Artificial intelligence takes over Mobile World Congress 2026

The Mobile World Congress kicked off in Barcelona on Monday with 2,900 exhibitors and 1,700 speakers. 

Artificial intelligence once again took center stage, though this edition marked a clear move toward more concrete, physical uses of the technology.

"Last year, there was a lot of very theoretical AI but I'm seeing a lot of robotics now and the application of AI in robotics," Prateek from Xiaomi India told the Catalan News Agency (ACN).

AI is present in all kinds of devices, robots, and humanoids that will handle daily tasks or improve industrial processes.

Some of the highlights on display at MWC26 – which runs until Thursday – include prototypes of robots that operate without built-in sensors and can connect to each other, mobile phones with a robotic arm that recognizes you and allows you to interact, foldable devices, computers with 3D screens, and phones with privacy technology that activates whenever you look at them.

The 2026 congress is expected to contribute €585 million to the Catalan economy.

Despite some congress participants being unable to attend due to the airspace closure caused by the escalation of violence in the Middle East, the organisation expects to match last year's attendance.

The 2025 edition recorded 109,000 visitors, a 7.9% increase over 2024. 

AI revolution

Debates about how the AI revolution will affect the daily lives of people and businesses, and the limits this technology should have, are a recurring topic at the congress.

AI in digital sovereignty and security in a world with rising geopolitical tensions also raised debate among the speakers and discussions.

"The revolution of artificial intelligence and robotics is coming now. Embodied or physical artificial intelligence will come in the near future. But we have to think about what kind of robotics and what kind of artificial intelligence we need, and what kind of technology is important for humans," said Satoshi Nagata, a senior manager at NTT Docomo.

Catalonia advocates for ethical AI

The Catalan government inaugurated the Catalonia booth at MWC 2026, which this year brings together 44 companies and technology centers from the digital ecosystem.

The stand features an experience that invites reflection on the ethical use of AI. 

"We must make AI serve people, not the other way around," said the Minister of Business and Labor, Miquel Sàmper, who has advocated for an "ethical, safe, and people-centered” AI. 

Samper also spoke about the gender gap in the tech world. Accompanied by the Minister for Equality and Feminism, Eva Menor, he pointed out "We have a lot of room for improvement here. Only 34% of people working in tech are women, and just 20% are managers or senior executives,". 

"The goal is to eradicate this gap," Sàmper recalled.

"We must ensure that the technological revolution and AI do not perpetuate gender biases," stated Menor, who lamented that the presence of women at the MWC is only 25% of visitors.

"More productive"

Mática Partners is a Barcelona-based "boutique" technology consulting firm specializing in data and AI.

"I can tell you about innovations during the last six months, but I don't know how far artificial intelligence will reach because it's changing very, very fast," Sales Director Santiago Ballestero tells Catalan News. 

Mática Partners use artificial intelligence "to be more productive." Previously, "you needed a lot of coders to develop a project," Ballestero says. 

"Nowadays with artificial intelligence you can do that code with agents."

The company uses "hybrid teams" with "real people and agents that can make a technological project in less than 80% of the time." 

"Bubble"

Although AI is ubiquitous at MWC26, Juanita Pardo, a product demonstrator at MediaTek points out that "the proportion of people who actually use AI is really small."

"I think we are in the AI era," she says, but warns: "It is a bubble, it is from privilege, and I wonder where it's going to take us, towards a very disassociated reality from what it actually means to be human."

4 Years From Now (4YFN)

The 4 Years From Now (4YFN) startup event of the MWC features about 900 international investors who, collectively, represent €70 billion. 

Last year, more than half of the investment sealed at the event went to AI. This year 56% of the emerging companies are presenting products with AI. 

"In recent editions, they were experimenting a bit with the technology, trying to understand how to apply it to their business model, and this year is all about commercialization," said Pere Duran, 4YFN director, in an interview with ACN. 

Chinese companies in the spotlight

Asian companies are showcasing their potential at the congress, especially the Chinese ones that lead the tech market.

With a business volume of over €14.8 trillion, the Chinese tech market doubles the figure for the United States, according to data collected in a report published by Catalonia Trade & Investment (Acció) this Sunday.

"We've reached a point where AI is already democratized across all devices. We aim to improve the user's life and deepen the concept of making life easy," said Javier Rubio, one of Xiaomi's spokespeople. 

The Chinese company is bringing its smart home technology to the congress, which allows for example, the lights in a house to turn off and the robot vacuum to start when it detects the car leaving the parking lot.