While Madrid and Barcelona tend to attract the buzz when it concerns tech start-ups in Spain, Valencia is gradually and undoubtedly going far for itself as a growing tech ecosystem.
The country’s third-largest city, Valencia features great beaches, warm weather all year, and affordable housing and healthcare. And with a population of just around a million people, it’s a little bit more manageable compared to its larger cousins.
The city also topped the InterNations Expat City Ranking 2020 as one of the very best cities for expats to settle in. What’s more, it produces lots of talent– about 25,000 bachelor’s and masters degrees are released in the city every year.
To discover out what the start-up scene in Valencia looks like, we spoke with 8 local financiers, executives and creators. The city appears to be strong in areas such as travel, AI, cybersecurity, fintech, agritech, travel tech, biotech, sports tech, and VR. The blockchain/crytpo scene might do with some improvement, according to a couple of respondents.
The city’s financial investment scene is not especially big and most financiers focus on seed financing, but it’s growing as family-owned companies, and private and institutional investors turn to tech. BIGBAN is a private not-for-profit angel financier network based in Valencia, and incubators and accelerator programs continue to multiply, supported by corporates and city government efforts such as Start-up Valencia.
Significant startups in the city include Streamloots, Voicemod, Jeff, Beroomers, Flywire and Blinkfire Analytics.
We surveyed:
- Luz Adell, CFO/partner, Draper B1
- Jordi Díaz Maiquez, CEO, Play&& go experience
- Helena Ortiz Gil, CMO, Techer Team
- Patricia Pastor, director, GoHub
- Fernando Marzal, VP of New Business, Jeff
- Enrique Penichet, founding partner, Draper B1
- Javier Moliner Urdiales, CEO, Howlanders
- Jorge Soriano Lázaro, CEO, Criptan
Luz Adell, CFO/partner, Draper B1
Which sectors is your tech community strong in? What are you most thrilled by? What does it lack?
Secret sectors include agritech, fintech and travel tech.
Which are the most interesting startups in your city?
Streamloots, Criptan, Voicemod, Boatjump, Zeleros, WiTraC and Sales Layer.
What are the tech investors like in Valencia? What’s their focus?
The Valencia investor scene is growing. There are more family-owned companies, and specific and institutional financiers, and they have actually also invested capital. We have a few of the top incubators and accelerator programs in Spain. BIGBAN, a private nonprofit angel investor network based in Valencia, is building and developing among the most active and vibrant investor neighborhoods in Spain.
With the shift to remote working, do you think people will remain in Valencia, or will they leave? Will others move in?
Individuals will move or stay in to the city. Expats and digital wanderers prefer transferring to Valencia.
Who are the essential startup individuals in the city (e.g., investors, creators, attorneys, designers)?
Startup Valencia, BIGBAN, Lanzadera, Plug and Play, GoHub, Angels Capital, Demium, Tbig Advisory, KM No, BioHub and Draper B1.
Where do you believe the city’s tech scene will remain in 5 years?
Valencia is ending up being a pole of attraction for business and skill thanks to an environment in constant development, with a clear entrepreneurial frame of mind.
Jordi Díaz Maiquez, CEO, Play&& go experience
Which sectors is your tech environment strong in? What are you most thrilled by? What does it do not have?
Tourism.
Which are the most interesting startups in your city?
Zeleros.
What are the tech investors like in Valencia? What’s their focus?
Demium, and GoHub for deep tech.
With the shift to remote working, do you think people will remain in Valencia, or will they move out? Will others relocate?
Individuals will remain or move in.
Where do you think the city’s tech scene will be in 5 years?
Better than now.
Helena Ortiz Gil, CMO, Techer Group
Which sectors is your tech ecosystem strong in? What are you most thrilled by? What does it lack?
Virtual reality is amazing and strong. Blockchain might be improved.
Which are the most intriguing start-ups in your city?
Techer Team and some Lanzadera tasks.
What is the investing scene like in Valencia? What’s the investors’ focus?
It could improve.
With the shift to remote working, do you believe people will remain in Valencia, or will they leave? Will others move in?
Many people stayed back.
Who are the crucial startup individuals in the city (e.g., investors, creators, lawyers, designers)?
Lanzadera, Valencia Activa, Demium and GoHub.
Where do you think the city’s tech scene will be in five years?
I hope it enhances.
Patricia Pastor, director, GoHub
Which sectors is your tech environment strong in? What are you most delighted by? What does it lack?
Water, industry, smart city tech.
Which are the most interesting start-ups in your city?
Fivecomm, Sales Layer, Quibim, Jeff and Voicemod.
What are the tech investors like in Valencia? What’s their focus?
GoHub for B2B in AI, Cybersecurity, sustainability and 5g.
With the shift to remote working, do you think individuals will stay in Valencia, or will they move out? Will others move in?
