The startup Evolving Therapeutics, in the seed category, and Imperia, in the growth category, are the winners of Startup Valencia’s Pitch Day. This competition, held annually to showcase the entrepreneurial and innovative talent of the Valencian Community, took place yesterday at the Valencia Innovation Capital headquarters. The event also promoted connections between emerging companies, corporations, and investors.
A jury composed of Juan Enrique Valero Tolosa, director of CaixaBank DayOne Valencia; Ángel Buigues, BStartup advisor at Banco Sabadell; Pablo Perea, Head of Investments at GoHub Ventures; Blanca Sastre, Investment associate at Elewit; Celia Viana, Investment manager at Angels Capital; and Rosa Sánchez, head of Santander Startups for the Valencia-Murcia region at Banco Santander, was responsible for selecting the winners from the 10 finalist startups: Bunji, Decedario, Depasify, Devengo, Evolving Therapeutics, Flash Park, Imperia, Solatom, TrustWorks, and UMIBOTS.
The two winning startups will participate in VDS2024, the international tech event that will make the city the epicenter of innovation on October 23-24 at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia.
Nacho Mas, CEO of Startup Valencia, emphasized that this competition “is a great opportunity for nationally and internationally renowned corporations and investors to discover the talent being developed in the Valencian Community through these ten startups with high-potential projects.”
About the 10 startups
The ten startups participating in Startup Valencia Pitch Day 2024 that presented their projects were:
Bunji is the first platform that streamlines the search for like-minded travelers and local experiences at the destination to share. All this is possible through a matching algorithm, with a friendly interface for new generations.
Decedario is a therapeutic board game for cognitive stimulation. It is aimed at people with difficulties caused by acquired brain injury, autism, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Down syndrome, and dyslexia, among others.
Depasify is a company that integrates financial products with technological efficiency. It passively manages savings and long-term investments in both euros and cryptocurrencies.
Devengo has developed an API that allows companies and customers to automate account creation and send and receive money in real-time in an atomic and programmatic way.
Evolving Therapeutics is a spin-off from the University of Valencia based on the implementation of the use of bacteriophages, bacteria viruses commonly known as phages, for the treatment of pathogenic bacteria under the One Health concept.
Flash Park provides a system to monitor street parking spaces in real-time using IoT devices leveraging 5G connectivity.
Imperia aims to democratize the use of supply chain management platforms, offering personalized solutions that enable companies to optimize their demand planning, production, and purchasing processes.
Solatom is a technology company that develops solar systems to generate high-temperature heat in industrial processes such as fermentation, pasteurization, drying, dyeing, cooking, scalding, etc.
TrustWorks is a privacy management suite that efficiently creates a privacy program, enhancing collaboration for team development.
Umibots is a mobile robotics solution applied to the internal and external logistics of operational processes. They manufacture different robotic systems to provide efficient automation solutions that help improve productivity in various application areas, such as industrial, logistics, or healthcare processes.
Mental health in tech entrepreneurship
While the jury deliberated, attendees and participating startups were able to delve into a highly relevant topic in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Carlota Mateos, co-founder & CEO of Ancla Life, gave a talk on “The importance of mental health in tech entrepreneurship,” highlighting that mental health is still a taboo in the entrepreneurial world.
Ancla Life has therefore committed to making this issue visible and combating the stigma. They offer a community or “circles of trust” to bring humanity and reduce loneliness on the entrepreneur’s journey. They also provide coaches and psychologists to reinforce self-leadership and help scale and address deep limiting issues. Additionally, they promote scientific research with studies to assess the mental health index of entrepreneurs in Spanish-speaking countries and clinical trials to evaluate the effectiveness of prevention programs.
New board members of Startup Valencia
At the end of the day, the General Assembly of Startup Valencia took place. The assembly approved the incorporation of Hugo Mira Rabadan, CEO of Mojito360; Arturo Castelló García, founder and CEO of Encom and Own; Fran Villalba Segarra, founder and CEO of Internxt; and Víctor P. Amarnani, founder and CEO of BigBuy, as new board members.
The assembly also agreed to the divestment of Valencia Innovation District, a subsidiary of The Terminal Hub. Additionally, the latest updates on the celebration of VDS2024 were shared. The international tech event aims to match the record numbers of recent editions. This seventh edition is expected to host more than 12,000 professionals from over 100 different countries; over 700 investors with assets under management worth more than 30 billion euros and will feature the participation of more than 600 renowned speakers and over 2,500 startups.
The theme of VDS2024 is ‘Embracing evolution: Invest in the leaders of tomorrow’. The international tech event will analyze the positive impact of the technological revolution on society through the voices of the most prominent leaders in the global innovation and technology ecosystem. Additionally, it will emphasize the need to support and promote the innovators and visionaries who are shaping the future.
