SPARSITY SL

Their core work

Sparsity is a Barcelona-based technology SME specializing in data management and analytics for the transport and mobility sector. They build software solutions for processing large-scale travel and mobility data, enabling interoperability between transport service providers and supporting Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) platforms. Their core contribution to EU projects lies in data integration, semantic web technologies, and business analytics applied to multimodal transport systems. They also have experience in micro-server computing infrastructure and fashion-tech software, suggesting a broader software engineering capability.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Sparsity's early H2020 work (2015-2018) centered on foundational data technologies — semantic web, big data analytics, interoperability frameworks, and travel data protection — reflecting a company building core capabilities in transport data management. From 2019 onward, their focus shifted decisively toward applied mobility services: MaaS platforms, multimodal transport integration, demand-responsive transport, and data sharing between transport service providers. The addition of smart contracts in their most recent project signals a move toward decentralized, trust-based data exchange in transport ecosystems.

Sparsity is moving from backend data infrastructure toward user-facing MaaS platforms with smart contract-based data sharing — positioning them for the next generation of integrated European mobility services.

How they like to work

Sparsity never coordinates projects — they contribute as either a participant or a third-party expert, suggesting they provide specialized technical components rather than driving project strategy. Their even split between participant (3) and third-party (3) roles indicates they are often brought in for specific data or software expertise within larger consortia. Despite their small size, they have worked with 77 unique partners across 17 countries, showing they are well-networked and trusted as a reliable technical contributor in large European projects.

Sparsity has built an impressively broad network for an SME — 77 unique consortium partners spanning 17 countries, largely through participation in Shift2Rail and transport-focused projects. Their network is heavily European with strong ties to the rail and urban mobility research community.

What sets them apart

Sparsity sits at the intersection of graph database technology and transport data — a niche that few SMEs occupy. Their consistent presence across the Shift2Rail programme (IT2RAIL, My-TRAC, IP4MaaS) makes them one of the go-to data technology providers for European rail and multimodal mobility projects. For consortium builders, they offer a rare combination: deep MaaS data expertise, proven ability to integrate across transport modes, and the agility of a small company that can deliver specialized software components without the overhead of a large partner.

Highlights from their portfolio

• UniServer
  Their largest funded project (EUR 286,625) and an outlier — focused on micro-server computing rather than transport, revealing broader software infrastructure capabilities.
• IP4MaaS
  A Shift2Rail flagship project deploying MaaS across real transport networks including public transit, taxi, and demand-responsive services — their most applied, demonstration-oriented work.
• SYN AIR
  Their most recent thematic evolution — bridging air transport with surface mobility through smart contracts and data sharing, a topic gaining significant EU policy attention.