Wayra Spain, Telefónica's open innovation hub, invested a total of €1,300,000 in 13 startups in 2018, focusing on blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT), cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, video, and virtual reality, among other areas. id="">iUrban, Ludus, Quadminds, SmartIOTLabs, Teltoo, Vchain, Wibson and YBVR have been the 13 startups invested during the last year. The investment is aligned with Wayra's new strategy, which seeks to invest in more mature startups that bring innovation to Telefónica and can grow by generating new business with the corporation. “In 2018, the startups in the portfolio in Spain generated more than €20 million in revenue with Telefónica. This allows the company to offer its customers the most disruptive products and represents an opportunity for startups to reach millions of customers worldwide,” says Andrés Saborido, director of Wayra Spain. “At Movistar+, we make a huge effort to produce original content of the highest quality, valuable content that must be protected for our peace of mind and that of our customers. To this end, we have found optimal support in one of Wayra's startups, Smart Protection. Having startups on board is key to continuing to innovate at Movistar+,” says Sergio Oslé, president of Movistar+. For Javier Zorrilla, general manager of Telefónica in Northern Spain: “The acquisition of a stake in Ludus and its addition to Telefónica's portfolio represents a clear success story for Telefónica's open innovation programs. Ludus and its virtual reality technology allow us to provide added value to our industrial clients by reinventing personnel training in high-risk situations.” Telefónica has invested more than €160 million since 2011 through Wayra and its entire open innovation area (Wayra, Open Future, Innovation Funds, and Telefónica Ventures). More than 400 of the startups invested in through the Open Innovation program are still active, and more than twenty of them have reached a valuation exceeding $50 million.
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