Barcelona's Weekly Tech Update

Hello and happy Monday,

This week’s main headlines:

• BBVA & Sabadell merger? 💸

• €21M financing for Holaluz ⚡️

• 2 new Spanish AI projects 💬

From several local boosts in sustainability and green tech 🌍 to new projects and emerging technologies (namely web3, AI, and mobility), there’s lots of innovation going on this week. 🗓️ Not to mention a slew of great upcoming events to sign up for, including pitch competitions, networking anniversaries, and advice on startup financing & AI at work. 

Let’s get into it! Have a great week 💪

Startup & Investment News

Barcelona investment news

• Holaluz negotiates €21M financing from ICF, Avançsa & family offices

• Web3 startup GFAL raises €3M seed funding, adding to the €4.1M from its $GFAL token

• Patient monitoring platform Doctomatic finalizes €650K round

• Tech hiring platform Joppy closes €530K & acquires Rviewer, a coding practice platform

• Traveltech Visagov sells majority stake to Izertis CEO and business angel Axel Serena

Barcelona startup news

• Metaverse startup Union Avatars selected as finalists for the South Summit Startup Competition

• Mobility firm BusUp launches ‘Brainer’ AI tool to optimize routes, and projects growth from €30M to €100M by 2026

• Home care startup Cuideo welcomes GCO (Grupo Catalana Occidente) to its board

Spanish investment news

• Madrid-based Indigitall bags €6M to grow its marketing automation solution

VC, investment & crowdfunding news

• London-based Andrena Ventures reaches first close of €11.1M fund to back Europe’s fintech mafias

• Junex Capital Partners launch “Founders Office” with €100M evergreen fund to back European entrepreneurs in human capital & investment management

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories

• From concept to €1M: Raw Ventures’ 2nd edition of its Global Pitch Day is open for mediatech startups; apply by 31 May for early consideration, deadline 14 July

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews

• Balance Phone: Transforms your cellphone into an addiction-free device

• MRPlay: Gamified stock management

Tech & Business News

Tech news in Barcelona

• Barcelona ranked as the world’s 8th most desirable city to work in

• Catalan beauty group Puig goes public in Europe's biggest stock market debut of the year

• Barcelona Science Innovation District gets a green loan from Caixabank to create new labs and facilities

• CRB closes €20M fund with Sanitas to invest in digital health & open an office in Barcelona

Tech & big company news in Spain

• BBVA proposes merging with Banco Sabadell to create a European leader

• Neobank Revolut rolls out new HR solution, Revolut People; 3 former Revolut employees also raise $6.5M for a crypto exchange

• Electronic Arts (EA) opens new state-of-the-art office in Madrid 

• Former Nauta Capital Partner Guillem Sague launches CarriedAI, an OS for AI investing 

• Budget gym chain VivaGym acquired by Providence Equity Partners from Bridges Fund Management

Good Reads

• Tech.eu’s 10 Spanish startups to watch

• Investors tell GQ how to best invest a million euros (after waking up rich)

• Getir, Gorillas, Stuart... Victims of the Spanish rider law or failure of the ultra-fast delivery sector?

• The 100 Catalan companies that have received the most money from Next Generation funds

• Sifted’s Startup-Investor relationship survey: 44% score their investors a “1 out of 5” on helpfulness

Good Videos & Podcasts

• BCN’s Brownie: The teenage fashion brand with a turnover of +€90M (Product Hackers, ES)

• How Scopely sold Monopoly Go and Stumble Guys for $4.9B to Saudi Arabia (Itnig, ES)

Great Events

This week:

• Tue, 7 May @18:30: Shape a Strong Engineering Culture w/ Pau Minoves, ex-CTO @ Typeform

• Thu, 9 May @18:30: Attico Startup Talks: Startup Growth: boost efficiency and talent

• Mon, 13–Tue, 14 May: E-SHOW Barcelona

Upcoming:

• Wed, 15 May @18:00: Tech Up Nights 2nd Anniversary

• Wed, 15 May @18:30: ITH#5: Revolutionizing global veterinary & human care through high tech

• Wed, 15 May @18:30: Barcelona Activa Connect: Barcelona Pitch comp

• Wed, 15 May @18:30: AI in the office: Automate your daily life (with Marta Quirós & Ylenia Porras)

• Thu, 16 May @09:30: TB x ICF Sessions: financing in initial startup stages

• Thu, 16–Sat, 18 May: Esade Entrepreneurship Summit 2024

• Tue, 21–Thu, 23 May: Barcelona Cybersecurity Congress

• Tue, 21 May @18:30: Startup Grind BCN hosts Greg Scown (Founder at TextExpander) → 40% discount included 🙌

• Wed, 29 May @18:30: Fuckup Nights Barcelona 6th Anniversary

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

Startup Jobs:

• Joppy is hiring a Team Lead

• Barcelona Supercomputing Center is looking for 6 IT professionals

• Preply needs a SEM Specialist