2021 was a bumper 12 months for Spanish tech funding, with startups drawing in file funding and a bunch of new unicorns being minted within the course of. Because the nation goes from being seen as a European backwater for ecommerce marketplaces, to southern Europe’s pure chief in scaleable worldwide companies, funds from exterior are actually more and more attempting to get in on the act [link All Iron fund of funds].
So that are the highest funds to know in Spain, the place are they focusing their investments and… have they got any ladies on their funding groups?
In the present day, utilizing information from Dealroom, Sifted is spotlighting the nation’s prime early stage funds. Yow will discover Dealroom’s full methodology right here, however the rankings are based mostly on the next information factors:
- Variety of unicorns in portfolio
- Variety of “future” unicorns in portfolio
- Variety of rounds within the final 12 months
Dealroom has additionally weighted the rankings by a “dilution rating”, so funds that invested in unicorns at seed stage are scored extra extremely than those who acquired in at a later stage.
The rankings are divided into seed and Sequence A funds, which must be taken with a pinch of salt as some funds listed are investing at each of these levels.
So, which areSpain’s most lively and profitable early stage traders?
Sequence A
1. Seaya Ventures
Newest fund: Seaya not too long ago launched Seaya Andromeda, a €300m fund to deal with international sustainability challenges.
Focus: Seaya Andromeda invests in tech firms specializing in local weather tech, round economic system and agritech. The agency has one other generalist fund, Seaya III, which focuses on excessive development tech-enabled firms at Sequence A and B (writing cheques of €2m-€15m).
Deal depend in Europe in 2021: 18
Gender break up of funding crew: Companions: 75% males. The broader funding crew: 53% males and 47% ladies.
Notable investments:
- Fast commerce and meals supply app Glovo (unicorn)
- Trip hailing firm Cabify (unicorn)
- Electrical automobile charging firm Wallbox (unicorn)
- Mid-term rental platform Spotahome
The pitch to founders: It’s not a shock to see Seaya prime the listing for Sequence A funds, with a few of Spanish tech’s most notable names amongst its portfolio. Primarily based out of Madrid and led by founder and managing associate Beatriz Gonzalez, the agency says it desires to be the primary port of name for founders needing help, and prides itself on its scaling know-how.
2. Kibo Ventures
Newest fund: Kibo introduced the ultimate €120m shut of its third fund in January 2022.
Focus: Investing throughout Europe, in firms that “have a Spanish angle” or the place the agency can add particular worth by aiding with an growth into Spain. The fund invests from late seed stage to Sequence A (writing cheques of €1m-€5m).
Deal depend in 2021: 9
Gender break up of funding crew: Companion stage: one lady associate out of six. Wider funding crew: two ladies traders out of a crew of eight.
Notable investments: Kibo is headed up by managing companions Javier Torremocha and Aquilino Peña, with the latter additionally serving because the president of Spain’s Affiliation of Capital, Development, and Funding (ASCRI). The fund has a observe file of serving to portfolio firms succeed within the US, and has a community of 20 skilled Spanish entrepreneurs as LPs who lend recommendation to portfolio firms.
Notable investments:
- NFT soccer buying and selling sport Sorare (unicorn)
- Swedish e-scooter firm Tier (unicorn)
- Funds service Flywire (unicorn)
- Final-mile supply service Paack (unicorn)
3. Mundi Ventures
Newest fund: Mundi introduced the primary shut of a brand new €250m insurtech centered fund in February 2022.
Focus: Investing globally in insurtech and “insurance-adjacent” firms, Sequence A and B (writing cheques of €500k-€8m)
Deal depend in Europe in 2021: 19
Gender break up of funding crew: Deal leads: all males. Wider funding crew: six males, one lady.
Notable investments:
- Informal work platform Jobandtalent (unicorn)
- Purchase now, pay later scaleup Klarna (unicorn)
- AI-powered software program for sustainable enterprise working Readability AI
- Worker psychological well being platform Koa Well being
The pitch to founders: Mundi prides itself on having properly developed networks round Europe and the US, which it says makes it an ideal associate for firms increasing internationally. The crew declare to be hands-on board members, and say they attempt for “American-style pace and suppleness.”
4. Samaipata
Newest fund: Samaipata launched its second fund in December 2021, a €110 automobile.
Focus: Sector agnostic, investing into digital platforms with “community results” throughout Europe at early levels (writing cheques of €500k-€2m).
Deal depend in 2021: 6
Gender break up of funding crew: Companion stage: 50% feminine, 50% male. Wider funding crew: 30% feminine and 70% male.
Notable investments:
The pitch to founders: Samaipata’s crew is decentralised, with members of the crew scattered throughout Europe. The fund additionally provides a service known as The Hive, a “founder success platform” which supplies entrepreneurs sources to make “higher and quicker enterprise selections.”
5. All Iron Ventures
Newest fund: All Iron Ventures closed its first, €66m fund in October 2020.
Focus: Spain and Europe extra broadly, with some opportunistic investments within the Americas. Sector agnostic, however not investing in deeptech or life sciences. Seed and Sequence A (writing cheques of €300k-€3m). In addition they not too long ago launched a fund of funds to put money into different European VCs.
