Hi all & happy Monday,

This week’s main headlines:

• BCN has a new unicorn: Factorial 🦄

• Kantox sold to BNP Paribas for €120M 💰💰💰

• BCN & Mexico City science collaboration 🤝

New unicorn 🦄 & €120M exit – a huge week for BCN fintech

BCN FinTech Kantox was just sold to BNP Paribas for €120M! 🎉 Congrats to Philippe Gelis & the entire fantastic team!

Kantox is a wonderful story. It began around 11 years ago at a StartupWeekend event when ex-Deloitte consultants Philippe Gelis & Antonio Rami left their jobs behind to go take a chance on their fintech company.

Over the course of time, their expertise, leadership, and hard work built what is probably Barcelona's biggest fintech success story to date.

The exit is great news for our BCN fintech ecosystem – especially at the back of Factorial raising €123M & becoming a 🦄 (technically an HR SaaS, but I allow myself to consider them a fintech as they also offer a payroll & expense management solution).

The hope is that this news may lead to similar multiplier effects we've observed from other startup exits in Spain. Founders who finally get their payday often become investors or move on to their next ventures – with bigger starting capital and expertise. And several team members who were part of the journey to the top often launch their own projects as well. It will be fascinating to watch what the full impact of this success story will be.

To find more on this & BCN fintech in general, I highly recommend checking out:

• Life on Mars Podcast: Factorial, Kantox and the third wave of Barcelona startups

• 20 Oct: Startup Grind BCN feat. Philippe Gelis, CEO & Co-Founder at Kantox

• 23 Nov: #004: BCN FinTech Afterwork: FinTech vs DeFi

[Intro by Clemens]

Have a great week & do good!

Startup & Investment News

Barcelona investment news

• Factorial become Spain’s newest unicorn after securing €120M

• Fintech Kantox sold to BNP Paribas for €120M

• Bike & scooter parking solution vadeCity expands to Madrid after closing 3rd round with a €5.5M valuation

• Bike rental service Kleta get €500K

• Foodtech MIM Habits lands €410K via Startupxplore to develop its probiotic bread

• Medtech startup Robopedics closes €300K first round, oversubscribing 125%

• Privacy compliance SaaS Pridatect acquired by US-based security firm Borneo

Barcelona startup news

• Meal kit delivery firm Let's Cook looks for €600K funding to expand its business after hitting breakeven & facing high demand

• Proptech Prontopiso closes down after suffering significant pandemic losses

Spanish investment news

• Palencia-based EV charger startup Zunder raise €100M

• Madrid-based data fabric company StratioBD secure €65M

• Madrid-based medtech Club Clínico get €2.1M

• San Sebastian ecommerce SaaS Naiz Fit acquired by Israel-based MySize

VC, investment & crowdfunding news

• Sport Ventures launch new €1M fund for early-stage sportstech and wellness startups

• Alantra launches 33N Ventures to invest in cybersecurity in Europe, Israel & the US

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories

• Binance’s BNB Chain is looking to boost European Web3 startups with its DApp incubator program; apply until Oct 23

• European Tech School’s next cohort is opening for its 10-week blockchain course; apply from Oct 26

• SHOP4CF’s 3rd call is open for projects solving manufacturing challenges & improving workplace safety and wellbeing; apply until Oct 31

• Iberdrola’s PERSEO startup program is seeking innovative solutions to protect its power lines from natural disaster damage; apply until Nov 4

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews:

• Àlex Rodríguez Bacardit (MarsBased & Startup Grind Barcelona): How I distribute my days to run two companies

• MyLock: Smart metro station lockers that charge your scooter using energy from braking trains

• Telomere Therapeutic: University of Barcelona spinoff developing a telomerase gene therapy that counteracts telomere shortening and can treat age-related diseases.

Tech News

Tech news in Barcelona:

• Barcelona and Mexico City agree to strengthen scientific collaboration

• Barcelona Cable Landing Station is ready for its first high-capacity submarine

• Recap of the Barcelona Boat show: filling Port Vell with maritime tradition & innovation

• Madrid eyewear startup GreyHounders opens its first flagship store in Barcelona

Tech & big company news in Spain:

• 2 out of 10 young Spaniards want to create a company in the next five years

• Zaragoza chosen as Spain’s first stop for Elon Musk’s futuristic Hyperloop train system

• Cabify launches Cabify Logistics, a new business that hopes to resolve industry challenges

• Iberdrola and EIB extend a €220M green loan to boost Spain's smart grids

• Desigual aims to reduce emissions by 65% over next four years by boosting energy efficiency, waste management and the use of recyclable materials

Politics, legal & economics

• Spain is the only major European economy that has not yet recovered pre-pandemic GDP

Good Reads

• Sun, sea and start-ups: Why thriving tech hub Barcelona is attracting top talent

• Andreessen Horowitz is patiently waiting out the crypto winter: an interview with a16z Arianna Simpson

• A disillusioned generation? How startups can overcome a new challenge in the tech industry

• Which cities are best suited to digital nomads?

Good Videos & Podcasts

• Factorial, Kantox and the third wave of Barcelona startups (Life on Mars podcast, EN)

• Ara Rodríguez speaks with Eloi Noya, General Manager at Altria Corpo, entrepreneur, investor & professor at ESADE (Novicap podcast, ES)

Great Events

This week:

• Tue, 18 Oct @18:30 Honeypot’s HRinTech: Remote and Hybrid Work insights & networking

• Wed, 19 Oct @18:00: From 0 to 100: Your first 100 days as Tech Lead

• Wed, 19 Oct @18:00: Esade eWorks Demo Day 2022

• Thu, 20 Oct @ 18:30: Startup Grind BCN hosts Philippe Gelis (CEO & Co-Founder @ Kantox)

• Sat, 22 Oct @10:00: Barcelona International Community Day 2022

Upcoming:

• Tue, 25 & Wed, 26 Oct: AI & Big Data Congress Barcelona

• Wed, 26 Oct @18:00: Google Analytics 4 Workshop: Migration, differences, metrics and the future

• Thu, 27 Oct: 18:00: October Afterwork – Pier01 | Tech Barcelona and Z by HP

• Thu, 3 Nov @18:00: Barcelona Tech Job Fair Autumn 2022

• Fri, 4 Nov @13:30: FutureTravel Summit 2022

• Wed 23 Nov @18:30: #004 BCN FinTech

See the full event calendar here & add your event here.

Startup Jobs:

• Bourbon Creative is hiring:

• - Freelance Content Writers and/or Project Managers (German, 100% remote)

• - Freelance Content Writers (English, 100% remote)

• Opticks is looking for an Account Executive & an Engineering Manager

• Ukio need a Creative Copywriter

• Zinklar is hiring a Content Marketing Manager

• Unnax want a Business Development Executive

• Cognizant Netcentric is looking for various Tech Roles