Good morning, we hope you had a nice weekend.

As Barcelona moves to phase 2, Spanish startups close the month of May with a total investment of €70.8M, and the IBEX35 is off to a hot start in June as well.

However, as the Financial Times points out in its article 'Flawed data casts cloud over Spain’s lockdown strategy', there is still a ways to go when it comes to our COVID-19 battle.

In other news, our friends at MarsBased launched new podcast, Life on Mars, which is now available on iTunes and Spotify.

Have a great week and take care of yourselves.

Startup & Investment News

Barcelona investment news

• Barcelona roboadvisor startup inbestMe secures a €700K investment round

• Catalan pet health tech startup Dinbeat raises €500K

• Barcelona company Nice People At Work sells 25% stake to Suma Capital for €13M

• Catalan Finance Institute provided financial support totalling €662M to 1.564 companies in 2019

• EIB to provide €250M to Catalan Finance Institute to support SMEs amidst COVID-19

Barcelona Startup news

• Deporvillage grows orders by 150% during the pandemic compared to same period last year

• Iomob Technology Services crowned a top 50 mobility startup in Europe

• Braingaze to launch ADHD therapy app

• AllRead MLT successfully completes traceability pilot project in Port of Algeciras

• Mediktor uses AI to assess coronavirus symptoms for free and establish the risk of infection

• Wisar launches Wisar.pro, a new service that allows freelancers to find jobs faster overseeing multiple freelance work platforms in parallel

• Broomx joins Wireless Speaker and Audio Association

Spanish investment news

• Valencia-based Zeleros Hpyerloop secures a €7M investment

• Salamanca-based Meal Food Europe sells 40% stake to Caixa Capital and CDTI

• Spanish startups raised €70.8M in May

VC, investment & crowdfunding news:

• Banca March and Oquendo Capital launch new €250M fund aimed at medium-sized firms from Spain

• Santander injects €26M into its venture capital arm Santander Innoventures

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories:

• Energía Positiva+ to invest €4.2M into 12 Spanish startups selected for its program

• Headstart announces 16 Spanish startups selected for its program for medtech, biotech and digital health firms

• Telefónica launches Activation Programme for startups looking to leverage its technology; apply until 22nd of June

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews:

• Fidmi: metasearch engine that lets you find all the restaurants that deliver food to your address, regardless of delivery provider

Tech News

• Swedish gaming company Paradox Interactive opens new studio in Barcelona

• Barcelona-based SEAT evaluates abandoning its carsharing business and explores option of selling its firm Respiro

• Madrid startup Revoolt launches its zero-emission last mile delivery service in Barcelona 

• Barcelona, ​​global capital in Science, Tech and Innovation

Tech news in Spain:

• Spain approves push for 100% renewables, bans all new fossil fuel projects

• MasMovil to be acquired in €5B private equity buyout

• Telefonica relaunches its cloud services

• Facebook Pay is now available in Spain

Politics & Economics

• Spanish government is open to extend ERTE programs until the end of year for specific sectors

• Spain’s government proposes a new anti-poverty scheme (The Economist)

Good Reads

• Spain’s top women investors

• European Blockchain Convention, Barcelona 2020, throwback

• Trends in European Consumer Tech

• Business Strategy: How A Struggling Small Business Can Thrive

• "10 years of adventures and learnings with Privalia and Veepee", by Albert Serrano

• How more remote work might lead to talent moving away from expensive cities into more affordable, smaller towns

Good Videos & Podcasts

• Interview with Javier Darriba, CEO and Cofounder at Bloobirds

• Interview with Avi Meir, CEO and Cofounder at TravelPerk

• Webinar video: How to asses a startup in early rounds; with leading investors Knörr, Cabiedes, Megias, Juncosa

Great Events

This 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 @13:00: TDD4Future: Startup Sandbox

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

Next Week:

• Tue-Wed, 16-17 Jun: DeveloperWeek Global 2020: Digital Conference

• Tue, 16 Jun @19:30: PitchSLAP – Get your pitch checked!

• Thu, 18 Jun @18:30: Startup Grind BCN hosts Josep Ll. Sanfeliu (Asabys Partners)

• Thu-Fr, 18-19 Jun: 3rd World Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Conference

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