Wayra Barcelona, Telefónica's open innovation hub, has allocated one million euros to nine startups in 2022, seven of which are based in the Catalan capital. Internxt, Gamium, Qoala, Metasoccer, Haddock, and Rever are new additions to the portfolio, while reinvestment has been made in Floorfy, Kubbo, and Volava. At the national level, combining the Barcelona and Madrid hubs, the investment has amounted to 1.8 million euros, distributed among 16 companies.
The sectors on which the entrepreneurial platform has focused this year have been e-commerce, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and entertainment. Among the reinvestments made are companies dedicated to proptech with Floorfy, logistics with Kubbo, and sports with Volava.
In the first block is Rever and its software that automates the refund of e-commerce returns and streamlines the return process for online purchases. Also featured is Qoala, a Madrid-based startup that allows users to find and apply online discount coupons and get cashback at its more than 3,000 associated stores, including El Corte Inglés, Fnac, Adidas, PC Componentes, and AliExpress.
In the field of AI, Wayra Barcelona has opted for Haddock, software that helps restaurateurs improve cost control. By relying on a photo of invoices, delivery notes, or tickets, the Catalan company allows documents to be digitized and all their information extracted thanks to AI, with the aim of understanding price variations and improving margins.
Likewise, Telefónica's hub has invested in Metasoccer and Gamium, two emerging Barcelona companies dedicated to entertainment, focused on Web3, an evolution of the Internet based on new tools such as blockchain. Another of the companies selected by Wayra Barcelona, Internxt, a cloud storage provider based in Valencia, also operates in this technological area.
Since its launch in 2011, Wayra has invested 65 million euros in more than 850 startups. Currently, it has more than 400 active companies in its portfolio. In Barcelona, the budget has been seven million euros, supporting more than seventy emerging companies.
In addition to the centers in Barcelona and Madrid, this Telefónica initiative has offices in the United Kingdom, Germany, Colombia, Argentina, and Brazil. Adding all of Wayra's hubs, the investment for 2022 has risen to 5.7 million euros, allocated to 40 startups.