In the past two years, more than $7B has been invested in Spanish startups. A rapidly growing technology industry is driving optimism and creating new global champions for the Spanish economy. Companies like JobandTalent, Carto, Devo, and Flywire all begun in Spain and grew to markets around the world.
Yet, there is almost no North American investment capital. Madrid and Barcelona rank behind cities like London, Berlin, and Paris in both capital invested and unicorns created. Is that a lagging indicator? Or is there a structural reason Spain cannot compete in global venture capital markets?
Investing in Spain is a series of conversations with the leaders of the startup community in Spain. We talk with the prominent investors, entrepreneurs and partners building the Spanish technology industry. We explore the challenges, and the opportunities, that lie ahead. The goal is to provide a global audience an introduction to Spanish VC, a snapshot of the people, firms and strategies defining this period of growth and transition.
Rory Eakin, a resident of Madrid, is an entrepreneur, investor and teacher. He is the co-founder of CircleUp, a technology driven investment platform. He has served as both GP and LP in more than a dozen early stage investment funds.