BYTETRAVEL S.A . is a Spanish TravelTech company specializing in developing ancillaries (auxiliary services) for tourists and business travelers worldwide. Born in 2021, the company was the first Spanish tech company listed in the BME Scaleup Stock market.

Even though many companies are dedicated to providing transportation, accommodation and activities/tours at the destination, several consumer and multinational companies demands (in some cases essential) are not yet optimally addressed. ByteTravel aims to be the leading company that provides these services in an efficient and reliable way through the mass use of technology, automation, biometrics and artificial intelligence.

With offices in Barcelona, Madrid and Miami and a team of 58 professionals from 15 different nationalities. Initially, they started with VISAGOV, an online service focused on processing tourist and business travel visas to 70 countries and later expanded to ROAMIC, an eSIM provider guaranteeing internet access in 190 countries Additionally, they are actively developing other products both internally as business units and in collaboration with partner companies to facilitate future cross-selling opportunities.

Startup funding news 💸

• Prophero, a Spanish-Australian startup connecting property owners with buy-to-let investors, has raised €16M in a Series A round led by Australian fund Bailador
• Imperia, a Valencia-based SaaS platform specializing in supply chain management, has secured €10M in a Series A funding round co-led by Burda Principal Investments and Samaipata. This is Burda’s first investment in Spain
• Canary Islands-based Wooptix has secured a €10M round with participation from Samsung’s semiconductor division, marking its first investment in Spain. Other backers include Tokyo Electron
• The Catalan government will inject up to €10M into Openchip, a Barcelona-based semiconductor company. Openchip, a spin-off of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) and engineering firm GTD, focuses on high-performance computing, defense, and space sectors. The company, which has received €111M from EU Next Generation funds, plans to launch a microprocessor prototype by 2026
• RepScan, a Barcelona-based startup specializing in removing negative online content, secured €3M in funding. Investors include Swanlaab Venture Factory, Bonsai Partners
• Barcelona-based Zymvol, a biotech company specializing in computational enzyme discovery and design, raised €3M. The round was led by Faber Ventures
• Other rounds of funding: Clotsy

M&A activity 🎊

• The Startup CFO acquired media publication Startups’ Oasis

Investor & accelerator news 🚀

• Barcelona-based VC firm 4Founders Capital has launched its third fund, with a target size of €65M. The fund has already secured €44M in its first closing and plans to invest in 40 early-stage tech startups with tickets between €250k and €2M. The firm has already invested in Punto Post (Mexico) and Mogu (Spain)
• Interview with Marta Nogueras, managing director of Lanzadera
• ICO has invested €105M in French and British VC funds to boost investment in Spanish startups. Korelya Capital will receive €25M, GP Bullhound €50M, and Quadrille Technologies €35M. These funds have backed companies like Wallapop, Jobandtalent, and Exoticca
• ENISA closed 2024 with over €83.6M in investments through 508 participatory loans

Startup news 💡

• Freepik has integrated Google’s advanced AI video generation model, Veo 2, allowing users to create high-quality videos from text or images. This collaboration marks a significant milestone, as Freepik is the first platform to offer Veo 2, even before Google’s own services. More info here. It’s amazing to see the speed at what Freepik seems to be launching new products and evolving its business, especially at its current scale. Also, CEO Joaquin Cuenca had this to say about building in Europe
• Fintech-proptech Gibobs operates a digital platform that connects individuals and real estate developers with banks and alternative lenders to secure optimal financing conditions. In 2024, the company managed over €570M in real estate transactions, a 185% growth, and increased revenue by 140%
• Barcelona-based home care startup Qida saw a 70% revenue increase in 2024, reaching €27.5M. The company expanded its caregiver network to 5,000 professionals and now manages home care services for 90 municipalities in Spain, assisting over 3,600 families
• Long interview with Oscar Pierre about the future of Glovo. Oscar says that the company is nearing profitability, expecting to reach a positive EBITDA in 2025 after investing €100M in transitioning its labor model. Pedro Sobral has been appointed as the new General Manager of Glovo Spain. Previously leading Glovo’s operations in Portugal. Also, in March Just Eat and Glovo will see each other at Barcelona’s Commercial Court. Just Eat filed a €295M lawsuit against Glovo for alleged unfair competition, arguing that Glovo’s use of self-employed couriers violates Spain’s “Rider Law,” giving it a competitive advantage
• Interview with Jean-Christophe Taunay-Bucalo, COO of TravelPerk. The company recently raised $200M, as it plans to double down in the U.S. and start a major product revamp, diversifying into expense management solutions. He also talks about how the company has embraced AI in back-office operations, how they integrate (or not) acquired companies, and other details
• Aerospace company PLD Space is preparing a new funding round while advancing infrastructure for its Miura 5 rocket, set to launch in 2026. The company also signed an agreement to establish a launch base at Oman’s Etlaq spaceport, to serve satellite clients in the Middle East
• Spanish M&A platform Deale plans to onboard 1,000 companies per month in 2025, up from 600. The firm has facilitated 30 deals worth €300M and aims for 100 deals annually by 2030
• New startups, products and hirings:
• Konvo: conversational AI for ecommerce
• Lodgify appointed Shaun Shirazian as its new CEO, succeeding co-founder Dennis Klett. Shirazian, formerly Chief Product Officer at EverCommerce

Big company news 🏦

• Cloudflare sues LaLiga over alleged indiscriminate website blocking. Cloudflare has filed a lawsuit against LaLiga to overturn a 2022 ruling that allows the mass blocking of websites in the fight against piracy. Meanwhile, LaLiga accuses Cloudflare of protecting criminals and profiting from mixing legitimate users with pirate sites. More on what LaLiga and Telefonica have been doing here
• BBVA continues expanding its Spark unit, adding €200M in investments in external VC funds in 2023, reaching €900M in total including venture debt loans to startups
• Amazon has postponed the full return to the office in Madrid and Barcelona until June 2025 due to a lack of space to accommodate all employees
• eDreams Odigeo has returned to profitability, driven by the growth of its Prime subscription service, which now has nearly 7M members. The company posted a €4.1M profit in the first nine months of its fiscal year
• Mango is accelerating its innovation strategy with AI -driven virtual models and its own language model, Lisa. The company has integrated AI across its operations, including customer service (Iris) and fashion design (Inspire)

Interesting reads 🤓

• Iñigo Laucirica (Samaipata) wrote “Pricing isn't a moat. Or is it?”
• Eloi Pardo published a product analysis of Wikiloc
• Nova Talent published “AI Tools in Recruitment: A Deep Dive for Startups and SMBs”