Record valuation of Spanish startups: more than 110 billion euros since 2020
It is the fifth largest European market for AI investments in the last five years.
BarcelonaThe Spanish startup ecosystem is experiencing a boom. Although in recent years there have been warnings of a lack of investment—especially in the early stages—a report prepared by the Dutch data management company Dealroom, in collaboration with BBVA Spark, Endeavor, Enisa, GoHub, Kfund, Spaincap, and Wayra, points to a record valuation. startups Spanish: Since 2020, the ecosystem has doubled its value, which now exceeds €110 billion, and could close 2025 at €112 billion, a figure higher than last year's forecasts.
In terms of investment, it reached €1.9 billion in 2024; a figure that has already been exceeded so far in 2025, with €950 million raised in the first quarter alone—the highest first quarter since 2021—and €1 billion raised in the second quarter, also a record for this period. With these figures, Spain has produced more than 3,000 startups, most of which are still in the initial phase, and although the challenge is still in the scaling phases, according to the 2025 report, it marks "a clear change" in the trend, with a greater abundance of late-stage rounds.
Furthermore, it highlights that this growth in the technology sector is mainly driven by founders with experience in the sector, and the majority with local roots. 46% have a master's degree or other advanced degree, with the UPC, the UPM, and ESADE among the best centers, which places Barcelona and Madrid as the main hubs.
Catalonia, a hub for large investments
Spain has been the fourth European economy in terms of the number of investment rounds between 2024 and 2025, with a total of 922 rounds, surpassed only by the United Kingdom (3,000), Germany (2,300) and France (1,200). It is also the sixth country in terms of investment volume from venture capital, with a total of 3.9 billion euros, and the fifth in terms of investment growth between 2020 and 2024, where investment has multiplied by 1.4.
The main rounds closed between 2024 and so far in 2025 are in startups Catalan companies, such as the €205 million round for the flexible payment solution Sequra; the two rounds in the tourism company TravelPerk, for €104 million in January 2024 and €200 million in January 2025; in Job&Talent, for €103 million in April 2025; and in Exoticca, for €60 million in July 2024, among others. Also noteworthy is the round in the Basque Country-based quantum computing company Multiverse, which raised €189 million in June 2025.
However, the challenge still lies in the later—and therefore larger—rounds. In fact, the report points out that between 2020 and 2024, only 32% of investment went to late-stage financing (rounds of more than €100 million), a lower percentage than most other European countries. As for the number ofunicorns –companies valued at more than 1,000 million euros–, Spain is in ninth position in the European ranking, with a total of 17 unicorns, although the report highlights that it has not added any new unicorn Since 2023, unlike other European competitors. However, it highlights some companies that it categorizes as "promising" in this regard, including Typeform, Sequra, Red Points, Housfy, Heur, Badi, Qida, and Peptomyc—all of them Catalan—among others.
The most prolific sectors
The report also points out that the most successful sectors currently in terms of Spanish start-ups and which generate the greatest interest for investors are the health sector, deep tech and enterprise software. It also highlights the climate and artificial intelligence sectors as "promising" in the coming years.
In fact, the most funded frontier technology segments are mainly related to AI and climate tech. Between 2024 and 2025 to date, venture capital investment has focused mainly on startups Artificial intelligence (€746 million), climate (€469 million), event and travel booking and search companies (€436 million), biotechnology and pharmaceuticals (€405 million) and online marketplace (also €405 million). Thus, Spain ranks among the top five in the European ranking of venture capital investment for AI startups between 2020 and 2024, with a total of €2 billion raised during this period. Finally, the report concludes that, although the sector has potential that leads to positive figures, "Spain should align its narrative, coordination, and diplomacy to lead in technology," it states.
