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Startup funding news 💸

• Madrid-based Geniova, a startup specializing in invisible orthodontics, has raised €13M in a funding round led by Inveready and CDTI
• Madrid-based Crescenta, an investment platform that allows retail investors to invest in PE and VC funds, secured a €7M round led by Acurio Ventures and Kfund. We wrote about the investment here. We first invested in Crescenta in its pre-seed round
• Barcelona-based Zynap, a cybersecurity company utilizes generative AI to proactively combat crime by simulating cyber threat tactics, raised €5.7M, co-led by Kibo Ventures and Kfund. We wrote about the investment here
• Barcelona-based Weecover, a startup specializing in embedded insurance solutions, has secured a €4.2M round led by Íope Ventures, the investment vehicle launched by Wayra and Telefónica Seguros
• Barcelona-based Sycai Medical, a startup that empowers healthcare professionals through AI, has secred €3M in funding from LUMO Labs, Ship2B Ventures, Athos Capital, and Namarel Ventures
• Madrid-based Kymatio, a leader in Human Risk Management and employee cybersecurity awareness, secured a €1.85M round led by Decelera, ABANCA, and Fides Capital
• Mexico-based PuntoPost, a startup founded by Spaniards specializing in merchandise collection points, raised $1.5M in a funding round led by 4Founders, JME Ventures, Latin Leap, Lanai, and Inclimo
• Madrid-based Xnova International, a company specializing in the development of innovative solutions for the food industry, closed a €1M round led by Abac Nest
• Other rounds of funding:
• Robinsun: €600k, residential solar energy

M&A activity 🎊

• Fintech startup Ebury signed an agreement to acquire ArcaPay, a Lithuania-based provider of cross-border B2B payment solutions
• Indra is finalizing the €650M acquisition of satellite operator Hispasat from Redeia to strengthen its position in the aerospace sector

Investor & accelerator news 🚀

• Nzyme, the PE fund managed by Kibo Ventures and Oliver Wyman, received a committment of €112.7M from CDTI. The fund had done a first closing of €60M in April of last year. Target size was €200M
• Portuguese VC firm Armilar Venture Partners has begun the fundraising process for a €250M fund that will focus, among other regions, in Spain. In the article, partner Duarte Mineiro talks about why they believe Spain offers great investment opportunities. Armilar, a fund that we respect a lot and we have gotten to know through several co-investments at Kfund, tends to invest in deeptech or software-differentiated businesses
• GP Bullhound restructured its leadership in Spain, appointing Jaime Sendagorta as the new head. Before joining GP Bullhound, Jaime began his investment banking career at Credit Suisse in London

Startup news 💡

• → New startups:
• YouShift, co-founded by Spaniards Adolfo Roquero, Jota C. and Lucia Vives, to join Y Combinator’s latest batch
• → Financials:
• Catalan telco Parlem Telecom reported €49.7M in revenue for 2024, a 9.5% increase from 2023. Recurrent EBITDA surged 77% to €5.4M
• Meal delivery company Wetaca expanded into the German market, aiming to generate over €1M in 2025. In 2023, the company reported revenues of approximately €16.2M in Spain, with a subscriber base of 160,000
• Cloud and telecom provider Gigas has shifted its strategy to partner with cloud giants like Google and Microsoft, emphasizing AI and big data integration. In 2024, its cloud and cybersecurity services grew 22.6%, reaching €15.2M in revenue, while telecom services rose 6.1%
• MyInvestor, the neobank backed by Andbank, Axa, El Corte Inglés, closed 2024 with a business volume of €8.33B, marking a 90% increase from the previous year. The entity achieved a net profit of €6.5M and nearly doubled its client base to 435,000 users
• Real estate crowdfunding platform Urbanitae financed €213M across 66 projects in 2024, marking a 60% increase from the previous year
• → Two companies in financial trouble:
• Sunhero, a startup specializing in solar panel installations, has declared bankruptcy and is negotiating an Employment Regulation File (ERE) affecting its 50 employees. The company, founded in 2021, had raised €10M in funding and completed over 1,000 installations
• Proptech Tiko is on the verge of bankruptcy. The company announced a major layoff (ERE) in December 2024, affecting nearly all employees, including those from Housell, which Tiko acquired in 2023. Tiko had raised more than $100M in funding (equity + debt)
• → Startup profiles:
• Deale, a Barcelona-based startup that streamlines M&A for SMEs, enabling transactions in just three months compared to the sector’s typical 8–12 months
• Wattson Smart Charging, a Madrid-based startup, offers ultrafast mobile EV chargers integrated into vans, capable of powering 6–8 cars per cycle without connecting to the grid
• → Other news:
• Glovo plans to invest €100M in 2025 to regularize 15,000 of its 20,000 riders in Spain, transitioning them to formal employment. The shift will include direct hiring and subcontracting through courier firms, a first for Glovo among its 23 operating markets.
• Holaluz employees have intensified their indefinite strike, which began on January 14, protesting the company’s decision to eliminate remote work and other benefits
• Fintech Monei has been chosen by the ECB for the Pioneer Workstream to test the infrastructure of the digital euro

Big company news 🏦

• The Spanish government announced several initiatives, none of which were really relevant:
• Spain introduced ALIA, its first public and open-source AI models in Spanish and co-official languages. For a negative opinion on this launch, read Javi Lopez thread on X. On this topic, it’s also worth reading Antonio Ortiz post: “Tres estrategias para la AGI: Stargate, ALIA y Deepseek R1”
• Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez has proposed to the EU measures to end online anonymity and enforce algorithm transparency on social media platforms
• Telefónica has partnered with AI-powered search engine Perplexity, becoming a shareholder to integrate its technology into its services

Interesting reads 🤓

• El Mundo profiled Hacoo, a rapidly growing marketplace app, has gained popularity among young consumers in Spain by offering counterfeit products at significantly lower prices. Promoted through platforms like TikTok and Telegram, it allows users to buy imitations of branded goods without explicitly listing brand names
• Nauta Capital published “Variable compensation for VC backed founders”, on how performance-based bonuses can align incentives between founders and investors, rewarding milestones like revenue growth or profitability
• Chema Alonso (Telefonica) wrote about his experience working with Pallete: “Las enseñanzas de un "Marathon Man & Drone Pilot"
• Simon Muñoz (Voicemod) published “¿Cómo vamos a ganar?: Una explicación, y una cura, al desperdicio en el sector tecnológico.”
• Ignacio Arriaga wrote “Cuando despedir a un cliente es buena idea”