Data study ·
AI barely reaches 4.1% of Spanish industrial SMEs despite adoption doubling since 2024
Original title, in Spanish: “La IA apenas llega al 4,1% de las pymes industriales españolas pese a duplicar su adopción desde 2024”
- Publication
- El Español (Spain)
- Author
- Alberto Iglesias Fraga
- Published on
- 2 October 2026 · read in the page structured data
Summary
The IndesIA Barometer 2026, presented at the IndesIA Forum in Madrid, indicates that 4.1% of Spanish industrial SMEs use AI, compared with 2.1% in 2024, based on a sample of 131,554 companies. Adoption grows with size (6.5% for medium-sized companies versus 3.6% for micro-businesses) and Madrid leads the regions. According to data cited at the forum, 89% of organisations have adopted AI in at least one function, but only 6% achieve a real impact on their EBITDA, according to Lieven Van der Veken (QuantumBlack, McKinsey). Spanish public investment in AI reached €4.609 billion in 2025, with no direct correlation with regional adoption levels. Speakers, including Pablo de la Puente (Gestamp) and Valero Marín (IndesIA), called for faster transformation of SMEs.
Summary based on the full text of the article.
Read the article on El Español →Figures cited
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4.1 %
share of Spanish industrial SMEs using AI in 2026
Spanish industrial SMEs, sample of 131,554 companies, 2026
« Solo el 4,1% utiliza ya estas tecnologías, según el Barómetro IndesIA 2026 »
Source: Barómetro IndesIA 2026
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2.1 %
share of Spanish industrial SMEs using AI in 2024
Spanish industrial SMEs, 2024
« El porcentaje prácticamente duplica el 2,1% registrado en 2024 »
Source: Barómetro IndesIA
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2.9 %
share of Spanish industrial SMEs using AI in 2025
Spanish industrial SMEs, 2025
« supera el 2,9% de 2025 »
Source: Barómetro IndesIA
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6.5 %
AI adoption in medium-sized companies (50-250 employees)
Spain, companies with 50 to 250 employees
« La IA está presente en el 6,5% de las compañías medianas de entre 50 y 250 empleados »
Source: Barómetro IndesIA
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5.1 %
AI adoption in small companies (10-50 employees)
Spain, companies with 10 to 50 employees
« frente al 5,1% de las pequeñas de entre 10 y 50 trabajadores »
Source: Barómetro IndesIA
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3.6 %
AI adoption in micro-businesses
Spain, micro-businesses
« y el 3,6% de las microempresas »
Source: Barómetro IndesIA
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6.3 %
AI adoption in Madrid
Community of Madrid
« Madrid encabeza la implantación con un 6,3% »
Source: Barómetro IndesIA
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4.9 %
AI adoption in Catalonia
Catalonia
« seguida de Cataluña, con un 4,9% »
Source: Barómetro IndesIA
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4.2 %
AI adoption in the Basque Country
Basque Country
« y el País Vasco, con un 4,2% »
Source: Barómetro IndesIA
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89 %
organisations that have adopted AI in at least one function
organisations, data presented at the Foro IndesIA
« el 89% de las organizaciones ha incorporado IA en alguna función »
Source: QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey
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6 %
organisations with a real EBITDA impact from AI
organisations, data presented at the Foro IndesIA
« solo el 6% logra un impacto real sobre su EBITDA »
Source: QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey
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4,609 EUR million
Spanish public investment in AI in 2025
Spain, 2025
« La inversión pública en IA ascendió a 4.609 millones de euros en 2025 »
Source: Barómetro IndesIA
Classification
- Country
- Spain
- Company size
- Micro-businesses, SMEs, Mid-sized companies
- Industries
- Industry and manufacturing
- Companies
- IndesIA (study author), CDTI (cited), QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey (cited), Theker Robotics (supplier), Google (cited), Gestamp (cited)
- Keywords
- industrial smes, ai adoption, ebitda, public investment, spain, indesia
Entry written by Marsanne Studio from the cited article, with the help of an AI model (claude-sonnet-5). The rights to the article and its illustrations belong to El Español and its author. Entry translated from French by Claude Sonnet 5.5.