Barcelona's Weekly Tech Update

Hello and happy Monday,

This week’s main headlines:

• Wallapop gets €20M 💰

• 3 BCN women-led startup award winners 🥇

• Spain to develop localized LLM 🤖

Happy International Women’s Week 💪

This week, there’s lots to celebrate for local women-led and founded companies:

• Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech won the annual 4YFN Awards (stay tuned for an upcoming interview)

• Keybotic won the EmprendeXXI Award for best startup potential in Catalonia

• Sycai Medical won the 4th edition of EAE Business School’s Impact Awards

• Nina Capital launched a €50M fund to revolutionize digital health and medtech startups

The 2024 campaign theme is Inspire Inclusion–something that innovative companies big and small can take action on. From recruiting and retaining female talent to encouraging women and girls into leadership, business & STEM, check out the 2024 IWD campaign to learn more.

💭 While we should continue to champion diversity and inclusion not just this week but all year, now’s a good time to ask: How can I contribute to a more inclusive environment in my sphere? Whether it’s mentorship, advocacy, or amplifying the voices of women and underrepresented groups, every action counts.

Have a great week!

Startup & Investment News

Barcelona investment news

• Wallapop gets a €20M Series G injection from the ICO

• Healthtech Isensi closes €700K round to develop its multisensory and cognitive stimulation cabins 

• Smaller rounds: Muse Scene Lab (musictech): €129.5K, Virmedex (VR learning for medical staff): €150K 

Barcelona startup news

• Glovo under pressure to potentially pay more employment-related fines

• Barça Innovation Hub partners with Catalan startup Made of Genes to boost sports performance and well-being 

• Independent financial consultant Upbizor achieved over €100M financing in 2023 for startups and SMEs, up 33% from 2022

• eDreams legally reinforces itself against Ryanair's veto of online travel agencies

Spanish investment news

• Madrid-based fintech Embat raises €14.7M

VC, investment & crowdfunding news

• New VC manager Successful Capital announces first fund, with a target size of €20M and a max of €30M

• Spain to launch a new state-owned tech investment company with €22B capital to boost semiconductor, audiovisual industries & more

• BBVA launches a unit to finance cleantech innovation

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories

• Alimentaria Open Innovation Challenge 2024: Several foodtech challenges by Catalan & international firms, including packaging, nutrition, water saving, etc; apply until 27 Mar

• Industrial Robotics Challenge: Grants and support for startups & SMEs addressing tech challenges in the Facility Management sector; apply until 31 Mar

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews

• SynFlora: Bioengineering a skincare revolution

Tech News

Tech news in Barcelona

• British youth entrepreneurship initiative Startup Sherpas arrives in Barcelona, now led by former Obama innovation advisor Natalia Olson-Urtecho

Tech & big company news in Spain

• Spain to develop an open-source LLM trained in multiple Spanish languages to boost local startups and global communication

• Santander set to buy stake in Seaya 

• Cabify enters the roadside assistance business

• Booking.com could get a €486M sanction, the largest in its history, for competition abuse

Good Reads

• Recap of the third year of the Life on Mars podcast

• ICYMI: All the phones, wearables, and gadgets announced at MWC 2024

• Overview of the biggest Spanish rounds so far in 2024: ID Finance, TravelPerk, MyInvestor & Heura secure €325M to give wings to the ecosystem

Good Videos & Podcasts

• 10 Keys to Creating a Successful Brand in 2024: Toni Segarra (SeedRocket, ES)

• EU-Startups Podcast Special Edition: Interview with Founder Thomas Ohr (EN)

Great Events

This week:

• Tue, 5 Mar @18:30: Aticco Talks: How to improve your business branding

• Wed, 6 Mar @18:00: Women in Tech Barcelona IWD with New Relic: Stories of Inclusive Leadership

• Thu, 7 Mar @18:30: International Women's Day: Celebrate Women Tech Talent!

Upcoming:

• Tue, 12 Mar @18:30: Fuckup Nights Barcelona (Vol. XLVII) 

• Tue, 12 Mar @17:00: 10 years of Startup Grind BCN and MarsBased → Link includes an exclusive 60% Barcinno community discount 

• Tue, 12 Mar @19:00: Advanced startup Investing: Deal terms, Cap table, Valuation, Due Diligence

• Wed, 13 Mar @11:30: Driving success from finance: How Deleito did it

• Wed, 13 Mar @18:30: Startup Talks: Build and Manage a Sales Team of the Future

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

Startup Jobs:

• PayRetailers is hiring for numerous positions (marketing, legal, sales)

• Antai Ventures is looking for a Co-Founder & CTO (Fintech)

• Qilimanjaro is recruiting a System Engineer

• SpliceBio needs a Business Development Associate