Spain consolidated its position in Europe during 2023 as an intermediate ecosystem within the startup landscape, according to ‘The Spanish Tech Ecosystem Report’ conducted by Dealroom in collaboration with BBVA Spark. The study highlights that our country ranks 7th on the continent in terms of attracting venture capital and 4th in terms of the number of funding rounds. Additionally, it confirms the maturity of the sector, with trends such as the multiplier effect of entrepreneurs creating new startups after gaining experience in successful companies.
The Spanish startup ecosystem showed signs of its growing maturity during 2023. Specifically, there was a noticeable presence of investors with a more professional profile and higher economic valuations of innovative companies. These are some of the conclusions from the latest report ‘The Spanish Tech Ecosystem Report‘ by Dealroom in collaboration with BBVA Spark, Kfund, Wayra, Spaincap, Endeavor, GoHub Ventures, and Enisa, which certifies that the entrepreneurial field is facing a good moment after the slump of recent years.
The 2.2 billion euros raised by Spanish startups in 764 rounds throughout 2023 placed Spain in a prominent position for attracting venture capital at the European level.
Specifically, our country ranks 7th in terms of VC investment received, still far from the three leading markets (United Kingdom, France, and Germany), but above countries such as Norway, Denmark, and Italy, whose startups received just over half the aggregate investment of the Spanish ones. Furthermore, Spain climbs to 4th place when measuring the level of venture capital investment in early-stage projects (1.1 billion euros) and also occupies the 4th place by number of funding rounds.
However, VC investment reflects a significant drop from the peak reached in 2021, when it reached 4.2 billion euros, a phenomenon primarily attributable to the reduction in high-value rounds and not exclusive to Spain.
The report highlights a series of encouraging signs that temper the decline in investment.
“Banks differentiate ourselves from venture capital (VC) in that we have a greater aversion to risk when investing, which is why we like to see an ecosystem composed of actors who have already been successful in other projects,” explained Roberto Albaladejo, head of BBVA Spark, during the report presentation.
The ‘Spanish Tech Ecosystem Report’ by Dealroom identifies several trends throughout 2023 that shape the current and future landscape of the Spanish startup ecosystem.
The emergence of new startups founded by entrepreneurs with previous successes is a key indicator of the maturity of the Spanish tech ecosystem. Spain has a total of 18 unicorns, or tech companies valued at over 1 billion dollars before going public, according to ‘The Spanish Tech Ecosystem Report’. These unicorns not only add significant value to the market but also contribute to generating a new wave of entrepreneurship and growth, within what Endeavor calls the “multiplier effect” of innovation. Founders of successful startups like Glovo, Cabify, and Job&Talent are creating new companies and attracting investment, reinforcing the virtuous cycle of entrepreneurship. The report identifies a total of 90 new startups founded by professionals who succeeded in previous ventures.
Despite ranking seventh in Europe by the number of unicorns, Spain has yet to see any of them surpass the 10-billion-dollar valuation to achieve decacorn status. The report outlines an innovation funnel highlighting 33 scaleups valued at over 100 million euros, which are close to becoming unicorns, but the two final segments of the funnel—companies valued over 10 billion and 100 billion euros, respectively—remain empty.
“Spain has a very promising funnel of startups, breakouts (companies that have surpassed the critical point and are beginning to scale), and scaleups, but it would be beneficial for everyone if one, two, or three of the larger players started to appear in those blank spaces at the end,” concluded Jaime Novoa. With the advancement in the ecosystem’s maturity and the professionalization of investment, this forecast could be fulfilled in the coming years.