Barcelona's Weekly Tech Update

Hello and happy Monday,

This week’s main headlines:

• Sateliot gets €6M 🛰️

• More growth for BCN startups 📈

• New €50M Encomenda fund 💰

New event: ProductTank Barcelona & BCN FinTech ✨ 💻

BCN FinTech is thrilled to co-organize a new event alongside main organizers ProductTank: ProductTank Barcelona - Product & Fintech Edition, which brings together the best minds in product management and fintech.

🌐 Join us to:

• Network with product management professionals and fintech enthusiasts (free drinks & snacks included).

• Gain insights from esteemed panelists.

• Explore the latest trends and challenges in the fintech industry.

Let's unite the best of product experts and fintech leaders. Tickets are free & getting snapped up fast (50% were gone within 24h of posting).

Secure your free spot here & see you there! 🚀 🌟 

Have a great week!

Startup & Investment News

Barcelona investment news

• Sateliot gets €6M funding from Santander’s high-growth enterprise program

• XRHealth secures €5.4M led by Asabys Partners, completing its merger with BCN-based Amelia Virtual Care

• Women’s tech school CodeOp raises €2.5M 

• Fintech platform tradEAsy closes €482K round

Barcelona startup news

• The sports giant from Girona that doesn’t stop growing: Tradeinn reports a turnover of €500M, up 15%

• Electronic invoicing fintech Voxel grows 22% in 2023 & will strengthen in Europe and the Middle East 

• RIP Foods, a B2B plant-based meat startup for food service, announces closure after 4 years of operations

• Barcelona Deep Tech Node grants €225K to 5 scientific research projects

Spanish investment news

• Spanish-founded UK biotech FA Bio secures €6.1M with participation by Ship2B Ventures

• Madrid-based Crisalion Mobility receives €5.4M as part of the CDTI’s Innvierte Economía Sostenible initiative

• Seville male sexual health startup MYHIXEL closes €1.4M

• Alicante-based biotech Avamed Synergy raises €800K for its Fluxus project

VC, investment & crowdfunding news

• BCN-based VC Encomenda’s new fund to invest up to €50M in southern European and Latin American startups

• Cardumen Capital invests in accent-softening AI platform Tomato.ai’s $10M round

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories

• Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders 12-week hybrid accelerator program is open for Seed to Series A tech startups; apply until 19 Jan 

• Global InsurTech Startup Competition 2024 aims to bring visibility to talented founders of early-stage InsurTech startups; apply until 5 Feb

• 2024 grants for the promotion of video games, podcasts and digital creation

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews

• Meloom: AI to help you learn a musical instrument

• Notka: A beacon of Catalan creativity in the world of gourmet chocolate

• Hola Que Tal: How to create a “fake” 15-second commercial with AI in record time

Tech News

Tech news in Barcelona

• Catalonia approves roadmap for transition to circular economy by 2030

• Spain to launch an atlas of all living beings cell by cell; Catalan biologist receives almost €4M for the project

• Danone announces intention to close BCN factory with 157 workers

Tech & big company news in Spain

• Cabify losses increased 14x in 2022 in Spain, but revenues also grew; Cabify also just closed a €15M financing deal with BBVA to boost sustainable mobility

• Indexa Capital exceeds €2B in assets under management and lowered its minimum investment a few weeks ago

• Seat sold more than half a million cars in 2023, up 34%

Politics, legal & economics

• How will new tax policies in 2024 affect you? Including new laws for selling on secondhand marketplaces like Wallapop & Vinted

• ​​Minimum wage rises by 5% after agreement between Spanish government and unions

Good Reads

• The secrets of Nvidia, a company sweeping the stock market on the back of AI

• All about the Rabbit R1: The sold-out AI-powered gadget that can use your apps for you

• Forbes List: The 24 changemakers of 2024

• 2023’s Fallen Stars: Startups that couldn’t weather the economic storm

Good Videos & Podcasts

• Building a thriving Shopify agency, with La Web Shop Founder Keyven Ferland (Life on Mars, EN)

Great Events

This week:

• Wed, 17 Jan @14:00: Venture Lab: Meet the Venture Leaders Mobile 2024

• Wed, 17 Jan @18:00: Tech Up Nights Vol. 10

• Thu, 18 Jan @18:30: Startup Grind Mataró 3rd Anniversary with Oriol Vila (Co-founder @ Holaluz)

Upcoming:

• Tue, 23 Jan @09:30: LUMENS'24: annual networking event for UPF Alumni

• Wed, 24 Jan @18:30: ProductTank Barcelona: Product & Fintech Edition 

• Thu, 25 Jan @08:45: 22@ Networking Breakfast: Health

• Wed, 31 Jan @18:30: Startup Grind BCN hosts Mercè Tell (Co-Founder & GP @ Encomenda Capital Partners) → 40% community discount applied :) 

• Thu, 1 Feb @18:30: 22@Afterwork: 2024 BCN Llum Festival

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

Startup Jobs:

• QMENTA is recruiting Software Engineers in MedTech

• Unnax is hiring a Lead Product Manager - BaaS

• Flanks is looking to fill several Senior Tech positions

• Mind the Bridge is hiring an Innovation Consultant Intern

• +470 Barcelona-based fintech jobs