We’ll see numerous remote employees.
Where do you think the city’s tech scene will remain in 5 years?
In the top 15.
Fernando Marzal, VP of New Organization, Jeff
Which sectors is your tech environment strong in? What are you most delighted by? What does it lack?
Everyday services.
Which are the most intriguing start-ups in your city?
Flywire, Streamloots, Voicemod, Blinkfire and Demium.
What is the tech financial investment scene like in Valencia? What’s financiers’ focus?
Seed investors.
With the shift to remote working, do you believe people will remain in Valencia, or will they move out? Will others move in?
Stay. Valencia is one the much better places to work thanks to weather, city size, beach, and so on
. Who are the essential start-up people in the city (e.g., investors, founders, lawyers, designers)?
Startup Valencia Association.
Where do you believe the city’s tech scene will be in five years?
Among the main startup cities in Europe.
Enrique Penichet, founding partner, Draper B1
Which sectors is your tech environment strong in? What are you most thrilled by? What does it do not have?
Valencia’s tech community is strong on supplying tech skill. There are a great deal of people with capabilities in AI and cybersecurity. Because of this some corporate accelerators are growing strong here, generally in fintech, such as Bankia Fintech.
We have a unicorn in fintech Flywire, and a foreign fintech scaleup, Creditas (from Brazil), has actually established their HQ here. We likewise have some good start-ups in fintech growing here such as Criptan, Colectual or The Reasoning Value.
Valencia has actually likewise been typically strong in video gaming. ESAT, an internationally recognized academy found here, supplies terrific skill, and primarily due to this, we have some successful start-ups such as Voicemod or Streamloots in the gaming market. One of the significant video gaming occasions in Spain and Europe, Dreamhack, is held in Valencia.
Due to Lanzadera, together with Station F, among the greatest accelerators in Europe is located in Valencia, and there are now startups growing in all verticals.
Which are the most fascinating start-ups in your city?
Flywire, Jeff, Streamloots, Voicemod, Criptan, Cronoshare, Quibim, Cuidum and Gokoan.
What are the tech financiers like in Valencia? What’s their focus?
Many financiers are service angels and early-stage investors. Draper B1, Angels Capital, Zriser, and Keith VC.
With the shift to remote working, do you believe people will stay in Valencia, or will they move out? Will others move in?
Both things are happening, Valencia is a great place to work, near the Mediterranean Sea. It was recognized by Bloomberg as the No. 1 city in the world to work. Many people are coming here to work remotely. At the same time, some individuals are leaving to work from the countryside.
Who are the essential start-up people in the city (e.g., financiers, founders, lawyers, designers)?
Accelerators and creators.
Where do you think the city’s tech scene will be in 5 years?
A bunch of companies from Valencia have actually closed Series A rounds. Hopefully, in five years it will be prevalent to see some Series B or C or D occurring. Today, probably just Flywire has actually achieved that.
Javier Moliner Urdiales, CEO, Howlanders
Which sectors is your tech environment strong in? What are you most excited by? What does it do not have?
Industry, travel and e-commerce 4.0.
Which are the most fascinating startups in your city?
Howlanders, Jeff, Airhopping, Landbot and WiTraC.
What are the tech investors like in Valencia? What’s their focus?
Focus on seed. Currently some years of experience, primarily BA, little VC or crowd.
With the shift to remote working, do you believe people will remain in Valencia, or will they leave? Will others move in?
People will relocate due to lifestyle, low expenses, the area and city government assistance.
Who are the key start-up people in the city (e.g., financiers, founders, legal representatives, designers)?
Javier Megias and Juan Roig.
Where do you think the city’s tech scene will be in five years?
Bigger, stronger, totally global neighborhood thanks to new arrivals (startups and remote workers), more worldwide or national VCs handled locally from Valencia.
Jorge Soriano Lázaro, CEO, Criptan
Which sectors is your tech ecosystem strong in? What are you most delighted by? What does it lack?
Cryptocurrencies, or using crypto.
Which are the most intriguing startups in your city?
Balio.
What are the tech investors like in Valencia? What’s their focus?
Draper B1.
With the shift to remote working, do you believe individuals will remain in Valencia, or will they vacate? Will others relocate?
Yes, people are staying here. We were working from another location considering that the start.
Who are the crucial start-up individuals in the city (e.g., financiers, founders, legal representatives, designers)?
Draper B1, Enrique Penichet and Signne.
Where do you believe the city’s tech scene will be in five years?
One of the most innovative in Europe.
Article curated by RJ Shara from Source. RJ Shara is a Bay Area Radio Host (Radio Jockey) who talks about the startup ecosystem – entrepreneurs, investments, policies and more on her show The Silicon Dreams. The show streams on Radio Zindagi 1170AM on Mondays from 3.30 PM to 4 PM.
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