4YFN 2027

About the event

4YFN (Four Years From Now) is the startup event that runs alongside MWC Barcelona, the large mobile industry exhibition organised by the GSMA. It has its own identity, stages and exhibition area, but it shares the week and the Fira Gran Via venue with MWC. Over four days it combines a conference program, startup exhibitors, pitches and curated tracks for different groups of attendees.

The program is aimed at the wider tech startup ecosystem rather than at apps specifically. Recent editions put weight on artificial intelligence and disruptive innovation, and the event also hosts the 4YFN Awards, a startup competition with a cash prize where finalists pitch on stage. In 2026 the organiser reported more than 1,000 startups and exhibitors, over 300 speakers and more than 260 startup pitches at 4YFN, plus 105,000 attendees across 4YFN and MWC combined.

The audience is founders of startups and scale-ups, investors, corporates looking for partners, and public entities and delegations. Its pages describe the event as being built around business outcomes. The organiser says its team arranges curated meetings ahead of the event and that most of those meetings in 2026 were between startups and investors. That makes 4YFN a realistic place to meet investors and corporate partners. It is not focused on app M&A, though, so people looking to buy or sell apps will be a small share of the crowd.

Who should attend

This event is a good fit for app founders who are raising money, looking for corporate or telecom partners, or want to gauge investor interest in Europe. Startups, investors and corporates each have their own track. Its focus is wider than apps, so use the week for fundraising and partnerships rather than for selling an app. Before you go, pick out investors whose portfolios include consumer or subscription apps and ask them for meetings early. Bring a one-page summary with revenue, retention and growth figures.