The upcoming 0100 Conference Mediterranean presents a unique opportunity for PE and VC LPs and GPs to meet and develop meaningful relationships.

This will be the 4th and final chance in 2024 to connect with investors from the largest firms worldwide. Following successful events in Vienna, Amsterdam, and Prague, the focus now shifts to the investment landscape in Southern Europe.

The event expects to gather over 350 LPs and GPs and will be held at the headquarters of Borsa Italiana in Palazzo Mezzanotte, Milan, from October 28 to 30. Dealflow subscribers can secure a spot with a 15% discount using the code DEALFLOW15.

The 0100 Conference Mediterranean offers a curated, boutique space to engage with international industry leaders. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with key players in the investment community. If you want to explore extra exposure options, please contact laura@0100conferences.com

Startup funding news 💸

• Mental health insurance platform ifeel has raised a $20 million Series B investment, bringing its total funding to $40 million. The round was co-led by FinTLV Ventures and Korelya Capital. ifeel offers digital assessments and personalized treatment recommendations to individuals and businesses, aiming to prevent and address mental health issues
• Vytrus Biotech has closed a €2.3 million round led by Boyser, with participation from institutional investors and GVC. The funds will support the company's growth in the biotechnology sector, focusing on its innovative plant-based technology solutions
• Banktrack, the cashflow management solution for SMBs, raised €1 million from Kfund, 4Founders Capital and LifeX
• Other rounds of funding:
• Comunidad Solar: €800k, energy
• Irisbond: €400k, eye tracking and augmentative and alternative communication tech
• LexDoka: €300k, contract management software
• Stoic Enterprises: €250k, online tool to support cultural transformation in organizations through AI-based programs
• Helenis Biocosmetics: €120k
• Nextmol: computational chemistry R&D. More info here
• OK Mobility, a car rental and sales company, invested in Mundimoto

M&A activity 🎊

• Six investment funds are said to be competing in the first phase of the bidding process to acquire Idealista. The offers exceed €3 billion and among the interested parties are TA Associates, Cinven, CVC, CPPIB, General Atlantic, and a consortium formed by Warburg Pincus and Silver Lake

Investor & accelerator news 🚀

• Sponsored
  0100 Conference Mediterranean is an event taking place in Milan in late October that presents a unique opportunity for PE and VC LPs and GPs to meet and develop meaningful relationships. If you’re fundraising for a new fund, you should check it out. If you use the DEALFLOW15 code, you’ll get a 15% discount. More info here
• The 16th call of Fond-ICO Global has concluded, with AXIS investing €900 million in 12 selected funds. The funds are distributed as €600 million for expansion capital, €200 million for VC, and €100 million for incubation/technology transfer. Among the chosen funds are JME, Cardumen, Asabys (all in the VC category) and DraperB1, Lanai, Abac (incubation), and more
• Barcelona-based Nara Capital, in partnership with Plug and Play, has launched Nara Ventures, a €100 million Fund of Funds. Nara Ventures will focus on high-potential funds and emerging managers, supported by Spanish family offices and a strategic partner from the UAE
• IAG (Iberia) launched the eighth edition of its Hangar 51 accelerator program, seeking 15 startups to enhance sustainability, security, efficiency, and customer experience
• Juan Roig's Marina de Empresas has received a 40-year concession for the old Alinghi base, expanding its facilities to nearly 27,000 square meters. The complex, combining the Lanzadera accelerator, Angels investment firm, and Edem business school, will invest 15 million euros in the project. More info here
• Interview with Zubi’s Iker Marcaide, who has spent a decade transforming himself into an impact investor, preferring to co-found multiple projects rather than serve as CEO. His approach focuses on creating positive social and environmental impacts through his ventures

