Dealflow.es #451: Crescenta raised €7M. More Spaniards in YC.
A weekly summary of everything that happened in the Spanish startup and tech investing ecosystem.
Dealflow.es is the best way to keep up with Spain’s startup ecosystem. Dealflow is a side project. I spend the vast majority of my time investing in early stage startups as part of Kfund. We make investments of €100k to €10m. If you want to chat, drop me an email at jaime@kfund.vc
For Dealflow sponsorship opportunities, email me at jaime@dealflow.es. I only have 13 slots available for the rest of the year, the first one being June 2nd
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At Kfund we're looking to add a new member to our investment team. This is a great opportunity to join us for the long-term.
The ideal candidate has some investing experience and/or has worked at a startup before. Having said that, what we're really looking for is...
🧑🏻💻 Someone who is passionate tech and startups (the more technical, the better - hello engineering backgrounds!)
🛠️ Loves to try new products and keep up with what's going on in the tech world. Nerdy personality.
👫 Is a good networker and understands our motto of “Win playing well”. For all of us in the team, “we” is more important than “I”
If you think that’s tou, please send us an email at jobs@kfund.vc and briefly explain why you think you could be a good fit for this role.
More details here.
Startup funding news 💸
Madrid-based Geniova, a startup specializing in invisible orthodontics, has raised €13M in a funding round led by Inveready and CDTI
Madrid-based Crescenta, an investment platform that allows retail investors to invest in PE and VC funds, secured a €7M round led by Acurio Ventures and Kfund. We wrote about the investment here. We first invested in Crescenta in its pre-seed round
Barcelona-based Zynap, a cybersecurity company utilizes generative AI to proactively combat crime by simulating cyber threat tactics, raised €5.7M, co-led by Kibo Ventures and Kfund. We wrote about the investment here
Barcelona-based Weecover, a startup specializing in embedded insurance solutions, has secured a €4.2M round led by Íope Ventures, the investment vehicle launched by Wayra and Telefónica Seguros
Barcelona-based Sycai Medical, a startup that empowers healthcare professionals through AI, has secred €3M in funding from LUMO Labs, Ship2B Ventures, Athos Capital, and Namarel Ventures
Madrid-based Kymatio, a leader in Human Risk Management and employee cybersecurity awareness, secured a €1.85M round led by Decelera, ABANCA, and Fides Capital
Mexico-based PuntoPost, a startup founded by Spaniards specializing in merchandise collection points, raised $1.5M in a funding round led by 4Founders, JME Ventures, Latin Leap, Lanai, and Inclimo
Madrid-based Xnova International, a company specializing in the development of innovative solutions for the food industry, closed a €1M round led by Abac Nest
Other rounds of funding:
Robinsun: €600k, residential solar energy
M&A 🎉
Fintech startup Ebury signed an agreement to acquire ArcaPay, a Lithuania-based provider of cross-border B2B payment solutions
Indra is finalizing the €650M acquisition of satellite operator Hispasat from Redeia to strengthen its position in the aerospace sector
Investor & accelerator news 🚀
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Nzyme, the PE fund managed by Kibo Ventures and Oliver Wyman, received a committment of €112.7M from CDTI. The fund had done a first closing of €60M in April of last year. Target size was €200M
Portuguese VC firm Armilar Venture Partners has begun the fundraising process for a €250M fund that will focus, among other regions, in Spain. In the article, partner Duarte Mineiro talks about why they believe Spain offers great investment opportunities. Armilar, a fund that we respect a lot and we have gotten to know through several co-investments at Kfund, tends to invest in deeptech or software-differentiated businesses
GP Bullhound restructured its leadership in Spain, appointing Jaime Sendagorta as the new head. Before joining GP Bullhound, Jaime began his investment banking career at Credit Suisse in London
Startup news 💡
→ New startups:
YouShift, co-founded by Spaniards Adolfo Roquero, Jota C. and Lucia Vives, to join Y Combinator’s latest batch
→ Financials:
Catalan telco Parlem Telecom reported €49.7M in revenue for 2024, a 9.5% increase from 2023. Recurrent EBITDA surged 77% to €5.4M
