Take the lead: Become your startup's CFO 🚀

• This month marks the launch of the 10th edition of Startup Finance, a course designed to equip top startup professionals with essential financial skills. With over 500 students from 15 different countries across eight editions, The Startup Academy leverages its deep experience from The Startup CFO, having worked with over 350 startups, to tackle the key strategic and financial challenges that startups face today.
• If you're part of the startup ecosystem, this course enables you to:
• 🗃 Master the essential tools for understanding startup finances
• 🤝 Learn about the various financing options available for startups
• 💰 Explore funding rounds and their long-term impact on business models
• 📑 Design robust internal and investor reporting models
• 👥 Build a network to enrich and create opportunities
• Sign up now for the course with 15% off by saying you come from the Dealflow newsletter.

Startup funding news 💸

• BeGas, a Basque company specializing in 100% bioautogas engines for industrial vehicles, has raised €18M in a new funding round. New investors include Stellum Growth and U.S.-based Nexio Power
• KOA Biotech, a Barcelona-based startup specializing in aquaculture solutions, has raised €2M, led by Swanlaab Innvierte Agrifood-Tech. KOA Biotech, a spin-off from UPF, uses biosensors and proprietary algorithms to detect waterborne infections early, reducing fish mortality and antibiotic use
• Nester, a Barcelona-based proptech specializing in automating rental property management, raised €1.5M in a round led by Dozen Investments
• Theker, a Barcelona-based AI-powered robotics company, raised €3M. The round was led by JME Ventures
• Unusuals, a Madrid-based AI company focused on transforming infrastructure maintenance, raised an undisclosed round of funding from Elewit, the technology platform of Redeia
• Other rounds of funding: Caleida, WATIF, BBK Arin

M&A activity 🎊

• British investment firm Bridgepoint acquired an 80%-90% stake in Spanish digital marketing firm Samy Alliance, valuing the company at around €300M. Aurica, Inveready, and Sabadell VC have exited, while the founders retain a minority stake. Samy, which reported €100M in revenue and €20M in EBITDA in 2024, specializes in influencer marketing and serves clients like Microsoft and Samsung
• Uber acquired a 30% stake in Auro New Transport Concept, a leading Spanish VTC (vehicle for hire) company, for €220 million. This move follows a recent Constitutional Court ruling that allowed Auro to end its exclusive partnership with Cabify
• Signaturit acquired Validated ID, a Barcelona-based provider of electronic signature solutions, to strengthen its position in digital identity services. The deal expands Signaturit’s offerings with Validated ID’s e-wallet technology, VIDwallet, compliant with the EU’s eIDAS 2 regulation. Signaturit, backed by PSG, did €65M in sales last year. More info about the deal here
• Mondragón acquired Sentinel, a Portuguese artificial vision company, to expand its industrial automation division. Sentinel, which generates €2M in revenue, will relocate its headquarters to Rubí (Barcelona) while maintaining operations in Portugal

Investor & accelerator news 🚀

• Héctor Ciria, former CEO of Quirónsalud, and David Santos, ex-Partner at Alantra, have launched Aleos Capital, a private equity firm preparing a €150M healthcare-focused fund. The fund will invest in Spanish and Portuguese companies in biosciences, targeting health, nutrition, and sustainability sectors with tickets of €15M-€25M
• Actyus, Andbank’s alternative investment arm, has closed its venture debt fund, Actyus Growth Finance, at €45M—exceeding its initial €40M target. The fund provides loans to startups with tickets from €250k to €5M
• ENISA published a report on the financial and societal impact of their lending activity: “Valoración del impacto económico y social de los préstamos otorgados por Enisa entre 2005 y 2020”. Full report is available here. Between 2005 and 2020, ENISA granted 6,899 loans totaling €1B to 6,040 companies, resulting in the creation of 41,683 jobs by 2022. As of December 2023, 57% of the €947.8 million loaned had been repaid
• Cardumen Capital launched “Impulso Global,” a fund of funds in partnership with Portocolom, the asset management firm linked to the Catholic Church. The fund has achieved a first close of €35M

Startup news 💡

• Profile of Valencia-based Quibim, the AI medical imaging solutions company that just recently raised $50M. Founded in 2015 by Ángel Alberich-Bayarri, Quibim specializes in analyzing medical images using deep learning to aid in diagnosing diseases like prostate cancer. Their flagship products include QP-Insights, a platform for managing and analyzing medical images in clinical studies, and QP-Prostate, which utilizes AI for automatic segmentation and detection of prostate diseases
• A Valencia Court has initiated oral proceedings against Jeff’s executives. They face charges including continuous fraud, disloyal administration, document falsification, misleading advertising, and punishable insolvency. The court has set a bail of €1.3M to cover potential civil liabilities; failure to pay may result in asset seizure or a declaration of insolvency. This development follows the company’s liquidation in April 2024 after declaring voluntary bankruptcy, leaving €48M in unpaid debts to employees, lenders, and other entities
• Recomotor, a Lleida-based marketplace specializing in the recovery and sale of used car parts, has acquired Desguaces Mical in Zaragoza and is finalizing the purchase of another scrapyard in Segovia. These acquisitions aim to bolster their inventory and expand their reach, moving towards a projected turnover of €10M in 2025
• ZeroNet, a pioneering SaaS platform for real-time energy monitoring and optimization of IT networks, has partnered with Zubi Labs, an impact venture builder led by Iker Marcaide, to enhance innovative solutions addressing climate change
• Proptech startup Silk introduced Silk Pay, a digital platform for rent payments. The platform automates and simplifies rent collection by integrating with property management systems, offering a seamless and secure payment experience
• Profile of Aistech Space, a Barcelona-based company that allows for earth observation with thermal imaging satellites. Aistech aims for €3.5M in revenue in 2025. The firm collaborates with ESA, NASA, and the EU’s Copernicus program
• Bitpanda has appointed Mercedes Sánchez de Rojas as its new global Chief Operating Officer (COO). Previously VP of Operations, she now focuses on expanding and optimizing the platform while ensuring compliance with EU regulations

Big company news 🏦

• BBVA has sold its 14.9% stake in German neobank Solaris to Japanese group SBI, which now controls over 86.7% of the fintech. Solaris recently secured €140M in funding, led by SBI and Boerse Stuttgart Group
• The Spanish government is drafting legislation to regulate child YouTubers, aiming to prevent their commercial “exploitation”. Inspired by France’s 2020 law, it seeks to protect children from economic exploitation and ensure earnings are safeguarded until adulthood
• Uber has injected €5.5M into its Spanish food delivery subsidiary, Uber Eats, to prevent dissolution due to accumulated losses. Despite reaching €100.8M in revenue (+15% YoY), it reported a €3.4M net loss
• Iberdrola has expanded its renewable energy supply agreement with Amazon, now totaling 66,000 GWh—equivalent to Spain’s electricity consumption for three months. The deal, valued between €4B and €8B, includes nearly 500 MW of new capacity in Spain and Portugal

Interesting reads 🤓

• Ignacio Arriaga wrote “La muerte de la atribución“
• David Bonilla wrote “La paradoja del desarrollo de los videojuegos”