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Highlights
- Portuguese government launched 25M€ plan, with 5 new initiatives to support Portuguese startups. 13M€ are invested through Portugal Ventures in 2 funds: mezzanine funding (10M€) and 3M€ in syndication with IFD Business Angels. 8M€ will be dedicated to support securing employment, the biggest cost driver for the majority of startups
- 200M also changed its policy and now allows internal rounds. This is very important, as startups now don’t need external investors to raise funds using 200M and can leverage existing investors only. Previously, a startup would need to convince a new shareholder to put at least 20% of the round
- Despite these initiatives, startups are still struggling during COVID 19. An example is Unbabel, which announced a 35% reduction in employees. Most of the reductions where on the Marketing side, so if you are looking for great marketers, you know where to look. Fintech House also launched a report on the impact of COVID on Fintechs in Portugal. Very detailed, enjoy the reading.
- Now the good news! Remote raised a 11M$ in a Seed round!!! The round is participated by some relevant names such as Two Sigma Ventures, Index Ventures, General Catalyst, Sid Sijbrandij (CEO GitLab), and Jobert and Kirsten Abma (Co-founder HackerOne). This is a very large seed round anywhere in the world and particularly during these times! But Remote is designed for these times and is helping remote teams in labor contracts.
- Indico is launching a new accelerator program together with Google for startups. Besides the accelerator program, startups will receive 80k€ (100k€ investment minus 20k€ for program fees) for a 7.5% stake. The program is expected to start in mid-June, dependent on Covid19 evolution. The first batch application closes on May 22, but late applications are accepted. You can apply here.
- Indico also has a new fund (Indico Accelerator Fund I). This fund will invest in its accelerator portfolio. Indico can also complement its initial ticket with the previous fund Indico Fund I.
- Leading Southern European funds (Portuguese, Spanish and Italian) got together to organize an online pitch event. In case you are planning to apply to pitch and are looking for support, I am happy to provide it. Book your slot here
Accelerator, pitch competition and events
- May 10 Santa Casa Challenge deadline
- May 11 (deadline for applications) Southern European Stars
- May 11-15 Bynd portfolio e-week
- May 15 BGI accelerator deadline
- May 19 WPPbooster accelerator deadline (extended their applications deadline)
- May 21 Tourism Portugal Ventures call
- May 22 Indico and Google accelerator program
- June 23 Demium Lisbon
Pedro Almeida’s stuff
- Launched a Monthly report about Portuguese Startup, Venture Capital and Business Angels activity
- Launched a survey aiming to understand more about the investors landscape. If you are an entrepreneur, please fill in this survey
Funding rounds
Startup: Remote (https://remote.com/)
Amount: 11M$
TAGs: B2B, Remote Work, Human Resources
Investors: Two Sigma Ventures,Index Ventures, General Catalyst, Liquid2, INKEF Ventures, Remote First Capital, Sid Sijbrandij (CEO GitLab) and Jobert and Kirsten Abma (Co-founder HackerOne9)
Startup: Lineten (https://www.neworganicplanet.eu/)
Amount: 12.4M€
TAGs: B2B, B2C, Agriculture
Investors: VSM Capital
Startup: New Organic Planet (https://www.neworganicplanet.eu/)
Amount: Unknown
TAGs: B2B, B2C, Agriculture
Investors: VSM Capital
Startup: Followistic (https://followistic.com/)
Amount: 50k€
TAGs: B2B, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Cloud Data Services, Machine Learning, Privacy, SaaS
Investors: Next Media Accelerator
Startup: YData (https://ydata.ai)
Amount: Unknown
TAGs: B2B, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Cloud Data Services, Machine Learning, Privacy, SaaS
Investors: edp Ventures
Startup: B_create (https://www.bcreate.pt/)
Amount: Unknown
TAGs: B2B, Food and beverage
Investors: Ideias Glaciares
Startup: Hunter Boards (https://hunterboards.com/)
Amount: Unknown
TAGs: Hardware, B2C
Investors: Ideias Glaciares
Startup: Poetikdistance
Amount: 375k€
TAGs: B2B, Services
Investors: Team Play Ventures
Startup: Placeme (https://placeme.pl/en/)
Amount: 113k€
TAGs: B2B, Big Data, Business Development, Business Intelligence, Information Technology, Internet, Location Based Services, Machine Learning, SaaS
Investors: LC Ventures
Startup: Musiversal (https://www.musiversal.com/)
Amount: 375€
Tags: Marketplace, Music, B2B
Investors: LC Ventures
Portuguese startups, Venture Capital and Business Angels activity report
See also