Dealflow.es #446: Arbolus raised $20M. Indexa hits €3B. End-of-year financials.
A weekly summary of everything that happened in the Spanish startup and tech investing ecosystem.
Friendly reminder that we now also have Dealflow France 🇫🇷 and Dealflow LatAm to follow startup and VC news in each ecosystem. Subscribe if you’re interested!
This week’s newsletter is sponsored by Spinoff:
Spinoff es una consultora enfocada en el posicionamiento de marca y desarrollo de negocio. Ayudan a startups a hacerse grandes, en su proceso de crecimiento y consolidación (porque ser fundador es una cosa y ser empresario otra muy distinta). Creen en las empresas que apuestan por desafiar las cosas. Proyectos, productos y servicios que son los que queremos dejar a nuestros hijos.
Realizan proyectos de desarrollo de estrategia de negocio (escalabilidad), posicionamiento de marca, ayudando a definir su propuesta de valor y cómo potenciarla en el mercado y desarrollando la cultura interna de la compañía, definiendo los procesos y el equipo adecuado para crecer.
Para ello ponen a disposición de las emprendedurías todo el aprendizaje y experiencia adquiridos durante 10 años trabajando con las grandes (Ibex35 y sus CEOs) en proyectos estratégicos de alto nivel, y así poder hacer grandes a otras. Trabajan con empresas como Hola Coffee, Komvida, Smileat, Freshis, Redcast Heritage, Mietis, entre otros.
Hace unos días grabé una pequeña conversación con Carlos y Carol, cofundadores de Spinoff, sobre qué hacen y por qué lo hacen.
Startup funding news 💸
Barcelona-based Arbolus secured a $20M Series B investment led by Kayne Anderson Partners Fund V. Arbolus is an expert insights platform that allows investors and consultants to gather insights on companies during their research and diligence process
Barcelona-based Submer, a company specializing in liquid immersion cooling technology for data centers, added €20M in debt to the €50M round announced a few weeks ago. This tranche of the investment was provided by Banco Santander and MG Catalyst
Barcelona-based Cafler, a marketplace for vehicle management services like at-home repairs, washes, and inspections, secured €3M in debt financing from BBVA Spark. Cafler has raised over €10M from Seaya Ventures and others since its 2021 launch
Madrid and Sevilla-based Mogu, a SaaS platform for travel agencies, raised €2.2M in a round led by 4Founders Capital, Athos Capital, and Bynd Venture Capital. Mogu helps agencies streamline processes like proposal creation and payment management, improving client conversion rates by over 20%
Barcelona-based Drimer, a digital travel agency based on travel Creators and influencers, raised €1.5M from Demium Capital, ByteTravel and others
Mexican-Spanish fintech Cofers secured $1M to digitize corporate treasury processes in LatAm. Its platform automates cash flow forecasting and provides real-time financial insights, catering to SMEs and large enterprises across Latin America.
Murcia-based NaviLens, a company specializing in scannable codes for visually impaired and other users, raised funding from Suma Capital. The app is active in 50 cities globally, including New York and Madrid
Other rounds of funding:
Abastores, a marketplace for agricultural products, closed a €750k round led by Encomenda
Calpech, a startup focused on developing innovative materials from graphene oxide, secured a €600k investment from BeAble Capital
KloutIt, a digital platform helping professionals monetize their expertise through live sessions and courses, raised €540k in a round led by Lanai Ventures and BStartup 10
Investor & accelerator news 🚀
The Spanish government’s €2B Co-Investment Fund (FOCO), managed by COFIDES, has approved its initial investments totaling €220M. More info here. These funds will be allocated to three investment vehicles:
Eurazeo Growth Fund IV: receives €150M to invest in tech companies, also in Spain, focusing on digital transformation sectors such as software applications, fintech, digital health, and deep tech.
Azora European Climate Solutions Fund: Managed by Azora Gestión, this fund targets decarbonization solutions across Europe.
Clean Hydrogen Equipment Fund: Managed by Hy24, it focuses on hydrogen technology investments.
