Hello and happy Monday!

Today's main headlines:

• Venvirotech gets €11M

• Neobank bcn10 sold to US group

• LaLiga & Lanzadera launch sports tech startup program

Have a great week and see you out there!

Startup & Investment News

Barcelona investment news

• Bioplastic developers Venvirotech raises €11M

• Fintech startup Finteca gets €750K

• Fintech bnc10 has been sold to US group Synthetic Neural Labs and prepares its relaunch with a focus on AI & internationalization

Barcelona startup news

• Home-fitness startup Volava drives growth in Spain by releasing Volava Smart bike & new Volava Smart Pulse heart monitor

• EV charger manufacturer Wallbox announces the appointment of Francisco Riberas to its Board of Directors

• Tech and energy startup Bamboo Energy launches AI-based software platform to redefine the energy market

• BitBase opens its first cryptocurrency franchise store in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat

• ID Finance partners with Receeve to build the future of post-Covid debt collection and recovery

Spanish startup news

• Madrid-based car subscription startup Bipi is sold for €100M

• Madrid prop-tech Tiko captures €55M

• Palencia startup EasyCharger gets €25M

• Madrid startup Asistensi receives €8.65M

• Valencia hyperloop startup Zeleros closes €7M series A funding

• Madrid health & wellness startup TherapyChat gets €5M

• Madrid-based tech startup Kaleidos lands €2.2M

• Madrid-based energy startup Q-Energy raises €1.1M

• Madrid house flipping firm Delicias and Cuzco nets €1.7M via Fellow Funders

VC, investment & crowdfunding news:

• VC investment in Spain sets a new record, totals €731M spread across316 investments in first half of the year

• Government launches the Next Tech Fund which will mobilize up to €4B of public-private investment to boost the growth of businesses

• The Huruma Fund, the largest social impact fund in Spain, completes the process of raising investor commitments & reaches €120M

• The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation promotes feminine digital entrepreneurship with a new financing line of up to €51m to be managed by Enisa

• BBVA launches €50M Propel Fund I to promote the development of digital financial companies

• The IESE business angels network concludes the 2020-2021 academic year having closed 31 operations that have channeled a total amount of €3.4M

• Cofides presents the Recapitalization Fund for companies affected by covid-19

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories:

• LaLiga and Lanzadera team up to promote startups transforming the sports and entertainment industry

• Inveready and Pangeanic join Entorno Pre Mercado, an education program for expanding SMEs, as partners

• South Summit Madrid 2021 selects the hundred finalist startups for its most sustainable edition

• Israeli-inspired innovation hub, Zakut, encourages Spanish entrepreneurs and startups to compete in the Entrepreneurs World Cup

• VRTECH announces the three finalists of this year’s VRTECH Startup Competition

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews:

• Submer: computing liquid immersion cooling solution for data centers that saves up to 99% of cooling costs

• Heura foods: the philosophy, purpose, and tech behind the 100% plant-based meat producer 

Tech News

Tech news in Barcelona:

• Barcelona-based European Blockchain Convention launches online blockchain school European Tech School

• US automotive company AAM expanded its presence in Europe by acquiring Barcelona plant

• UK mobile games leader Tripledot Studios accelerates global expansion with new Barcelona office

• CBRE Global Investors acquires new office campus in Barcelona

• Catalan biopharmaceutical company Almirall announces that the European Commission has approved Klisyri (tirbanibulin) for the topical treatment of actinic keratosis on the face or scalp in adults

• Barcelona-based Amadeus will integrate IBM's digital health pass into its Traveler ID platform in a bid to simplify the verification of passengers' health credentials during the boarding process

• Barcelona is running a pilot project to help inform a city-wide digital inclusion policy

• The SBC Summit Barcelona of 2021 agenda focuses on the industry’s biggest issues

Tech news in Spain:

• ABB to buy Spanish autonomous robotics group

• Amazon exploring potential purchase of LaLiga streaming rights for 2022/2023 season

• Apple bids big on Spain, hired 400 people in the last 12 months & invested more than €1.5B in local suppliers

• MAD Lions becomes first Spanish eSports team to join the stock exchange

Politics, Legal & Economics

• Spanish government selects five startups to join president Pedro Sánchez on the trip to the US

Good Reads

• What do startup founders say about Barcelona?

• GELLIFY launches a new report about circular economy showcasing how +30 corporations & startups are driving innovation in their industries

• 100+ Female angel investors in Europe

• Introducing Slack Huddles, a new way to have live audio discussions

Good Videos & Podcasts

• Interview with Joan Tubau, co-founder at Cardinal

• Interview with Eleanor Manley, co-founder & CTO at Metta Space

• Interview with Alejandro Arenas, head of Southern Europe at Snap

Great Events

This week:

• Thu, 29 Jul @19:00: Pitch to Investors by Itnig

Upcoming:

• 16-18 Nov: Smart City Expo World Congress

• 24-26 Nov: VIII S2B Impact Forum

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

Jobs

• Housfy is looking for a Digital Marketing Manager

• Red Points is hiring a Product Marketing Manager

• Factorial HR is looking for an SEO Growth Hacker - Latam Market

• Amadeus is recruiting a Product Manager, Global Connectivity

• algofy is looking for a Google Ads Specialist

• CodeOp is recruiting a Head of Growth

• Netcentric is hiring several IT positions

• N26 is looking for a Product Manager - Digital Payments

• Verse is hiring a Product Manager