Wayra España, Telefónica's open innovation hub, and TheVentureCity, a global accelerator of technology ecosystems based in Madrid and Miami, have signed an agreement to jointly invest in startups in the areas of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Internet of Things, Video, Cybersecurity, Edge Computing, among others. Each invested startup can receive up to €250,000, of which Wayra can contribute up to €150,000. Through this agreement, both entities commit to going beyond investment, organizing events and activities to foster deal flow, boost the growth and business development of companies already in their investment portfolios, and ultimately, strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Spain. “This agreement reflects Wayra’s commitment to fostering deal flow and co-investment in mature startups with a clear business plan, whose activity is primarily technology-based, and that align with Telefónica’s own strategic projects,” says Paloma Castellano, director of Wayra Madrid. “The companies we invest in together with Wayra will participate for six months in our Global Growth Program, where we work on how to enhance company growth based on what we consider the three key pillars of a technology company: product, engineering, and data,” says Andrés Dancausa, VP Growth Accelerator EMEA at TheVentureCity. About Wayra
Wayra is Telefónica's most global, technological, and connected open innovation hub in the world. Wayra operates through 11 hubs in 10 countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Germany, Mexico, Peru, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela. More than 500 of the startups that participated in Telefónica's Open Innovation program are still active, and more than 100 startups are doing business with the company.
About TheVentureCity
TheVentureCity has a new venture and acceleration model that helps diverse founders around the world to generate impact. Our mission is to give global founders access to opportunities. TheVentureCity prepares founders with global ambition to achieve their next goal.