🚀 AI in Sales: Real ROI, Real Impact

AI is transforming sales, but how much does it really move the needle? Leveraging data from billions of sales interactions, Gong analysed the data to measure AI’s true impact on deal success.

From boosting efficiency to closing more deals, see how AI is shaping the future of sales. Read the full insights here

Startup funding news 💸

• Barcelona-based Exoticca, the digital travel agency specializing in complex tour packages, secured €25M in venture debt from BBVA Spark. This funding complements a recent €60M Series D equity round led by Quadrille Capital
• Libeen, a Madrid-based smarthousing startup, raised €25M in debt and equity in a round led by Andbank and Cusp Capital. Other investors include Iñigo Juantegui (La Nevera Roja) and Enrique Linares (Letgo). Libeen’s model enables young people to allocate part of their rent towards building equity for future homeownership
• Madrid-based Sensia, a company specializing in infrared technology, raised €9M from the SETT (Sociedad Española para la Transformación Tecnológica). This co-investment is part of a €19M funding round, with the remaining €10M contributed by A&G Energy Transition Tech Fund. Sensia is a spin-off of the UC3M
• Eranovum, a Madrid-based EV charging infrastructure and renewable energy company, secured €6M in project finance from Triodos Bank
• Nido, a Madrid-based platform specializing in heat pump systems, raised a €5M seed round. The investment was led by Iberdrola. In 2024, Nido reached €1 million in sales
• Other rounds of funding: Devera, Vancubic, Caleida

M&A activity 🎊

• US investment firm JC Flowers & Co. acquired a majority stake in Heymondo, a Barcelona-based digital travel insurance broker. The US investment firm will be buying shares from investors like BStartup (Banco Sabadell), Howzat Partners, and Fundación Innovación Bankinter. Heymondo grew revenues by 65% in 2023 to €7.6M and €500k in net profit. More info here
• Indra has paused the sale of Minsait Payments, opting instead to bundle it with Minsait’s broader divestment plan to enhance its valuation for future investors

Investor & accelerator news 🚀

• Axon Partners has launched and began the fundraising process for Axon Innovation Growth II, a €250M fund focused on scaling innovative startups internationally
• Antai Ventures and Banco Sabadell have launched Necta Ventures, a €100M fund of funds focused on investing in international VC firms. Sabadell has committed €15M to the initiative
• We (Kfund) and Kira Ventures have launched K Green Tech Ventures, a €50M fund focused on greentech startups in Europe, particularly Southern Europe and the Iberian Peninsula. It aims to bridge traditional VC with green infrastructure, supporting capital-intensive and hardware-driven businesses in the energy transition
• Barcelona-based VC firm Nina Capital has closed the first €16.66M of its new €50M fund to invest in early-stage healthtech startups. The fund will back 25 startups from pre-seed to Series A, with 60% of investments in Europe

Startup news 💡

• Javi Lopez, co-founder of Magnific, shared that they got to $10M in ARR in 1 year and with only two people. His co-founder Emilio and himself
• Clicars, the digital used car marketplace, has reached €310M in annual revenue, growing 150% since the pandemic. Looking ahead, Clicars plans to expand its catalog to older vehicles and refine its omnichannel strategy
• Doctoralia, the Spanish healthtech platform owned by Poland’s DocPlanner, grew revenue by 33% in 2024 to €16M and expects to reach €20M this year. Doctoralia plans to expand partnerships with private clinics and insurers while strengthening its tech team. It employs 500 people in Spain, mainly in Barcelona
• Apartool, a corporate apartment booking platform, has laid off 35% of its workforce in Spain, affecting around 30 employees. The company is halting expansion in the UK and the Middle East to focus on Southern Europe. Apartool doubled revenue to €16.5M in 2024, remains unprofitable but expects to reach positive EBITDA this year
• Profile of Zynap, the Barcelona-based cybersecurity startup that recently raised €5.7M from Kfund and Kibo. Founded by Daniel Solís, former founder of Blueliv, Zynap uses AI to simulate cybercriminal behavior and detect vulnerabilities in real-time
• Wallbox, the Barcelona-based EV charger manufacturer, faces challenges as the Trump administration halts the $5B NEVI program for charging infrastructure in the U.S. This comes amid a NYSE delisting warning due to its stock trading below $1. Wallbox’s valuation has dropped over 70% in a year to ~$100M

Big company news 🏦

• Jaime Rodríguez de Santiago, Airbnb’s General Manager in Spain, criticized the government’s new short-term rental regulations, calling them “broad-brush” and disproportionate. He argued that only 0.5% of Spain’s housing stock is exclusively used for short-term rentals and blamed the housing crisis on the government’s failure to build social housing
• Workers at Ubisoft’s Barcelona office have announced a strike on February 13, as they oppose the company’s decision to reduce remote work by 33% after five years of a more flexible policy
• Telefónica has accelerated its divestment strategy in Latin America, hiring JP Morgan to sell its Mexican unit, while also pursuing deals in Argentina and Colombia

Interesting reads 🤓

• The latest Bonilista discusses a major internet blockage in Spain, allegedly caused by Telefónica to protect LaLiga’s broadcasting rights. Telefónica initially claimed the issue was a “technical incident,” but reports revealed that it had deliberately blocked Cloudflare’s IP ranges to prevent access to DuckVision, a platform illegally streaming football matches. This affected numerous unrelated websites and users. The newsletter criticizes Spain’s legal framework, which allows administrative bodies like the Intellectual Property Commission (CPI) to impose such restrictions without judicial oversight
• Pepe Ferrandiz and Andrea Oliver (Nauta Capital) published “How could AI evolve the life of travel agents?”
• Alvaro Higes (LuzIA) published “Trial, Error, and Move 37: Understanding Big Tech's Path to AGI”
• Jose Ramon Perez-Agüera wrote “La Anticipación como Pilar de la Estrategia de Producto: Una Guía para Product Managers”
• Dario Villena published a report on the “Top VC Fundraising Trends of 2024”