rare: self-reinforcing credibility.
Inside Barcelona's Fira de Barcelona, Innovation Park has quietly become one of the audiovisual industry's most consequential gathering points. Embedded within the Integrated Systems Europe trade show, the program returns February 2–5, 2027, carrying the weight of a successful 2026 edition and a sharpened purpose: to bridge ambitious startups with the investors, buyers, and distribution networks that can take them global.
The 2026 numbers were not merely impressive — they were instructive. One hundred thirty exhibitors filled the zone. Eighty-four pitch sessions gave founders direct lines to decision-makers. A matchmaking program run by Ambivation generated more than 160 one-on-one connections. Behind each statistic was a conversation that could become a funding round, a distribution deal, or an entry into a new market.
The human stories made the metrics tangible. Fabien Rolland of Losonnante, a French bone-conduction audio company, returned for a second year because the first had worked — the contacts and visibility he gained became the foundation for his next expansion push. Alberto Paccagnella of amperry, an Italian shared-battery rental startup, attended ISE for the first time in 2026 and immediately saw a credible path beyond Italy's borders. Chris White of Australian audio manufacturer Turtle AV described the experience in starker terms: his company had launched at ISE the prior year and arrived in 2026 with nearly 40 distributors worldwide and exceptional momentum across Europe.
The program's architecture supported these outcomes deliberately. The Plug and Play Pitching Stage gave founders a formal platform, while networking tours, evening speed-dating events, and seven partner-organized sessions — involving organizations like Barcelona Activa and EIT Culture & Creativity — added local expertise to the international stage. An ISE Hackathon closed the program, pushing developers to build under pressure.
For ISE Managing Director Mike Blackman, Innovation Park is not a celebration of startups in the abstract — it is a mechanism for industry renewal, designed to move ideas from concept to market and ensure the next generation of leaders has a place to be found. As February 2027 approaches, founders who succeeded last year are already planning their return, and new companies are watching what becomes possible when ambition and opportunity share the same room.
Inside the Barcelona convention center, a quiet revolution is taking shape. Innovation Park, a dedicated zone within the Integrated Systems Europe trade show, has become the place where audiovisual startups meet the money and the connections that can remake their futures. After a successful 2026 edition, the program is returning to the Fira de Barcelona from February 2 to 5, 2027, with a clearer mission: to be the bridge between ambitious young companies and the global AV industry.
The numbers tell part of the story. In 2026, Innovation Park hosted 130 exhibitors. Eighty-four pitch sessions gave founders direct access to investors and industry decision-makers. A matchmaking program, coordinated by Ambivation, facilitated more than 160 one-on-one connections between startups, investors, corporate innovation leaders, and other key players. These are not abstract metrics. They represent hundreds of conversations that began at a booth and evolved into distribution deals, funding rounds, and international expansion plans.
Fabien Rolland, who cofounded Losonnante, a French company developing immersive bone-conduction audio technology, returned to Innovation Park for a second year. His reasoning was straightforward: the first time worked. The contacts he made, the visibility he gained—these were not vanities. They were the foundation for his next phase. This year, he came back hunting for international investors and integrators who could help him break into new markets through established distribution channels. That is what a startup needs from a trade show: not a booth, but a launchpad.
Amperry, an Italian startup offering shared external battery rentals for phones and laptops, arrived at ISE for the first time in 2026. Alberto Paccagnella, one of its founders, recognized immediately that this was the right stage for his company. The interest came fast. The conversations pointed toward real opportunities to scale beyond Italy's borders. A first-time exhibitor walked away seeing a path to global growth.
Chris White, the EU Territory Manager for Turtle AV, an Australian audio manufacturer, experienced something more dramatic. His company had launched at ISE the previous year. By 2026, Turtle AV had grown to nearly 40 distributors worldwide. The industry had taken notice. Europe was responding. ISE 2026 generated what he called exceptional interest—hundreds of new contacts, doors opening for continued international expansion. A startup that existed only in concept a year earlier was now a player with momentum.
The mechanics of connection mattered as much as the venue. The Plug and Play Pitching Stage became the engine of the program, giving founders a formal platform to address investors and partners. But the real work happened in the margins: networking tours, evening events designed for speed-dating conversations, and the structured matchmaking sessions. Seven partner-organized sessions, involving organizations like BCN Health Hub, Barcelona Activa, and EIT Culture & Creativity, added depth and local knowledge to the international stage. An ISE Hackathon capped the program, giving developers and designers a chance to build something new under pressure.
Mike Blackman, Managing Director of Integrated Systems Events, frames Innovation Park as a tool for shaping the future of the AV industry itself. The program does not exist to celebrate startups in the abstract. It exists to move ideas from concept to market, to connect entrepreneurial talent with the resources and expertise they need, and to ensure that the next generation of industry leaders has a place to be discovered. When a startup finds the right investor, the right partner, the right distribution channel—that is when Innovation Park succeeds. That is when the industry renews itself.
The 2027 edition arrives with proven momentum. Founders who succeeded in 2026 are already planning their return. New startups are watching, seeing what is possible. The audiovisual industry is not known for moving fast, but inside Innovation Park, the pace quickens. Ideas meet capital. Ambition meets opportunity. And in February, Barcelona will host that collision again.
Citações Notáveis
The experience and contacts we made previously were extremely valuable, so returning was an easy decision.— Fabien Rolland, cofoundor of Losonnante
From the first day, we realized this was the right platform for a startup like ours.— Alberto Paccagnella, cofoundor of amperry
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does a trade show need a dedicated startup zone? Couldn't founders just walk the floor and find investors on their own?
They could, but it would be random. Innovation Park is curated. The matchmaking program, the pitch stage, the partner sessions—these create structure. A founder doesn't have to guess where to find the right investor. The right investor knows where to look.
So it's not really about the venue. It's about the curation.
Exactly. The venue matters because it's where the industry gathers. But the curation is what transforms a trade show into a launchpad. Losonnante came back because the first time actually worked. That doesn't happen by accident.
What surprised you most about the 2026 results?
How quickly conversations became deals. Amperry arrived for the first time and immediately saw paths to scale internationally. Turtle AV went from a launch to 40 distributors in a year. These are not slow-moving outcomes. The startups that showed up were ready, and the program gave them the right stage.
Is there a risk that this becomes too polished, too corporate? That it loses the scrappiness that makes startups interesting?
That's the tension, isn't it. But look at who's participating—Losonnante, amperry, Turtle AV. These are not corporate subsidiaries. They're real founders solving real problems. The structure doesn't kill the scrappiness. It just makes sure the scrappy ideas reach the people who can fund them.