Barcelona might still be playing catch-up with some of Europe's bigger players, but in the first quarter of 2017 it completed the highest number of deals since 2014, with 72 startups raising funding. The city now fosters global interest in newcomers through events such as 4YFN and Mobile World Congress. New Spanish funds such as K Fund and Samaipata Ventures are also injecting resources. "There have been promising local startups that have challenged international players," says Seth Pierrepont, an investor at Accel. "A key advantage has been leveraging their Spanish-speaking background to expand into Latin America."
Since making our 2016 list, Glovo's 60-minute delivery service has launched in four more cities, raised €5 million (£4.2m) and partnered with McDonald's. "Any online store can be a partner or competitor," says co-founder Sacha Michaud. Next up: expansion in Spain, Italy and France. glovoapp.com
Launched in 2015, TravelPerk allows anyone to book and manage business travel. "If you're stuck in Berlin with all flights cancelled, we'll find a flight to bring you back home," says co-founder Avi Meir. It has 150 clients and is planning a Series B round later this year, having raised $7 million in 2016. travelperk.com
The 21Buttons app - which lets its users buy what they see in tastemakers' social-media photos - has attracted two million customers since launching in 2016. 21Buttons' founders say features such as shareable wish lists and a simple user interface give it the edge over Instagram. 21buttons.com
Lodgify is a site builder for the holiday industry that allows anyone with a home to let start their own business. "It's as easy as creating and managing an Airbnb listing," says co-founder Dennis Klett, "but here you can set your own rules." The firm now plans to invest in VR tools and a messenger bot. lodgify.com
Ulabox bills itself as an online grocer with a purely technological approach. It picks up more than €1 million in monthly revenue and claims that customer satisfaction is above 95 per cent. Once it has conquered Spain, Ulabox plans to expand into other major European cities. ulabox.com
This online survey tool wants to bring empathy to the way large firms ask for information at scale. Since launching in 2012, it has expanded to include free tailor-made order forms for firms and educational quizzes. Advanced options incur a charge. It plans to open its API and launch a new form builder. typeform.com
This mobile broker combines all types of insurance policies in a free app. Customers can access their options for cover around the world with the help of an adviser. The company claims its centralised approach can save customers up to 40 per cent on insurance premiums. coverfy.com
Hutoma is a "botstore" that sells AIs which can connect to each other like LEGO pieces. "My idea was to create a neural network I could train with Disney movies so my four-year-old son could talk about them," says founder Maurizio Cibelli. Hutoma has signed a deal with a large multinational and plans to offer pay-as-you-go chatbots. hutoma.com
Datumize discovers and captures "dark data" that is difficult to identify and collect for companies to turn into usable information. It charges a monthly or annual licence fee to access its proprietary technology. Customers include Accenture and Confidential Airlines, and it has plans to expand into Europe, Malaysia and North America. datumize.com
Carlos Pierre Trias de Bas founded Badi in 2015 after reading about a woman who found a flatmate on Tinder. "It highlights the importance of seeing candidate profiles and connecting with them," he says. Badi uses machine learning to match people with empty rooms. It's raised €4 million and plans to expand to Rome and Milan. badiapp.com
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
