Dealflow.es #422: Bcas raised €17m. idealista & Cinven. 2 new VC funds.
Welcome to the #422 edition of the Dealflow.es: a weekly summary of everything that happened in the Spanish startup and tech investing ecosystem.
This week’s newsletter is sponsored by Bisiesto:
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Startup funding news 💸
Spanish startups have seen a significant boost in investment during the first half of 2024, raising over €1.2 billion, primarily through debt financing and according to Fundacion Bankinter’s data. Major rounds include ID Finance's €150 million from i80 Group, Capchase's €105 million from Deutsche Bank, and Boopos's €161 million from Fortress Investment. These debt rounds reflect a trend where startups seek funding without diluting ownership
Madrid-based student finance edtech Bcas has raised €17 million in a funding round led by MyInvestor and Actyus. Bcas has already provided over €8 million in financing to more than 1,500 students, establishing itself as a leader in ISA financing. More info here
Madrid-based solar energy startup Samara closed a funding round of €9 million led by the Green Generation Fund and Move Energy funds. Samara is dedicated to the installation of solar panels in homes
Barcelona-based data analytics startup Mitiga has raised an €8M extension to its Series A funding in a round led by Elaia. Previous investors Kibo Ventures, CREAS Impacto and others also invested in the round. Mitiga’s SaaS platform allows companies to analyse, report and act on their exposure to climate risk
Spanish and US startup Alinia, an alignment platform that enables companies to safely and controlled deploy generative AI, guided by their policies and business, has raised $2.4 million in pre-seed funding. The round was led by Speedinvest and we also participated at Kfund. More info here
Other rounds of funding:
IENAI Space: spacetech, raised funding from Conexo and CDTI
Startups looking for funding: Bioo (biological battery)
M&A news 🚀
According to Expansion, British PE firm Cinven has signed an exclusivity agreement to acquire idealista for approximately €3 billion. The transaction is expected to be completed in June. Cinven’s offer surpassed General Atlantic in the bidding for the company controlled by EQT
Seedtag has acquired Beachfront, a supply-side platform specializing in TV and video, in order to strengthen its presence in the CTV market. The founders of Seedtag also appeared in this podcast interview last week
Barcelona-based digital health company Mediktor announced the acquisition of Sensely, a San Francisco-based digital health provider. The deal expands Mediktor's presence to over 35 countries while strengthening its position in the United States
Investor & accelerator news 🚀
Iker Marcaide (Zubi Capital) has partnered with Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy and the European Investment Bank (EIB) to mobilize €820 million for sustainable investments in Europe by 2027. Announced at the South Summit in Madrid, the initiative aims to accelerate the adoption of clean technologies in Spain and Portugal, focusing on innovative solutions that reduce reliance on fossil fuels
SC Net Zero Ventures completed its first investment closing, raising €125 million. The fund, managed by Suma Capital in partnership with Repsol, aims to drive the energy transition by investing in disruptive technologies related to low-carbon mobility, industrial decarbonization, and renewable energy sources. Repsol is an anchor investor with a contribution of €50 million
VC firm Draper B1 has launched a new €30 million fund, backed by FOND-ICO Global and other investors. The fund will focus on investing in Frontier Tech startups, particularly in artificial intelligence, blockchain, and space technology. More info here
Sanitas oficially launched Sanitas Ventures, a division to create new businesses and innovative solutions in the healthcare field. The innovation model includes Venture Building, Open Innovation, and Intrapreneurship, and has achieved good results since its inception in 2023
Startup news 💡
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Spacetech company Sateliot has announced that it will partner with SpaceX to launch four satellites in July to enter commercial phase. The company is deploying the first 5G-IoT satellite constellation and has secured €200 million in contracts. The launch, aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, will take place from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California
Yaiza Canosa, founder of logistics company GOI, said in an interview that her company expects to reach €90 million in sales this year
Interview with Sergio Furio, founder of Brazilian fintech unicorn Creditas. In the interview, Sergio talks about potential expansion plans in Europe and Spain, his opinion on the evolution of the Spanish startup ecosystem, and more
Holaluz has lost its sales channel partnership with Santander for its self-consumption solar energy products. This development is a setback for Holaluz, which had relied on this collaboration to boost its market presence
US company CoreWeave plans to invest €2 billion to expand its data center operations in Europe, including a new facility in Spain by 2025. The U.S.-based startup, valued at $19 billion, focuses on high-performance computing for AI and has strong ties with Nvidia
A ranking by Patio Campus highlights 35 dynamic Spanish scaleups for their innovation, viability, and social impact. Wallbox leads with a total score of 4.08, followed by Job&Talent and Cabify.
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Interesting reads 🤓
The Barrié Foundation and The Exponential Fellowship association have launched a scholarship program to connect Galician talent with startups in the US. Six university graduates in technical disciplines will be selected to work as software engineers in these start-ups for a year or a year and a half. The program offers an annual gross remuneration between $80,000 and $150,000, in addition to travel allowance, visa processing, and health insurance. This is a program that has been co-led by Guli Moreno, co-founder of Capchase. More info here
The digital sector in Barcelona experienced a growth of 12% tech workers in 2023, reaching a total of 122,000 professionals. This record in the historical series of the Digital Talent Overview report highlights the consolidation of the sector and the arrival of digital hubs from foreign multinationals. According to the report, Barcelona has the highest average salary in Spain for digital professionals. The report is available here
María Benjumea, founder of South Summit, emphasizes the need to expand Spain's Startup Law to support more companies, especially those in growth stages. She’s right. The limitation of many of the benefits of the Startup Law to companies of 5 years of age or less doesn’t make any sense
David Bonilla wrote “La habitación limpia“. The "clean room design" is a reverse engineering technique that allows replicating a technology without copyright infringement
Ignacio Arriaga wrote “Cómo sobrevivir a la IA si vendes software“
Dani Latorre (Genially) did a talk on “Desarrollo de producto en una scaleup”. Presentation available here and video here
Ramón Blanco (Bewater Funds, Indexa) wrote “Las rondas sin inversor externo tienen mayor probabilidad de fracaso“
Podcasts 🔈
Kfund interviewed Joaquín Cuenca, CEO of Freepik
Itnig interviewed Xavi Ginesta, founder and former CEO of Voxel
Indexa Capital interviewed Salvador Mas, now founder at GPTAdvisor
Investing in Spain interviewed Guli Moreno, co-founder of Capchase
Product Hackers interviewed Jordi Romero, co-founder of Factorial
Historias de Crecimiento interviewed Jaime Arteaga, co-founder of Do Eat!