24 rising stars from Barcelona ☀️
Showcasing 24 of the most prominent startups based out of the hottest European tech hub - at the end of 2024
Barcelona has been at the forefront of Spain’s innovation forever. From even before the industrial revolution until today, the region has always attracted the most revolutionary entrepreneurs of our country (and lately also of our continent!), creating the perfect breeding ground for those crazy ideas that end up shaping the advancements of society.
In the startup ecosystem, we all recognize the perfect examples to support this affirmation: Glovo, Travelperk, Typeform and Factorial, 4 out of the 10+ Spanish unicorns, all call Barcelona home. Exoticca, Red Points, Impress or Abacum, in the “soonicorn” category, are also based in the Mediterranean shore.
To end 2024 in style, the year in which I moved to Barcelona to continue helping back the soon-to-be category leaders at the earliest stages, I want to share: (1) my (very biased) top 24 of rising stars in the city, and (2) the state of the hub and it’s very promising-looking future. All of it based on Kfund’s investment thesis: backing enabling technology companies, building competitive advantage from the underlying technology developed.
My top 24 - in no relevant order
Remuner | Kfund portco
AI-driven platform that automates and optimizes sales commission management, enabling companies to design personalized compensation plans to enhance team performance.
Founder(s): Sergio González
TechBio company developing AI solutions to streamline clinical trials, aiming to make them faster, more efficient, and accessible for all stakeholders.
Founder(s): Pedro Coelho
Alinia | Kfund portco
Alinia AI enables companies to evaluate the performance of their GenAI applications and obtain evidence on how aligned these are to their values, policies, and business preferences. Following the performance assessment, Alinia AI recommends the best next actions to further guide and control LLM output and improve alignment.
Founder(s): Ari Font & Carlos Muñoz
AI-powered product lab, currently developing Supercut: turning screen recordings into shareable branded videos, instantly.
Founder(s): David Okuniev & Neil Kinnish
Developing autonomous robots to improve safety and efficiency in industrial operations.
Founder(s): Irene Gómez & Hilario Tome
Making AI evaluation and governance straightforward and stress-free, allowing organizations to focus on driving innovation and growth.
Founder(s): Baybars Külebi & Jorge Palomar
A career management platform that helps individuals design, plan, and achieve their professional goals. CareerOS combines data-driven insights with tools to navigate career paths effectively.
Founder(s): Marcus Castro & Max Stengel
Enabling digital payments and interactions across various self-service machines, enhancing user experience and operational efficiency.
Founder(s): Xavi Sans
Genesy | Kfund portco
Instant aggregation and enrichment of B2B data to automate sales outbound.
Founder(s): Kai Brandt & Jaume Puig
Embedding LLMs into robots - unlocking the freedom of the hardware in non-sequential settings.
Founder(s): Carla Gómez & Jia Qiang
Energy management software for SMEs, enhancing visibility over energy spending and savings.
Founder(s): Edu Álvarez de Toledo & Max Zoller & Jaime Farres
Performance review software that delivers real-time insights and continuous feedback, enabling managers to oversee large teams with the precision of a small, dedicated group.
Founder(s): Dave García & Bernardo Hernández
Real-time, permission-based data extraction from public administration electronic offices, streamlining documentation processes for financial services.
Founder(s): Alvaro Mancilla & Gabriel Esteban
Livo | Kfund portco
Connects hospitals with nursing professionals, addressing staffing shortages by streamlining shift management and offering flexibility to healthcare workers.
Founder(s): Carlos Manubens & Adnane Ouahabi
Developing "Qu," a customizable AI assistant designed by clinicians to support healthcare professionals with routine clinical and administrative tasks, enhancing efficiency and patient care.
Founder(s): Ali Parsa
Real-time monitoring, vulnerability detection, and compliance assurance for genAI deployment, helping enterprises adopt and scale AI confidently.
Founder(s): Joan Vendrell & Victor Garcia
Easy-to-integrate KYC and AML solutions for any kind of business.
Founder(s): Alberto Rosas & Alejandro Rosas
No-code platform that enables businesses to build custom applications through a user-friendly interface, eliminating the need for software development skills.
Founder(s): Darragh McKay
Develops computer-driven enzyme discovery and engineering solutions to accelerate sustainable industrial processes. Their proprietary software enables rapid virtual testing of enzymes for pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and food industries.
Founder(s): Maria Fátima Lucas
Simplifying carbon footprint management for compliance with AI.
Founder(s): Andrés Cester & Jaume Fontal & Jordi López
Kabilio
AI-powered accounting and tax management tool.
Founder(s): Jose Ojeda
The teacher’s copilot - streamlining education to personalize the learning process and avoid memorization processes.
Founder(s): Alan Fusté & Xavier Velasco
All-in-one software platform for used car dealerships, automating operations to save time and increase sales. Their AI-powered tools streamline inventory management, customer communication, and online sales processes.
Founder(s): Carlos Horno & Sergio Guisado
Platform that connects busy professionals with experienced executive assistants, centralizing communications and task delegations to enhance productivity.
Founder(s): Pau Minoves
Learnings
Joining a startup in Barcelona is (almost) always a “means to an end” 🔜 — the young talent is less likely to go into consulting/IB/big tech if their end goal is to create a startup; they have several opportunities in the leading scaleups of the city of getting to know the ropes of entrepreneurship. The Graduate Program at Glovo or the Associate Product Manager track at Travelperk are perfect examples of this.
The importance of a physical hub 🏢 — 22@ has become the hotbed of innovation in the city. Both large tech companies as well as the previously mentioned unicorns have all set their HQs here, bringing together entrepreneurial minds looking to collide into like-minded peers and cross the chasm from employee to employer.
An unparalleled new wave of technology 🌊 — leading employees of the flagship startups and already experienced serial founders are all jumping ship to push AI into their fields of knowledge, resulting in a perfect moment to be in one of these hubs “where things happen”. As you saw earlier, AI is the common pattern in most of these incoming stars.
I am very much looking forward to finding the next category-defining projects during 2025, so if you are building something cool (either in Barcelona or across southern Europe and/or LATAM) and would like to chat, shoot me an email - jorge@kfund.vc!
Great article Jorge. And congrats on your blog launch 👏