The calm after the storm. May shows a decrease in investment in startups in Spain after the month ended with a cumulative 28.3 million Euro invested in a total of 13 operations and the hangover from April, which broke a new record in millions of Euro in Spain (+280M €) in a total of 22 operations and with the Glovo round as the main operation last month.
Despite the fall in the cumulative investment in May, 2019 (€393.62m) continues to have a higher cumulative investment than 2018 (€333.16m), partly thanks to the April rounds of Glovo (€150m) and Red Points (€39m).
Rounds worth noting in May include that of the virtual reality company Psious, which closed a round co-led by Sabadell Asabys Health Innovation and Caixa Capital Risc and that of Housfy, a Barcelona company which closed a €6m round supported by Torch Capital, DN Capital and Seaya Ventures.
MAY 2019 INVESTMENT ROUNDS
Psious: the company has raised 8 million Euro in a round that was co-led by Sabadell Asabys Health Innovation Investments SCR, SA, from Asabys Partners, and by Caixa Capital Micro II and Caixa Capital Tic II, vehicles managed by Caixa Capital Risc. Sabadell Venture Capital, BStartup10 and Carlos Gallardo’s investment vehicle specializing in digital health investments, among others, have also actively participated. With this round the company will complete the development of its virtual reality solutions for the treatment of anxiety disorders (phobias, panic, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder), stress management, depression, attention problems such as ADHD, and autistic or psychotic spectrum disorders, among many others. To this end, the company is focusing its activities on consolidating clinical activity through international studies that analyze the therapeutic effect of virtual reality in the field of cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Housfy: the technological platform that allows homeowners to sell a home without commissions or intermediaries, has closed a financing round of 6 million Euro the main objective of the round is to strengthen its international expansion. The new round has been co-led by relevant international funds, such as Torch Capital and DN Capital, as well as Seaya Ventures, which has accompanied Housfy since its launch. In addition, the French fund Cathay Capital also participated through C. Entrepreneurs. The new capital injection will be used for expanding to new international markets, as well as for the technological development of the company and is a sign of the confidence of relevant international funds in the project represented by Housfy, which until now has marketed more than 2,000 homes in Spain through the Internet, reaching the top of the national rankings. The recent capital inflow will be used for the company’s internationalization and technological development.
ICIRED: the digital platform that fights against late payment in Spain has closed a financing round of 2.4 million Euro with the support of Informa D&B (a subsidiary of CESCE) and Everis, the multinational business consultancy. After the signing, the company consolidates its business model and gives its share capital to both companies. Each has acquired 30% of ICIRED. Upon signing the agreement, innovation, experience and combined, making ICIRED a powerful and efficient tool for requiring and collecting non-payments, as well as for exchanging information between its users. Thanks to the entry in the shareholding of Informa D&B, it will be connected to the Spanish financial system and to multiple clients. The everis Initiatives division has overseen the software development and technological implementation.
Kompyte: the startup that redefines the competitive intelligence (CI) software category has raised a round of 2.7 million Euro. Caixa Capital Risc, Adara Ventures and Swanlaab Venture Factory, together with other investors, participated in this round. The company develops software that automates research and the generation of reports on competition, so that its clients can control their competitors in real time and adjust their strategy thanks to greater knowledge of the competitive environment.
Nemuru: the technological platform that originates and manages 100% online loans has attracted 1.9 million Euro from various investments. The company, which was born from Antai Venture Builder with an initial capital of 750k, has carried out a €1M seed round with the support of Lanzame and Encomenda VC–a venture capital fund created by Carlos Blanco and Oriol Juncosa–and the support of several recognized Business Angels and Family Offices. Nemuru also received €100,000 from ENISA, a European Union institution.
Ona Therapeutics: Ona Therapeutics has announced the closing of a seed round of 1.5 million Euro contributed entirely by Sabadell Asabys, a vehicle managed by Asabys Partners dedicated to investment in health innovation. With this capital injection, the startup will start its activity for the development of a new drug for the treatment of metastatic cancer. The company has been created by four partners: IRB Barcelona, ICREA and researchers Salvador Aznar-Benitah and Valerie Vanhooren. The financing provided by Sabadell Asabys will be added to other resources in negotiation with local and international funds until, foreseeably, a Round A of around 20 million Euro, which will also include the participation of Sabadell Asabys.
Hubtype: the chatbot company has closed a funding round of 1 million Euro to promote the development of its opensource framework. This expanding startup was founded in Barcelona in 2016 with the aim of helping large companies communicate with their customers through instant messaging (such as WhatsApp) using conversational applications that go beyond chatbots. Over the past two years, the startup has grown at a rate of 300% per year and was recognized as the best Chatbot Startup at the International Chatbot Summit in Berlin. Now, Hubtype is closer than ever to achieving its great challenge, thanks to the million Euro of capital from K Fund, a leading VC company in Spain, and the additional participation of investors who were already involved in the first round in 2016.
Muroexe: the emerging footwear brand announced in May that it closed a financing round of 1 million Euro, as well as an additional 200,000 Euro reserved for customers and friends of the brand. The company, which has made a niche in the market thanks to its merger of technical sports materials with elegant designs aimed at thirty to fifty-year olds, closes with this its second round of growth financing. The round included JME Venture Capital, a fund that joined its capital in 2017, as well as practically all the partners who have accompanied the company since its foundation, financial and investment profiles with extensive experience in startups.
Wineissocial: the online wine club has closed a financing round of 1 million Euro. The resources of the operation, divided into several sections, come mainly from the family office of the Suqué Mateu, Inverama, and Nolabey Grup, of the Cebeys. Until the round, the board of directors was made up of the two co-founders Albert Martí and Manel Sarasa. Now it has expanded and includes are Steven Coopens himself, one of the first investors to join the wine club; Javier Suqué Mateu and Jorge Cebey.
Zinklar: the company has announced the closing of a 1 million Euro bridge round, in which the current partners of the company have participated: Caixa Capital Risc, Inveready and Sabadell Venture Capital. Previously, the company had successfully closed two investment rounds with a total value of €1.6 million. The objective of the operation is to accelerate international expansion, before the A Series scheduled for the end of this year in which the entry of international funds is expected. In this way, the company will intensify its marketing efforts, reinforce the scalability of its commercial strategy and continue to develop the product. This round of funding comes after an expansion process and a global brand shift to support the company’s internationalization.
Carts Guru: 900,000 Euro is the amount that the startup has obtained in a new round of funding, which brings the amount raised in 2019 to €2.15M. The objective of this operation is to accelerate growth, develop the product, create a dynamic working environment and attract new talent to the team. The round will also allow the company to expand its presence in Europe and the United States.
Nanusens: the nanotechnology company has closed a round of financing of 600,000 Euro through the investment marketplace Crowdcube. The capital achieved–almost three times the initial objective–will be used for product development and introduction into new markets. In total, 750 private investors of 49 nationalities have invested in the capital increase of Nanusens–the third one carried out through Crowdcube–which includes Inveready, Caixa Capital Risc and Dieco Capital in its shareholding. Nanusens is a technology company dedicated to the development of chips with micro-mechanisms for mobile phones.
Bbooster Ventures invested 300,000 Euro in Vottun and Reloadly, after the Bbooster Week.