CaixaBank launched a €150M venture debt fund to support tech startups in Spain and Portugal. The fund will provide loans ranging from €1M to €15M, with repayment terms up to 48 months and up to 18 months of grace period. Additionally, it offers the option to convert part of the debt into equity, up to 30% of the outstanding debt
Grow Venture Partners announced the first close of the FITA fund with over €50M committed, nearing its €55M target. FITA will invest in startups emerging from university and R&D center technology transfers. FITA is a fund and initiative launched by the Generalitat of Catalunya to invest in transfer tech, announced a year ago
At Kfund, last week we also announced that my colleague Jorge Campo recently moved to Barcelona and is our go-to-person in the city. We continue to see a lot of highly relevant startups in Barcelona and we’ve been super active, with 4 new investments in just the last couple of months
Spanish funds active abroad:
Samaipata co-led a a €4M round in German startup Synthavo. Synthavo’s AI-driven platform enhances the sale of spare parts for machinery manufacturers, streamlining order processes and minimizing machine downtime
Startup news 💡
Indexa Capital reached €3B in assets under management. It took them 6.5 years to reach €1B, 2.5 years to reach €2B, and 1 year to reach €3B
Wallbox faces historic low amid compliance concerns. Wallbox shares hit a record low after falling below $1 for over 30 days, violating NYSE rules. If not rectified by June 2025, the company risks delisting. Wallbox attributes the dip to broader EV sector challenges and plans measures to stabilize
A handful of startups shared financial milestones to close the year:
Food tech company Wetaca shared that they will close 2024 with €20M in sales and profitable for the third consecutive year
Bdeo, an AI solutions provider for the insurance industry, became profitable by mid-2024 while continuing to grow. The company now operates in 28 countries
Fintech Payflow said that it was EBITDA profitable, for the first time, in December
Services marketplace Webel said that they’ve reached €10M in GMV
And as in the past few weeks, there were several articles published about Glovo:
CEO Oscar Pierre published an op-ed in La Vanguardia titled “Y ahora, ¿qué?”
Also, a Spanish court has temporarily blocked Glovo’s €6M VAT payment
Profile of Voicemod and its real-time voice-changing technology for gaming and streaming platforms. The company announced just a couple of weeks ago a new device called ‘Key’ that allows users to modify their voice on consoles and mobile devices
Revolut has won Aena’s tender to install 17 card-dispensing machines in Spain’s largest airports. The machines, placed in Madrid-Barajas and Barcelona-El Prat, allow users to instantly obtain Revolut cards, with non-customers able to register and receive one on the spot. This complements Revolut’s plan to install 50 traditional ATMs in Spain by 2025
ChargeGuru, a French company specializing in electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions, is set to install charging stations in 500 parking facilities across Spain. Currently, ChargeGuru has completed 7,000 installations in Spain and 80,000 across Europe
Linda, BEWE’s AI assistant, was named a 2024 success story by Google in Sao Paulo. The software was designed to enhance appointment scheduling and customer engagement
Discover Holafly's eSIM for Business
With Holafly for Business, empower your teams with Unlimited Data and cost-saving mobile plans worldwide. More info here.
Big company & policy news 🤓
AWS plans to invest €15.7B in Aragón over the next decade (2024-2033), aiming to expand its data centers in the region. This investment is projected to contribute €12.9 billion to Aragón’s GDP
Bizum introduced a new feature enabling companies to collect recurring payments, such as subscriptions or bills, directly from customers by using their phone numbers
Booking.com is contesting a €413M fine imposed by Spain’s National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) for alleged abuse of its dominant market position.  The company argues that its platform benefits small and medium-sized hotel enterprises (SMEs) in Spain
TikTok Shop officially launched in Spain
Netflix has successfully met the CNMC’s requirement to invest 5% of its Spanish revenue into European productions, contributing €69.8 million
Masorange, the telecom operator formed from the Orange and MásMóvil merger, seeks strategic partnerships in the insurance and energy sector
El Pais published a long article on the penetration of mobile and digital banking in Spain: “La gran batalla financiera se libra en el móvil: así le están comiendo terreno los neobancos a las entidades tradicionales”. Over the past nine years, digital banking penetration in Spain has surged from 33% to 70%, with projections indicating it will reach 85% within the next five years
Interesting reads 🤓
Javi Santana (Tinybird) wrote “Sin mirar atrás. A veces te toca hacer un pelín de daño”
Carmen Alfonso Rico, founder of investment firm Cocoa, wrote an article on Sifted about the “the ops and costs of running a first fund”
Victor Delgado, co-founder of product studio North, published “Generative User Interfaces: The Next Evolution in Digital Product Design“
Lots of interesting news this week for the Spanish ecosystem. Thank you for the curated list, Jaime.