Meal delivery company Wetaca expanded into the German market, aiming to generate over €1M in 2025. In 2023, the company reported revenues of approximately €16.2M in Spain, with a subscriber base of 160,000
Cloud and telecom provider Gigas has shifted its strategy to partner with cloud giants like Google and Microsoft, emphasizing AI and big data integration. In 2024, its cloud and cybersecurity services grew 22.6%, reaching €15.2M in revenue, while telecom services rose 6.1%
"Un debate que hemos tenido los últimos diez años es si hacer temas con nube pública. Nos hemos ido resistiendo porque tenemos nuestra propia nube con unos márgenes muy altos y ponerte a revender cloud de otro con márgenes muy estrechos no parece que tenga mucho sentido. Pero este año finalmente nos hemos decidido sobre todo por la parte de inteligencia artificial y big data", explica en una entrevista con Actualidad Económica el CEO de la empresa española, que capitaliza alrededor de 80 millones de euros. “No podemos pretender que vamos a desarrollar nuestros modelos. Ahí tenemos que contar con los grandes"
MyInvestor, the neobank backed by Andbank, Axa, El Corte Inglés, closed 2024 with a business volume of €8.33B, marking a 90% increase from the previous year. The entity achieved a net profit of €6.5M and nearly doubled its client base to 435,000 users
Real estate crowdfunding platform Urbanitae financed €213M across 66 projects in 2024, marking a 60% increase from the previous year
→ Two companies in financial trouble:
Sunhero, a startup specializing in solar panel installations, has declared bankruptcy and is negotiating an Employment Regulation File (ERE) affecting its 50 employees. The company, founded in 2021, had raised €10M in funding and completed over 1,000 installations
Proptech Tiko is on the verge of bankruptcy. The company announced a major layoff (ERE) in December 2024, affecting nearly all employees, including those from Housell, which Tiko acquired in 2023. Tiko had raised more than $100M in funding (equity + debt)
→ Startup profiles:
Deale, a Barcelona-based startup that streamlines M&A for SMEs, enabling transactions in just three months compared to the sector’s typical 8–12 months
Wattson Smart Charging, a Madrid-based startup, offers ultrafast mobile EV chargers integrated into vans, capable of powering 6–8 cars per cycle without connecting to the grid
→ Other news:
Glovo plans to invest €100M in 2025 to regularize 15,000 of its 20,000 riders in Spain, transitioning them to formal employment. The shift will include direct hiring and subcontracting through courier firms, a first for Glovo among its 23 operating markets.
Holaluz employees have intensified their indefinite strike, which began on January 14, protesting the company’s decision to eliminate remote work and other benefits
Fintech Monei has been chosen by the ECB for the Pioneer Workstream to test the infrastructure of the digital euro
Big company & policy news 🤓
The Spanish government announced several initiatives, none of which were really relevant:
Spain introduced ALIA, its first public and open-source AI models in Spanish and co-official languages. For a negative opinion on this launch, read Javi Lopez thread on X. On this topic, it’s also worth reading Antonio Ortiz post: “Tres estrategias para la AGI: Stargate, ALIA y Deepseek R1”
Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez has proposed to the EU measures to end online anonymity and enforce algorithm transparency on social media platforms
Telefónica has partnered with AI-powered search engine Perplexity, becoming a shareholder to integrate its technology into its services
Interesting reads 🤓
El Mundo profiled Hacoo, a rapidly growing marketplace app, has gained popularity among young consumers in Spain by offering counterfeit products at significantly lower prices. Promoted through platforms like TikTok and Telegram, it allows users to buy imitations of branded goods without explicitly listing brand names
Nauta Capital published “Variable compensation for VC backed founders”, on how performance-based bonuses can align incentives between founders and investors, rewarding milestones like revenue growth or profitability
Chema Alonso (Telefonica) wrote about his experience working with Pallete: “Las enseñanzas de un "Marathon Man & Drone Pilot"
Simon Muñoz (Voicemod) published “¿Cómo vamos a ganar?: Una explicación, y una cura, al desperdicio en el sector tecnológico.”
Ignacio Arriaga wrote “Cuando despedir a un cliente es buena idea”