Iris Venture Builder will invest 20 million until 2028 to launch five 'tech' companies

The Barcelona-based firm specializing in the creation of technology companies, Iris Venture Builder, is stepping on the accelerator and will invest 20 million euros until 2028 to launch five companies. Of these five, it has already launched three of them, while the other two are "in an advanced phase," according to Iris partner Carla Benítez.

"Although we are a consolidated firm, we still have a startup spirit, of moving in uncertain places and undertaking new projects," highlights the head of Culture and People at Iris. The venture builder has taken this step after having sold three of its companies since 2020: Necsia Ciberseguridad, Nubalia, and Necsia Digital.

After these three exits, the company's ecosystem is made up of uCloud, specialized in implementing Google technology in company structures, and Tranxfer, a B2B platform for the secure sending and receiving of files from large corporations.

Now, the company founded in 2010 in Barcelona has added Safebox and Ciberia, specialized in cybersecurity, and Skilia, a platform focused on training executives in artificial intelligence, to its portfolio, as they have detected a need to better prepare for the irruption of AI. "With this company, we are moving out of our usual deep tech domain for the first time," Benítez emphasizes.

The three companies are already operational and have involved an investment of 12 million euros, out of the total of 20 million that Iris will invest until 2028. With all of them, the company aims to "solve problems that we detect in companies." To launch these new companies, Iris plans to expand its workforce, currently 100 employees, by 20% or 30%.

To grow, the company finances its own projects from resources generated from the capital gains obtained from the companies that are part of its portfolio and capital increases from its friends & family ecosystem, with the aim of creating these tech companies to consolidate itself as a leading firm in areas such as cybersecurity, the cloud, and data management.

The venture builder is present in 40 countries through its companies, especially established in Europe and Latin America. Iris, which does not rule out launching into other markets if it detects new opportunities, pilots its expansion and activity from Barcelona, whose entrepreneurial and business ecosystem represents an "advantage" and leverage for the firm and for its expansion.