Deal depend in 2021: 12
Gender break up of funding crew: Companion stage: 100% male. Wider funding crew: two thirds imply, one third ladies.
Notable investments:
- Mid-term rental platform Spotahome
- Micromobility firm Lime (unicorn)
- Edtech platform Preply
- Income-based financing supplier Uncapped
The pitch to founders: All Iron Ventures are the brand new children on the block in Spanish VC, however made a splash in 2020 by elevating the nation’s greatest ever debut fund of €66.5m. The crew is made up of former founders, and the fund prides itself on being a fund by operators, for operators.
The most effective of the remainder
6. Bonsai Companions
7. ECAPITAL
8. Adara Ventures
9. Alta Life Sciences
10. Bullnet Capital
Seed
1. JME Ventures
Newest fund: A €60m fund introduced in early 2020.
Focus: Investing principally in Spain, sector agnostic, searching for scalable concepts that may develop internationally (writing cheques of €500k-€2m).
Deal depend in 2021: 15
Gender break up of funding crew: Companion stage: one feminine associate, two males companions, one male CEO. Wider funding crew: three males, one lady.
Notable investments:
- Jobandtalent (unicorn)
- Quantum computing startup Multiverse Computing
- Gamified edtech for youths, Lingokids
- Flywire (unicorn)
The pitch to founders: JME is considered one of Spain’s most established seed stage companies, now in enterprise for greater than a decade. Now deploying its third fund, the crew says it might provide firms a large community of contacts and expertise to attract on, in addition to clear dos and don’ts for getting an early stage startup off the bottom.
2. Encomenda Good Capital
Newest fund: A €24m fund introduced in 2018.
Focus: Spain, Portugal, LatAm. Pre-seed and seed (writing cheques of €150k – €1m)
Deal depend in 2021: 12
Gender break up of funding crew: Companion stage: all male.
Notable investments:
- Worker advantages startup Cobee
- Funding and monetary planning app Goin
- Chatbot supplier Landbot
- Crypto funding platform Atani
The pitch to founders: Led by serial founder Carlos Blanco and former Carto CFO Oriol Juncosa, Encomenda is understood for having a “roll your sleeves up” strategy to investing. Blanco, particularly, is understood for not being from the normal enterprise college and finance background. Since founding his first enterprise in 1996, he additionally served as soccer scout for RCD Espanyol for 4 years.
4*. Banco Sabadell Ventures
Newest fund: As a company enterprise arm of Spanish financial institution Sabadell, funding cash comes from the financial institution’s reserves.
Focus: Tech-driven firms in Spain and Portugal. The fund provides fairness for seed and Sequence A firms (writing cheques of €500k-€1m) and enterprise debt for later stage startups (cheques of 500k-€10m).
Deal depend in 2021: 19
Gender break up: No ladies on the funding crew.
Notable investments:
- Digital fraud prevention platform Purple Factors
- On-line journey company Exoticca
- Influencer advertising company SamyRoad
- Orthodontics supplier Impress
The pitch to founders: The enterprise arm of Sabadell financial institution has been operating since 2015 and has change into a distinguished fixture of early stage funding in Spain. It not too long ago acquired €20m from the European Funding Financial institution, to assist startups recuperate from the pandemic.
5. Enisa
Newest fund: Enisa is a public debt financing fund, connected to Spain’s Ministry of Business, Commerce and Tourism. This 12 months the fund has €125m to deploy.
Focus: Spanish SMEs and later stage startups, loans starting from €25k-€1m+.
Deal depend in 2021: 560
Gender break up: Didn’t reply.
Notable investments:
- Photo voltaic power supplier Holaluz
- Glovo (unicorn)
- Cabify (unicorn)
- Purple Factors
The pitch to founders: This public funding automobile has been operating since 1982 and is a go-to funding supply for a lot of of Spain’s early stage founders. The fund is now actively searching for out entrepreneurs exterior of Madrid and Barcelona, recognising the potential of locations like Andalusia , The Canary Islands, and the Basque Nation as hubs of innovation, in keeping with Jordi Garcia Brustenga, director of operations and technique.
6. Okay Fund
Newest fund: A €250m fund introduced in April 2022.
Focus: Spain, southern Europe and Latin America. Pre-seed, seed and Sequence A-B (writing cheques of €100k-€10m).
Deal depend in 2021: 15
Gender break up of funding crew: Companion stage: 5 male companions, one feminine associate. Wider funding crew: 4 males, one lady.
Notable investments:
- HR Saas answer Factorial
- Exoticca
- Sexual wellbeing app for girls Ferly
- Monetary planning startup Abacum
The pitch to founders: Okay Fund is led by coches.com founder Iñaki Arrola and former ING Spain and France CEO Carina Szpilka. The agency is considered one of few Spanish traders that invests from very early seed levels to cheques of as much as €10m, and not too long ago launched a brand new deeptech fund, Leadwind.
The most effective of the remainder
* The third positioned seed stage fund was truly Cabiedes and Companions, however the crew didn’t have time to supply information for this text. As a substitute we surveyed Okay Fund, who have been ranked sixth on the Dealroom rating.
3. Cabiedes Companions
7. Conexo Ventures
8. Large Sur Ventures
9. CEMEX Ventures
10. Kalonia Enterprise Companions
