If 11 figures is your consideration threshold, it’s possible you’ll be fascinated about studying that the mixed enterprise worth (EV) of Spanish startups surpassed €100 billion in 2023, based on Dealroom’s newest report on the Spanish tech ecosystem. As we’ll see, enterprise funding into Spanish startups additionally held up fairly properly, with €2.2BN raised throughout some 850 funding rounds.
Spain’s enterprise capital tally was decrease final 12 months than in 2021 and 2022; that’s no shock as these years had been outliers. Not like different locations, although, the nation hasn’t fallen beneath pre-pandemic ranges of exercise. In 2019, for reference, Spanish startups had collectively raised €1.9BN in enterprise capital.
However first, there are a number of methods to take a look at Spain’s 11-figure startup EV. On the one hand, it places Spain forward of Norway, Italy or Portugal. However, with a mixed worth of $191BN, Cambridge’s tech ecosystem alone is sort of price double Spain’s. (With $1 price €0.92 at the moment, please forgive us for skipping conversions.)
Rather a lot might be mentioned on whether or not Spain is doing sufficient to help entrepreneurship — however for at the moment, let’s persist with information and numbers.
Including time as an element, France reached €100BN in mixed startup EV six years in the past, and Germany 9 years in the past. However the worth of Spanish tech can be one of many quickest rising in Europe, Dealroom famous in a slide. Give them extra time, and possibly some Spanish startups will turn into decacorns and extra, too.
Right here’s the funnel based on the report:
With a complete of €2.2BN in enterprise funding, 2023 outcomes moved the needle in the precise path, however largely for the highest of the funnel. Funding quantity for “Early-stage” — pre-seed, seed and Sequence A — was at an all-time excessive final 12 months, and the Sequence B and Sequence C phases remained sturdy. Nevertheless, late stage exercise was “quiet,” per Dealroom, with solely two mega-rounds (into veteran information administration platform Denodo, which has lengthy since relocated to the US; and the data-driven occasions startup Fever.)
The slowdown in late stage exercise isn’t distinctive to Spain however, like elsewhere, it might be a priority. Startup exercise isn’t solely a funnel: Additionally it is purported to be a circle.
For example, high-profile scaleups usually flip into founder factories; in Spain, it’s been the case with Fever, but in addition Cabify, job&expertise, Glovo and wallbox. However with out liquidity occasions, it turns into harder for former workers to turn into angels or begin new corporations.
That’s additionally a necessity on the VC aspect, with exits offering liquidity that may be reinjected into early stage offers. With out massive M&As and IPOs, there’s all the time a danger funds will probably be disadvantaged of capital to speculate anew.
Spanish VCs don’t appear frightened, although; time will do its factor, they counsel. Jaime Novoa, a accomplice at Kfund, commented within the report that he and his colleagues are “very confident that several companies being funded now will become scaleups in the next five to ten years.” He cited as a optimistic sign how early stage exercise “remains very healthy.”
Not solely is the early stage fairly lively, however the groups getting funded are additionally in step with what Europe could need to see extra of. Most of 2023’s VC funding into Spanish startups went to local weather tech, adopted by biotech and clear vitality. It’s too early to inform what number of of those might turn into centaurs, however it should undoubtedly be price monitoring.