Madrid, which was Barcelona’s second fiddle for many years, overtook its Catalan cousin in 2023 thanks to startups that secured investments worth 605 million euros ($672 million) above Barcelona’s 457 million euros ($507 million). “A lot of Latin American talent is arriving thanks to Telefonica’s recent entrepreneur visas and talent programs, which are attracting promising startup founders from Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Venezuela,” explains Bu Haces, innovation consultant at the Madrid-based Impact Hub.
Over the past three years, the city has seen a significant raise in the number of start-ups in the transport, mobility and fintech industries, while artificial intelligence and deep technologies have been empowered by an astonishing 56 universities. “Business schools in particular provide many networking opportunities for startups and are eager to develop the entrepreneurial ecosystem,” says Miguel Arias, general partner at VC K Fund.
As Meta, IBM, Google and Amazon expand in the city, a major concern is the lack of housing stock for the flood of students, engineers and entrepreneurs. “If we continue like this, we need more affordable housing,” warns Haces.
Invopop
When Invopop co-founder and CTO Sam Lown worked as CTO at Uber’s Latin American rival Cabify, he discovered that the company had to issue invoices in different formats in different countries. More than 30 governments in South America and Europe also insist that online companies report all sales to tax authorities on an ongoing basis, often using different reporting rules. “I thought it would be great to send it all to one place and have a company do it,” he explains. The Invopop platform converts sales into electronic invoices and reports them to the local tax office in the appropriate format. Lown, along with CEO Juan Moliner Malaxechevarría, raised €2.2 million ($2.4 million) from Y Combinator, Rebel Fund and Wayra. Since launch, Invopop’s 500 business clients – including Property Management Services, Amenitiz, Fever and Sunday – have issued over 1 million invoices in 25 countries. This year they launched the Invopop app, which connects to Slack, Chargebee and Google Drive. invopop.com
Uelz
Uelz aims to simplify online payments for businesses using various payment methods such as credit card billing, mobile payments and buy now, pay later services. It is also intended for international companies that utilize different payment providers in different countries. The Uelz platform connects to all payment gateways, including Apple Pay, Visa, Global Payments, Klarna, Stripe and Truust.io. It automates subscriptions and one-off payments and selects the most suitable payment provider – for example, if commission rates vary between countries, Uelz will ensure that the gateway with the lowest commission is used. The company tracks payments and shares data with sales teams and finance departments. Founded by Xandra Etxabe and María Luke Astigarraga (former Atlético Madrid goalkeeper), Uelz raised €2 million ($2.2 million) from Angels Capital and Wayra. In 2025, the company expands its operations to Latin America. uelzpay.com
Tucuvi
Tucuvi is a health tech company offering voice-based conversational artificial intelligence and a “virtual nurse” called Lola. The service monitors patients after they leave hospital to reduce readmissions. Lola guides patients through a structured interview and submits the results to the patient’s medical team for review. The company, co-founded by María González Manso and Marcos Rubio in 2019, received €5.5 million ($6.1 million) in funding from the European Innovation Council. Offering Lola in Spanish, Portuguese and English, Tucuvi has worked with more than 60,000 patients in Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom, reducing hospital stays by 26 percent and reducing the 30-day readmission rate by more than 50 percent. tucuvi.com
iFeel
iFeel is a workplace mental health platform aimed at companies as a service to employees or as part of health insurance. People talk to artificial intelligence that assesses their levels of stress, depression and anxiety. It then decides what type of attention is needed, from an online therapist to a standard self-care and well-being program. iFeel claims its treatment cuts hours worked in half, and 90 percent of users report improved emotional and mental well-being after using the service. Available in 26 languages and 30 countries, iFeel clients include Glovo, Insud Pharma, Cabify, TravelPerk, Spotahome and H&M. Founded in 2020 by co-founders CEO Amir Kaplan, COO Martin Villanueva Ordas and Gabriele Murrone, the startup raised €40 million ($44 million) in its latest €20 million ($22 million) Series B investment round, which co-chaired by FinTLV Ventures and Korean Capital. The modern funds will support foreign expansion. ifeelonline.com
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Seniors
Seniors is a company providing home care for the elderly. It brings Fitbit’s wearable technology to monitor users’ health and needs, and gives families access to data through the Senniors app. The company also connects older users with healthcare professionals when needed and provides a longevity program in partnership with Fitbit and insurer Klinc that aims to improve activity, sleep and emotional well-being. Founded in November 2020 by Claudia Gómez Estefan and José de Diego Abad, Senniors raised €5.3 million ($5.8 million) in a seed round led by SixThirty Ventures. The company has provided 800,000 hours of home care to over 40,000 families in 100 Spanish cities. Expansion in the USA is planned for 2025. hola.senniors.com
Boopos
Boopos is an online business buying and selling broker founded in 2020 by Juan Ignacio García, former CFO of the first Spanish unicorn Cabify. Many of the companies listed for sale on the platform are mainly diminutive online businesses. The Boopos team checks them to make sure they are profitable and have been operating for the last two years. García raised $20m (£15m) in three rounds led by Bonsai Partners and K Fund. With nearly $80 million (£60.9 million) in transactions on the platform, Boopos has 5,000 vigorous buyers and 200 businesses for sale, and will break even by the end of the year. “We want to scale it up,” says García. “There is a wave of baby boomer business owners retiring and selling their businesses.” boopos.com
Onum
Onum is a cloud-based platform that monitors companies’ data as it moves from collection to storage. Using AI algorithms, Onum detects anomalies, potential security threats and system problems. It also helps “separate the noise from the signal” by identifying what needs to be discarded, archived or analyzed, and claims customers reduce data management costs by up to 80%. Founded in October 2022 by Pedro Castillo – former CEO of cybersecurity unicorn Devo – he was joined by co-founders Lucas Varela and Pedro Tortosa. Onum has closed two rounds of financing totaling €38 million ($42 million), led by Kibo Ventures and Dawn Capital. onum.com
Shakers
Shakers is a digital staffing platform that helps companies build, manage and pay teams of freelancers. He can select an entire group from scratch or add modern members to the existing talent pool. Founded by CEO Héctor Mata, COO Nico de Luis, COO Adrián de Pedro and COO Jaime Castillo in 2021, Shakers raised €7 million ($7.7 million) in rounds led by Brighteye Ventures, Adevinta Ventures and Wayra. The company says revenue has increased 350 percent over the past two years. It charges companies for access to the platform. She has worked with over 600 Spanish companies, including Inditex, Telefónica, Uber and Microsoft, as well as over 7,000 freelancers. Expansion to southern Europe is planned for 2025. shakersworks.com
This article first appeared in the November/December 2024 issue of WIRED UK.