Startup news 💡

• Cabify's revenue surged to €830 million in 2023, +32% YoY. EBITDA jumped to €111 million, or 40% YoY. The company credits this growth to an expansion in its services, including integrating electric vehicles and enhancing its corporate offerings
• Logistics management startup Paack is exploring a new round of funding or a potential sale transaction with the advice of Morgan Stanley. The company is seeking to strengthen its liquidity after a slowdown in the ecommerce sector. To date, Paack has raised around €350 million in debt and equity
• François Derbaix announced that Indexa Capital has surpassed €6 million in annual recurring revenue, a 37% YoY increase. Also, Indexa announced that it has lowered its minimum investment requirement to €1,000 for its clients
• Soltec faces financial challenges due to market volatility in renewable energy. EY, the auditor, raised concerns about Soltec's ability to continue operating, highlighting issues with a €90 million credit line and discrepancies in revenue reporting. Soltec's revenue for 2023 was corrected from €587 million to €395 million, leading to a net loss of €23.4 million
• Glovo is closing its Madrid tech hub and relocating operations to its Barcelona headquarters. The shift will affect around 100 employees, who will be offered relocation options or other positions within the company. The Labor Inspection has regularized 41,000 false self-employed workers from Glovo, according to a report from EL PAÍS. The company has accumulated a debt of around €200 million in unpaid contributions and could face additional sanctions
• Two birthdays: VirusTotal is turning 20 soon, and Spotahome is about to hit its 10th anniversary
• Profile of Flanks, a Barcelona-based startup that automates up to 80% of the manual tasks in wealth management using proprietary software
• Trebellar, a Silicon Valley-based startup co-founded by two Spaniards and with a significant part of its team in Spain, introduced product enhancements that combine deep learning with large language models (LLMs) to provide instant answers and insights for the commercial real estate sector. Trebellar is a Kfund portfolio company
• Profile of Ousman Omar, an entrepreneur who survived a perilous journey from Ghana to Europe, now runs Nascotech from Spain, a startup offering IT services, and Nasco Feeding Minds, an NGO educating 6,600 students in Ghana

Big company news 🏦

• Several cyberattacks took place last week:
• A cyberattack on Iberdrola exposed the data of 850,000 customers in Spain, including name, surname, and ID number. More info here
• Banco Santander reported unauthorized access to the personal data of its customers in Spain. Stolen data is already for sale
• Telefónica said that it’s investigating a potential security breach after a hacker claimed to have the personal data of 120,000 customers
• The Spanish Directorate General of Traffic (DGT) also suffered a data breach, exposing information on drivers and vehicles. Hackers have posted the stolen data, including personal and vehicle-related details
• Telefónica and Asterion are launching the sale of their data center subsidiary, Nabiax, targeting a valuation of around €1 billion
• Online travel agency eDreams Odigeo closed its fiscal year 2024 with a net profit of €32.4 million, surpassing the losses of the previous year. Revenues increased by 9% and its subscriber base grew by 34%. The company has also launched a public offer to acquire shares and aims to reach 7.25 million 'prime' members in the next fiscal year. Also, eDreams launched a voluntary partial tender offer for 3.57% of its capital at €6.9 per share. The offer, valued at €31.4 million, aims to expedite share acquisition for incentive plans and provide liquidity for shareholders
• Spain has banned Meta from launching election features on Facebook and Instagram due to privacy concerns. The local data protection authority has ordered Meta to suspend the implementation of these features, citing potential violations of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• Bizum plans to launch a payment solution for Italy and Portugal before the end of the year, enabling instant transfers with users of banks in both countries

Interesting reads 🤓

• Simon Muñoz (Voicemod) published “Distribution is more important than product”
• Ramon Blanco (Bewater Funds) published “Las rondas sin inversor externo tienen mayor probabilidad de fracaso”
• David Bonilla wrote “¿Contratarías a alguien que trabaja para un amigo?”
• Ignacio Arriaga wrote “¿Existe el product market fit?”

Podcasts 🎧

• Itnig interviewed Jesus Alonso Gallo
• SeedRocket interviewed Victor Noguera, co-founder of Flat.mx
• Product Hackers interviewed Roberto Pérez of Libros.com
• Historias de Crecimiento interviewed Carolina Izquierdo, of CIM ECM