Hello and Happy New Year! We hope you had a relaxing holiday break and the 2020's are off to a successful start!

New Year Resolutions

As part of our New Year Resolution, we'll work on creating a better experience for you. If you haven't already done so, please fill out our 1-min survey here to help us improve. Every opinion matters and is highly appreciated!

If your New Year Resolution includes growing your brand in the startup community, have a look at our revamped Work-With-Us Page to see how you can collaborate with Barcinno. From free options for the bootstrapping entrepreneur to paid options for firms who want to make a bigger splash, we've got suitable options for everyone.

Ok, that's it from me. Let's get to the news.

Startup & Investment News

2019 overview of the Spanish startup ecosystem

• Spanish startups raised a total of €1.098M in 2019, less than the 1.227M raised in 2018

• - Once again, the majority of investment into Spanish startups has been led by foreign funds

• - IBEX35 companies are still not buying Spanish startups

Barcelona investment news

• Barcelona startup Glovo closes a €150M Series E

• - Here is a deeper look at Glovo's recent numbers as its massive expansion strategy led to 'Unicorn' status and losses so far

• Catalan fintech startup BNC10 lands a €1M bridge investment and surpasses 10.000 clients in three months

• Barcelona research SaaS startup Zinklar gets €500K from ICF

Spanish investment news

• Madrid neobank MyInvestor raises €20M from AXA & EL Corte Ingles

• Madrid fleet management software Pulpomatic gets €5M

• Valencia startup WiTraC closes a €3M investment round

• Madrid-based fintech startup Arbor receives a €3M investment

• Sevilla-based logistic startup Mox secures a €3M investment

• Spanish fintech Twinco receives a €2.5M investment

• Madrid startup Ever Health closes a €1M investment round

• Madrid-based startup Tribaldata secures a €500K investment

• Madrid liquor brand Fuego Valyrio receives €300K

• Navarra-based med tech startup TedCas raises €300K

• Sevilla startup Mister Fantasy closes a €300K investment round

• Madrid-based startup Beemine Lab lands a €280K investment

• Madrid logistics startup Trucksters receives €250K

• Madrid-based AI startup Adtuo secures a €250K investment

• Madrid startup tQuity closes a €250K investment round

• Zaragoza social startup Neki raises €220K from Lanzadera & Ship2B

• Madrid startup Cocopí lands €190K via Startupexplore

• Madrid-based startup Nailted closes a €170K investment round

Startups news

• Barcelona HR-startup Woffu surpasses €2M in revenues in 2019, a 200% increase, and boasts 1500 clients

• Barcelona web & mobile development firm MarsBased reaches €1M+ in revenues in 2019

• Catalan eyewear brand Project Lobster plans 20 openings within the next two years and expects to reach €15M in revenues in fives years

• Catalan e-voting startup Scytl announces pre-insolvency proceedings as it looks to refinance €30M bank debt

VC, investment & crowdfunding news:

• Abac Capital becomes a 100% Spanish-based VC firm after moving the organization from Luxembourg to Spain; plans to launch a €350M fund

• ABE Capital Partners launches new fund which aims to raise €200M and invest into SME

• ENISA eclipses €1B investment volume into local companies; in 2019 alone, €80M has been invested across 500 projects

• IVF (Valencia Finance Institute) invested €3M in local startups via participation loans in 2019

• Repsol Corporate Venturing invests in Swiss startup Nnaisense

• Barcelona VC firm Inveready distributes €11M in dividends and exceeds €400M under management in 2019 

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories:

• European Blockchain Convention announces 21 startups selected for RACE by EBC event

• Euroleague Basketball’s startup challenge teams up with 4YFN; startups can apply until the 10th of January

• Acceleration program Rising UP in Spain opens call; startups can apply until the 19th of January

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews:

• Acqustic: a platform to book musicians for live concerts

• MásMovil: from startup to the 4th largest Spanish telco firm

• Sorbos: edible straws to put an end to single-use plastic straws

Tech News

• Barcelona is the 4th most innovative city in Europe in 2019

• Chinese retail giant AliExpress chooses Barcelona to open second store in Europe

• American tech company Mitek creates 50 jobs in Catalonia

• Catalonia's 3D printing hub features 118 companies generating €325M in revenues and employing 1.321 people

• The IoT sector in Catalonia consists of 250 companies that provide 3,200 jobs according to latest study

• Catalan consumer electronics firm TICNOVA secures investment from GAEA Inversión to accelerate growth

• The Catalan Government, Barcelona City Council & AMB to meet with taxi driver associations today to find solution amidst MWC threat

• - Taxi drivers threaten to paralyze Mobile World Congress if the Government doesn't apply new law to stop Cabify

• Black Toro Capital is negotiating the entry of a foreign investor to revamp Catalan motorcycle firm Torrot Gas Gas

Telco news

• MasMovil is once again the fastest-growing telco firm in Spain after adding 1.4M users in 2019

• Startups owned by Telefónica have generated €32M+ in revenues for the company in Spain

• Telefónica also named the four directors who will lead the newly created Telefónica Tech division

Tech news in Spain:

• Seat breaks sales record for second year in a row

• Popular Spanish online real estate marketplace Idealista rejects the accusations of discrimination & racism made by the Barcelona City Council

• Inditex profits jump 12% as it streamlines technology

• Alantra Private Equity creates the Spanish leader in genetic diagnosis after integrating Imegen, Genycell Biotech and Health in Code

• BBVA to run trial of selling financial products on Amazon

Politics & Economics

• Spain might finally have a new government by the end of the day as Sánchez faces knife-edge vote to govern in coalition

Good Reads

• Barcelona's car-free smart city experiment (BBC)

• Overview of the successful Catalan biomedical & health tech sector and its major funding rounds of 2019

• "Who said reshaping mobility would be easy?", by Luca de Meo, CEO of SEAT

• The 10 most used financial apps in Spain

Good Videos & Podcasts

• Interview with David Riudor, CEO of Goin (by Itnig)

• Interview with Bernat Farrero, CEO & Founder of Itnig (by Startup Grind Barcelona)

• Round table about the "support ecosystem for startups in Spain" with Ship2B, la Bolsa Social, Impact Hub & more

Great Events

This Week

• Wed, 8 Jan @18:15: Ethical, Legal, and Social Dimensions of AI

• Wed, 8 Jan @18:30: Hardware Hack Lab BCN

• Thu, 9 Jan @18:30: Giving Technology a Personality with Justin Li, Creative Director

• Thu, 9 Jan @19:00: Pitch to Investors @Itnig

Next Week

• Tue, 14 Jan @18:00: Digital Health Trends 2019-2020

• Wed, 15 Jan @18:30: DigitalXChange Product Series Barcelona

• Wed, 15 Jan @18:30: 5 prioritization practices to help your agile planning

• Thu, 16 Jan @19:00: Power BI User Group Barcelona

• Fri, 17 Jan @19:00: allWomen Talks #14: "UX Writing 101"

2020 Q1 Key Events:

• Mon-Tue, 20-21 Jan: European Blockchain Convention

• Mon-Thu, 24-27 Feb: Mobile World Congress

• Mon-Wed, 24-26 Feb: 4YFN

See the full event calendar here.

Startup Jobs In Barcelona

• Agile Content is hiring a Senior Java Software Engineer

See the full job board here.