Barcelona's Weekly Tech Update

Hello and happy Monday!

This week’s main headlines:

• TravelPerk gets €95M 🛫

• Seedrs shuts down in Spain 📉 

• Record Catalan companies at ISE 🙌

Let’s get after it - have a great week!

Startup & Investment News

Barcelona investment news

• TravelPerk raises Series D-1 extension round of an additional €95M funding

• Fintech Bankflip closes €2.6M round led by JME and other prominent funds & angels

Barcelona startup news

• Fintech Kantox launches a new solution, Kantox In-House FX

• Travel platform Atrápalo closes 2023 with +10% turnover in Spain & exceeds €230M global revenue

• Typeform’s new Open AI-powered form builder, Formless, is now publicly available

Spanish investment news

• IMU Biosciences, owned by K Fund, raises €13.4M 

• Padel booking app Playtomic acquires Italian counterpart Sportclubby

VC, investment & crowdfunding news

• VC Plural (set up by former founders including Wise cofounder) raises €400M fund, just 18 months after its first €250M 

• Singular AM announces new fund with a target capital of €150M, focusing on defense, AI & aerospace sectors

• Madrid-based Eatable Adventures concludes first closing of its €30M fund to invest in agri-food tech

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories

• SeedRocket, Spain’s first ICT startup accelerator, is launching a new edition of the Entrepreneurs Campus in 2024, held in Barcelona; apply until Feb 29

• Decelera is seeking 25 early-stage, impact-focused startups to join a 10-day cost and equity-free program in Menorca; Jan 26 deadline extended

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews

• CityMe: The world's first AI tour guides

Tech News

Tech news in Barcelona

• Barcelona gears up for ISE (and a list of the Catalan companies participating)

• Lidl invests €140M in a new Barcelona warehouse, Spain's largest logistics investment

• Vueling implements document-free boarding using facial recognition

Tech & big company news in Spain

• Investment platform Seedrs leaves the Spanish market & lays off 15% of workforce

• Seville-based glamping startup Kampaoh prepares to expand into the Philippines & Dominican Republic 

• MyInvestor buys digital mortgage processing platform Helloteca

• Wetaca consolidates its meal delivery subscription model & invoices €16.2M in 2023

Politics, legal & economics

• The Government says it will mobilize €18B for AI development in Spain

• Meta to let EU users deny cross-site tracking as Digital Markets Act bites

Good Reads

• Who are Catalonia’s most influential game-changers in biotech 2023?

Good Videos & Podcasts

• How has PDPAOLA managed to invoice €40M? With Founder & CEO Paola Sasplugas (Itnig, ES)

Great Events

This week:

• Tue, 30 Jan @12:00: How is AI revolutionizing work in finance? Regate & M47 Labs Webinar

• Tue, 30 Jan @19:00: Who can become a Business Angel? Requirements, Risks & Responsibilities

• 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

Upcoming:

• Tue, 6 Feb @10:30: Startup Investor Accelerator Open Coffee 

• Tue, 13 Feb @19:00: First Time Angel Investing? Steps, Maps & Guides to Start

• Sun, 25 Feb @ 17:00: Venture Leaders Mobile Investor Pitching 2024 Sailing Trophy (register by 19 Feb)

• Wed, 28 Feb @20:00: Angels & Beers (for Investors)

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

Startup Jobs:

• European Blockchain Convention is hiring a Marketing Operations Manager and a Social Media & Marketing Specialist

• Filmin is looking for a Smart TV Engineer