360 Talent es la primera consultora de RRHH de España, que desde el año 2013, cuenta con una división especializada en startups. Son expertos en procesos de selección en el área IT (fullstack, back-end, front-end, mobile, DevOps…), online marketing, operaciones, ventas, logística, finanzas, así como todas las posiciones C-Level. Su objetivo es seguir creciendo con tu empresa! ¿Quieres hablar con ellos? Ponte en contacto en el 635 460 730.

Startup funding news 💸

• Motorbike and transportation startup Cooltra aims to raise €50 million in debt to try to reach €46 million in sales this year
• Barcelona-based Biotech startup SOM Biotech raised €7 million from various investors
• Valencia-based eSports startup Streamloots announced an €800,000 financing from Samaipata
• Health startup DNA Active raised €360,000 via Sociosinversores
• Music and entertainment platform Acqustic raised €250,000 from Acom Ventures, Aticeo and other investors
• Cybersecurity startup Gleam is looking for funding via Startupxplore

Investor & accelerator news 🚀

• Samaipata is aiming to raise €100 million for its second fund. Previous vehicle had a size of €30 million and it has made 15 investments so far
• Madrid-based conference South Summit announced the launch of South Summit Fund, an investment vehicle that will invest up to €6 million per year in companies that participate in the event
• Silicon Valley-based startup accelerator and investor Plug and Play to build a team in Valencia to manage part of its European investments
• Banc Sabadell announced a new €30 million investment vehicle, Sabadell Asabys Health, to back companies in the health space
• Startup studio/incubator Demium to open its first office in Eastern Europe, in Minsk (Belarus)

Startup news 💡

• Cabify is back in Barcelona. The company decided to leave the city after new legislation passed by the Generalitat. It has decided to resume operations in Barcelona as it believes it has found the means to overcome the new and current legal framework. Taxi drivers are not happy, of course
• Barcinno published a long profile of Onebox: The Barcelona-based startup transforming the ticketing industry
• Polish restaurant giant AmRest increased the valuation of Glovo to €270 million. The company invested in Glovo in the company’s last €150 million round
• Barcelona-based Volta Networks unveiled industry’s first cloud-native routing platform that reduces total cost of ownership to 90% compared to legacy routers
• Spanish startup Nextail has been selected alongside 15 other companies for Lafayette Plug and Play’s sixth technology accelerator
• Ontruck announced new branding. Soluble Studio is behind the project, and they published an in-depth overview of how they came up with the new brand
• La Informacion published a profile of serial entrepreneur Diego Ballesteros (Sin Delantal, Sin Delantal Mexico, Bewe and several other companies)
• El Referente interviewed Julian Diaz-Santos, CEO of banking-as-a-service startup Unnax. The interview doesn’t add much details on the company’s traction
• Facility management Portuguese startup Infraspeak to open an office in Barcelona and start hiring in the city
• According to the company, Glovo is now available in more than 100 cities worldwide
• Startup profiles:
• Mouse 4 All: developers of an accessibility system for smartphones and tablets
• Emerita Legal: systems that looks at judicial resolutions to find the best legal experts in a specific field
• Homming: SaaS product to manage real estate rentals

If you’re thinking about your next holidays and planning a big trip, you should give Exoticca a try. The Barcelona-based company has built an online platform eliminates all the ‘friction’ in the purchasing process of travel packages, by allowing travellers to find and purchase the most suitable product in a few clicks. To continue with its expansion, Exoticca is looking to hire a Chief Revenue Officer. For more info on the position and to apply, click here.

Big company news 🏦

• Google to pay a €3 million fine to the Spanish Tax Office (Hacienda)
• Finally. Renfe to offer wifi to customers of its AVE trains between Madrid and Barcelona, starting on April 1st
• Telefonica sold its stake in adtech subsidiary Axonix to Blackrock, netting a €29 million profit
• Mutua Madrileña says it has a big interest in the urban transportation sector, encourages VC firms Kibo Ventures and Antai Venture Builder to invest in the space
• How Netflix is betting big on agreements with local telcos to gain leverage ahead of price increases in Spain
• Ahead of the Spanish general elections, Facebook is meeting with the country’s main political parties to see how they prevent the dissemination of false information
• Pinterest ads are now available in Spain and Italy

Tech and policy 💂🏼

• The Spanish government published a document about the country’s national AI strategy. Xataka had a look at it, and it looks like it doesn’t add much value to the current conversation about how countries should approach AI at a national level. Andres Torrubia published a tweetstorm with his opinions on the deal. If you’re interested in the topic, this is a good read by Ian Hogarth, co-founder and former CEO of Songkick: ’AI Nationalism’

Interesting reads 🤓

• El Confidencial has an interesting article about computer and technology literacy in the Spanish judicial system: “Many judges don’t have any idea about tech”
• March 8th was International Women’s Day. La Vanguardia talked to various female entrepreneurs about the status quo in technology and how to improve it
• Jorge Alonso (Circular): ’How much are startups paying in Madrid?’
• Carlos Blanco (Encomenda, Nuclio): ’The next Spanish unicorns’

Podcasts of the week 🎧

• Mallorca Tech News interviewed Xisco Lladó, CTO and co-founder of Hotelinking
• Itnig interviewed Javier Suarez, co-founder of Travelperk
• Financast interviewed Samuel Gil, VC at JME
• Quick Marketing y Ventas interviewed François Derbaix of Indexa Capital
• Lunes Inspiradores interviewed Simon Lee of Gamesbcn