Good morning, we hope you had a nice weekend.

As the lockdown eases, Barcelona startups are back, with 5 companies raising a combined amount of over €20M. Big shout out to our friends at Bloobirds who just closed a €3M funding round! If you're looking for a platform that is tailored to B2B sales prospecting, make sure to check them out.

Have a great week and take care of yourselves.

Startup & Investment News

Barcelona investment news

• Barcelona fintech startup Belvo raises €9M

• Catalan pharma startup Accure Therapeutics closes a €7.6M funding round

• Barcelona SaaS startup Bloobirds secures €3M in funding

• Catalan startup Gyala Therapeutics, a spin-off of the Hospital Clinic de Barcelona, gets €1.5M

• Barcelona software startup Quality Clouds secures €1.2M

Barcelona Startup news

• Barcelona startup Iomob strengthens its RailMaaS leadership; announces partnership with London North Eastern Railway

• Catalan mattresses e-commerce Marmota to double online sales this year

• Barcelona startup Broomx launches new partnership program aimed at immersive VR companies

• Catalans startup Vytrus Biotech launches DEOBIOME, a microbiome-friendly new ingredient that reimagines how deodorant formalutions can work

• A deeper look at the liquidation of Scytl and the €25M it owes to the Spanish government and public entities

• Catalan startups Heura Foods, Saalg Geomechanics and Berdac take home awards in Premios Emprendedor XXI

Spanish investment news

• Malaga-based freemium graphics and stock photo marketplace Freepik has been acquired by EQT for an undisclosed amount

• Madrid & US-based startup Erudi AI gets €600K

• Basque cybersecurity startup IRONCHIP receives €500K

• Madrid security startup Datos101 lands €300K

• Madrid startup Sailwiz closes a €150K investment round

• Andalusian startup Transeop closes an undisclosed investment round

VC, investment & crowdfunding news:

• Santander InnoVentures invests in Latin American SME lender a55

• BBVA and Anthemis support the launch of UK financial health fintech Wollit

• CDTI invests €5M in 10 tech firms that develop positive impact projects to fight COVID-19

• Wayra lauches a virtual co-investment day to invest €2M in startups

• La Fundacion La Caixa invests €1.8M in six key projects that tackle Covid-19

• Aquilino Peña of Kibo Ventures is the new president of ASCRI

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories:

• Telefonica launches new Open Future program in Ceuta

• Santalucía launches InsurChallenge, an acceleration program for insurtech projects; apply until 7th July

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews:

• HolaHome: digital proptech startup to manage rents during lockdown

• Popsicase: smartphone handles made from recycled fishing nets and aluminium

• Tibiboo: collaborative app for volunteers to take care of an owner's dog

Tech News

• Nissan to shut factory in Barcelona, 3.000 workers affected

• Barcelona brewery Damm to recycle unused beer from bars and restaurants and convert it in renewable energy

• Blackstone invests €120M in Catalan gambling company Cirsa

• Topshot becomes the first Catalan company to obtain authorization to fly drones in in controlled airspaces in the city

Tech news in Spain:

• Spain jumps up to 11th place, up from 15th, in EY's latest Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index

• Women account for 30% of directors at Ibex 35 companies, up from 24% in 2018

• Spain's big telco firms to continue remote work for most of its staff until end of summer

• Amanzon Pantry announces closes of services in Spain and othe EU countries

• Uber layoffs to affect Spanish offices

• 51% of employees in Spain look forward to return to their normal workplace, while 66% agree companies are doing all they can to protect their safety

• El Confidencial to introduce a hybrid and personalized subscription model

Politics & Economics

• Spain to pay living wage to fight poverty; initiative may cost €3B per year

Good Reads

• Iñaki Arrola talks about how the current business climate in Spain could affect entrepreneurship and the tech sector

• "The greatest startup accelerator? COVID-19 could trigger a wave of startup expansion", by Mauricio Prieto, co-founder of eDreams

• Two months into quarantine, Spain is more digitalized than ever

• Remote workers talk about how to find remote jobs

• The Innovations That Will Shape The Future Of Electric Cars

Good Videos & Podcasts

• Interview with Daniel Oliver, CEO of Capital Cell, about equity crowdfunding and biotech

• Interview with Luz Alvarado, co-founder at ChartOk

• Interview with Lawrence Fontinoy & Clelia Morales from Woom, and Rosa Jiménez Cano from TheVentureCity

• Webinar video: The traveltech sector after COVID-19

• Webinar video: The Role and vision of Fintech firms in 2020; with Kantox, NoviCap, Nemuru & co

Great Events

This Week:

• Tue, 2 Jun @19:30: PitchSLAP – Get your pitch checked!

• Thu, 4 Jun @13:00: IQS Tech Factory TALK SERIES with Marko Parkkinen, CEO of Seedi Oy

• Thu, 4 Jun @18:00: Corporate venturing: the rules of the game

Next Week:

• Tue, 9 Jun @09:00: How Investors are using Revenue-Based Financing as an Alternative Model for Funding Startups

• Tue, 9 Jun @19:30: PitchSLAP – Get your pitch checked!

• Wed, 10 Jun @17:00: The lifecycle of a CTO in entrepreneurship with Jordi Miro Bruix Tickets

• Thu, 11 Jun @17:00: Demo Day Conector

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