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Startup funding news 💸

• Barcelona-based Inbenta raises €5.6 million to expand AI customer service in Europe, US, Japan
• Barcelona and London-based startup behind virtual keyboard Fleksy raised more than £235,000 on Crowdcube

Startup exits 🎊

• According to La Informacion, Promofarma’s was acquired by Zur Rose for more than €40 million

Investor & accelerator news 🚀

• Repsol to launch a €85 million venture arm to invest in technology startups all over the world
• Demium Startups incubator is raising €2.5 million to expand internationally

Startup news 💡

• Chicfy’s founders have been forced to leave the startup. Chicfy had to raise a €1 million round to keep the company afloat. Jesus Monleon (SeedRocket, Offerum) will become interim CEO
• British food delivery company Deliveroo to open its first own kitchens in Madrid, an initiative the company calls Deliveroo Editions
• La Razon interviewed Elena Gonzalez-Blanco, Coverwallet’s Spanish managing director
• Travel company eDreams Odigeo posted a €5.3 million profit in the first quarter of its fiscal year, as revenues increased to €137.4 million (+9.3% year-on-year)
• Madrid-based startup eID selected for Salesforce Accelerate FinServ program
• Startup profile(s): Loopas (subscription service for contact lenses)

Big company news 🏦

• Amazon announced plans to increase the price of Prime in Spain, from €19 to €36. La Informacion looked into the reasoning behind this uplift and whether it could affect the number of subscribers the company has in Spain
• Argentina’s financial crisis is not helping Telefonica’s stock price, which dropped below €7
• Yahoo Spain to give back more than €1.3 million in subsidies

Tech and policy 💂🏼

• The Spanish government once again positioned itself in favour of more regulation of VTC players. Spain’s Supreme Court also deemed legal the massive distribution of VTC licenses amongst applicants. On the other hand, VTC association Unauto requested the government not to allow traditional taxi companies to go on strike again after the summer

Interesting reads 🤓

• Avi Meir (Travelperk): “We just raised $21 million. Here’s how to spend a massive funding round”
• “It’s possible to stay away from Glovo” - El Confidencial talked to various riders of last-mile delivery platforms about working conditions
• Novobrief interviewed Sebastián Mealla from ProtoPiel. The Barcelona-born startup recently moved to Berlin after being accepted by accelerator * Techstars: “Start thinking of going international from day one!”

Podcasts of the week 🎧

• Vostok6 interviewed Ana Pastor (La Sexta, Newtral)
• En.digital interviewed David Pombar and Alberto Molpeceres of MasQueStartups
• Itnig interviewed David Tomás (Cyberclick)