Investor interest in the healthcare innovation market is reflected in record funding numbers and a myriad of opportunities for startup growth and collaboration. However, it is not all plain sailing for entrepreneurs in the sector, who face challenges such as the need to differentiate themselves in an increasingly crowded landscape.

Machine learning, metaverse and chatbots are some of the technologies that stimulate and facilitate learning in a virtual environment with great potential. Edtech startups, including some thirty unicorns, are confronting the digital divide to achieve the democratisation of knowledge thanks to the Internet and are coming up with innovations to motivate students in front of the screen.

BBVA New Gen, the investment product offered by the Group’s Swiss franchise, has completed its first year of existence. In a move to streamline the onboarding process, the bank now lets prospective customers sign up online just by uploading a ‘selfie’, after which their identity is verified in a matter of seconds. BBVA Switzerland is leveraging this technology, which can verify identity documents and passports from more than 190 countries, to boost its international expansion.

Almost 1,000 engineers have joined BBVA in the first half of 2022. A figure that the financial institution expects to double by the end of this year. These are technology profiles that are embedded throughout the different countries where the bank has a presence, 400 of them in Spain.

The southern Swiss city of Lugano has stepped up cryptocurrency use and is developing new infrastructure to adopt Bitcoin, Tether and its own LVGA token as legal tender. In the coming months, Lugano residents will be able to use cryptocurrencies to pay their taxes and make purchases at more than 200 local businesses.

Anxiety, stress or fatigue are some of the problems that startup creators often face. Summer can be a good time to focus on how important it is to protect your emotional wellbeing and strike a balance before getting back to the routine. Learning to manage failure, knowing how to delegate and enjoying time to disconnect are some of the things that experts recommend for taking care of mental health.

Fast Company has included BBVA AI Factory in its annual list of ‘Best Workplaces for Innovators.’ BBVA’s artificial intelligence (AI) center was ranked 40th in the world and first in the category of companies with fewer than 100 employees for fostering knowledge-sharing among employees and supporting female talent.

The British publication The Banker, part of the Financial Times Group, has selected BBVA as the best digital bank in Europe and Latin America in its Innovation in Digital Banking Awards. The specialized magazine also granted a third prize in this edition for the best Bank/Fintech Partnership, specifically to Veridas' biometric solution for BBVA Mexico's pensioner customers.

From finance to pharmaceuticals, an increasing number of companies from different industries are embracing the opportunities that quantum computing opens. Participants at a recent BBVA Open Talks explored the collaboration needed between researchers, companies and new professionals to take a leap into the next technological era and fully leverage its advantages.

BBVA is the winner in four categories of the 2022 Euromoney Awards for Excellence. The bank is 'Western Europe’s Best Digital Bank,’ 'Latin America’s Best Bank for Corporate Responsibility,’ 'Mexico’s Best Bank' and 'Mexico’s Best Investment Bank.'