Hello and happy August,

Today's main headlines:

• Record-level investment in Spanish startups in 2022 🤑

• BCN attracting more digital talent than ever before 💡

• Catalan health startup investments beat records at €296M ⛑

Local companies that help you escape the 🔥 hot weather in BCN

“The heat is on, on the street. Inside your head, on every beat” 

The lyrics from the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack are a legit recap for this summer's soaring temps. 🥵 And another heatwave may be just around the corner. But don’t despair! Barcelona firms are to help out. Here’s a quick overview:

• 😎 OneCoWork: While many companies are still struggling to drag talent that got used to WFH back to the office, OCW makes this easy. Their premium coworking spaces in Barcelona don’t just look great, they also come with top-notch AC to keep you cool and focused this summer.

• 🧊☕ GoodNews: While it’s not, as the name suggests, only a positive news outlet, we still love the kiosk thanks to their iced coffees that are taking BCN by storm.

• 🛫 FlyKube: The travel tech firm (which shattered its revenue record last month) offers you an escape from the heat & humidity. Just be aware that their surprise trips mean you don’t find out your exact destination until 2 days before you take off. The upside: They have a beach surprise pack so you can cool down in the ocean wherever you end up.

• 📦 Glovo: To cool down you need to avoid heat and eat ice cream, but to get an ice cream you need to brave the heat – a classic Catch-22. The way out? Just order a Glovo delivery!

• 👟 Tropicfeel: They might be known for their specialist travel gear like the award-winning Shell backpack, but their UV-blocking organic cotton tees and lightweight sneakers (some of which you can swim in!) are just as apt for a hot city summer in the city. 

• ⛵ Nautal: What’s better than swimming in the ocean? Swimming in the ocean without being surrounded by thousands of tourists, of course. Beat the crowds by renting a boat with Nautal and sail away.

Startup & Investment News

Barcelona investment news

• Cleantech water services startup Createch360º close €3.6M round

• Tattoo artist marketplace Tattoox receive €480K 

• Social metaverse organization Gamium gets investment from Wayra 

Barcelona startup news

• Catalan health startup investments in 2022 top €296M to overtake 2021 tally

• HR SaaS Factorial triples income and expects to reach €30M this year

• Freshly Cosmetics grows Spanish presence with new 6th store in Seville

• London-BCN running coach app Lupa makes GB Entrepreneur’s list of 15 sports entrepreneurs to watch in 2022

• Food startup Caterving to shut down

Spanish investment news

• Investment into Spanish startups at record levels in 2022

• Madrid contextual advertising leader Seedtag raises over €250M 

• Alicante-based drone company Embention get €7.5M 

• Valencia-based semiconductor manufacturers iPronics bring in €3.7M 

• Basque-founded securtech firm Ironchip close €2.1M

• Sports club digitization app Clupik secure €750K seed round 

• Spanish exchange Bit2Me buys Peruvian crypto exchange Fluyez

VC, investment & crowdfunding news

• The Asociación Española Business Angels Networks (AEBAN) published its 2022 report on angel activity

• Grow Venture Partners expand its first deeptech fund from €5M to €7M after covering it in 20 days

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories

• EIT Digital Challenge is looking for deeptech scaleups for their €50K 12-month accelerator program; apply until Sept 19 

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews:

• Catalonia's ten most disruptive companies 

• Jaume Ripoll: Co-Founder of Filmin on the streaming crisis & Netflix's algorithms 

• Skin Bliss: Using AI to find your ideal cosmetic treatment

Tech News

Tech news in Barcelona:

• Barcelona is now attracting more digital talent than ever before

• GSMA outlines its partnership with BCN to celebrate Mobile World Congress until 2030

• Swedish electric car company Polestar chooses Barcelona to open first Spanish store

Tech & big company news in Spain:

• Orange and MásMóvil finally complete their merger 

• BME, BBVA and IDB issue the first regulated bond in Spain registered with Blockchain

• Berlin grocery delivery service Gorillas lays off 40% of its Spanish workforce

• Spanish insurance company Mutua Madrilena acquire stake in Cabify

• Video game giant Nintendo loses legal battle with Spanish Hacienda

Politics, legal & economics

• Spain's new social security rates for the self-employed: will you pay more?

Good Reads

• Cryptoverse: What crisis? Venture capitalists bet big on crypto

• 10 best Spanish startups to work for according to experts on LinkedIn

• Living Assets: powering engagement in the metaverse with HyperDream by Alun Evans of Freeverse.io

• The tech magic that unleashed your best: the surprising ways in which tech has helped people discover new worlds

Good Videos & Podcasts

• Techstack changes & product rewrites with Ingrid Ødegaard (ex-CTO @ Whereby) (EN)

• Sifted: Raids and possible “cartels”: Inside the latest Glovo drama (EN)

• What will happen to Spanish startups? “Hablando con líderes” podcast with Javier Megías, entrepreneur, startup mentor, business angel, & founder of StartupXplore (ES)

• Life on Mars answer questions about bootstrapping, community, the future of Ruby and JavaScript, product and company culture (ES)

Great Events

Upcoming:

• Tue, 23 Aug @19:00: Open Coffee Startup Networking. Open conversations about startup life & fun

• Thu, 25 Aug @14-18:00: L​​e Wagon coding school open day

• Wed, 31 Aug@ 18:30: Startup Grind BCN Summer Party 2022

• Fri, 16 Sep & Sat, 17 Sep: Service Design Days Conference: product and service innovation & digital transformation

• Wed, 28 Sep @18:30: BCN FinTech Afterwork #003 

• Thu, 29 Sep @18:00: SaaStock Barcelona: Fundraising in a Downturn - What You Need to Know

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

Jobs

• Bourbon Creative is hiring Freelance Content Writers (Native English, 100% remote)

• OneCoWork is looking for a Junior Accountant

• Netcentric is looking for several IT positions

• European Tech School is hiring an Admissions Officer (Blockchain) in BCN 

• Freeverse.io need a Head of Sales

• Novicap is recruiting a:

• - Engineering Manager 

• - Associate Legal Counsel 

• Prestalo is hiring a: Fullstack Developer

• Sifted want an Editorial Assistant covering European startups and scaleups