Hello and happy Monday - we hope you had a great weekend! The Smart City Expo World Congress kicks off this week and with it comes a special DataBeers BCN event - their 20th edition!

3rd Dec: 20th DataBeers - Barcelona

The ever popular DataBeers are back on Tuesday, December 3rd. This edition features four amazing data-related stories, so if you want to see the future of deep learning sign up here.

Ok, that's it from me. Have a great week and we'll see you out there!

Startup & Investment News

Investment news

• Barcelona fintech ID Finance closes their crowdfunding round at €5.7M - a new equity crowdfunding record in Spain

• Spain-based fintech Bnext completes €3.3M crowdfunding round

• Spanish company Alai Termoformados secures a €750K loan from Sodena

• Barcelona jewelry-subscription startup Verone gets €500K

• Spanish football-themed social network Siguetuliga lands €500K

• Spain-based regtech startup HETIKUS raises €500K

• Spanish firm foodVAC receives €400K from Angels Capital

Startup M&As

• Spanish firm VivaGym Group acquires Catalan company Duet Fit

• Barcelona startup Holaluz identifies six rivals to acquire after its IPO

Startups news

• TravelPerk is the world's fastest-growing SaaS company in 2019 according to SaaS 1000 ranking

• Cabify bids big on Barcelona as the firm doubles its fleet, increases coverage and lowers prices in the region

• Holaluz rolls out a 4% stock option plan for founders and staff before its IPO

• Scott Noteboom joins Catalan liquid cooling startup Submer

• Barcelona startup Ulabox sees shareholder Sonae VC abandon its board of directors which might point to disinvestment according to La Informacion

VC, investment & crowdfunding news:

• Banco Santander invests €400M for a 50.1% stake in UK-based fintech startup Ebury which was founded by Spanish entrepreneurs

• Spanish VC JME Ventures takes part in €77M investment round by Swiss firm VOI Technology

• Spanish VC Seaya Ventures participates in €13.5 investment round by Colombian startup MUY Tech

• Finance platform Gedesco to provide €150M to finance SMEs within the Innovfin program

• GVC Gaesco launches €30M VC fund Zamit Capital and aims to raise a total of €50M

• AFI and La Bolsa Social launch a €25M social impact VC fund

• Barcelona-based equity crowdfunding firm Capital Cell has helped health startups raise €10M+ this year

• Lanzame Capital creates €2M fund Lanzame Optimer Ventures

• María Rosario Ruiz Alarcón named new Investment Director at Bankinter Capital Riesgo

• Spanish corporate venture capital firm Enagas Emprende acquires a 13% stake of UK biogas startup SEaB power

• Overview of how Enisa loans performed and how they helped t create more jobs

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories:

• UNICEF Comite Espanol & ISDI Accelerator create a new accelerator focused on social projects in Spain & Latin America; startups can apply until the 2. Jan 2020

• BerriUp opens call for 10th edition of its accelerator program; startups can apply until 19. Jan 2020

• ASICS launches the 2nd edition of its sports & wellness acceleration program Tenkan-Ten in Barcelona; read more about the 5 startups selected here

Barcelona startup profiles, interviews & success stories:

• Gamestry: the learning platform for e-sports

• Holaluz: interview with CEO Carlota Pi - the entrepreneur who wants to disrupt the energy sector

• Vesto: the app that helps you manage your personal finances

Tech News

• Universal Robots and Mobile Industrial Robots open first collaborative robotics hub in the world in Barcelona, invest €2M and create jobs for 38 people

• Mexican telecom company Jaguar opens hub for Europe in Catalonia

• Catalonia presented its investment opportunities before Italian investors in Turin

• Catalan pharma company Reig Jofre and Ojer Pharma obtain the first European authorization for the commercialization of their innovative antibiotic Impetine Gel

• Barcelona firm BCN3D unveils Epsilon, a new generation of 3D printers

• Nestlé pilots face recognition payments in Barcelona

• AliExpress to open its second store in Spain in Barcelona this year

Tech news in Spain:

• Sanitas starts selling health insurance on Amazon

• Tough times continue for Vodafone as they post a €460M loss in revenues during first three quarters of this year

• Spanish companies Everis, Prisa & others suffered severe cyber attacks

• Bank-owned platform Bizum, which already has 5.3M user, is set to enable ecommerce payments soon 

Good Reads

• The evolution of the Spanish VC ecosystem — 2019 edition

• A Tale of Two Smart City Models: One for People, the Other Profit

• Impact investment, an innovative formula for investors

Good Videos & Podcasts

• Interview with Laura Urquizu, CEO of Red Points, by K Fund

• Interview with Esteve Lombarte, CEO of Acqustic, by Marie Marks

• Interview with Alejandro Fresneda, CEO of Mr Noow, by Itnig

Great Events

This Week

• Mon, 18 Nov @18:30: DATA WEEK- Time series clustering: a real use case in the banking context

• Tue-Thu, 19-21 Nov: Smart City Expo World Congress

• Tue-Thu, 19-21 Nov: Smart Mobility Congress

• Tue-Thu, 19-21 Nov: Sharing Cities Stand Lab

• Fri, 22 Nov @18:00: Think Creatively In The Age of Digital Distractions – by a TEDx speaker

Next Week

• Tue, 26 Nov @19:00: Beyond the Logo: Growth-Oriented Branding for Startups and Scale-ups

• Wed, 27 Nov @17:30: MASTEAM-MATT talk – Lorenzo Casaccia (Qualcomm) – The Road to 5G

• Thu, 28 Nov @18:30: The B-Table: Juan Margenat

• Sat, 30 Nov @10:00: Full day digital wellness fundamentals

See the full event calendar here.

Startup Jobs In Barcelona

• Choco is recruiting a Business Development Representative

• Cien is looking for a Sales Performance Consultant

• Arbolus is hiring a Community Associate

• OneCoWork is recruiting a Junior Accountant & a Community Associate

• Be.Green is looking for a Chief Executive Officer

See the full job board here.