In January 2022, we published an article in Xataka titled “And with Domestika, there are eleven: what is behind the rise of ‘unicorns’ among Spanish startups.” At that moment, we popped the champagne to celebrate that Spain had reached the milestone of 11 technology companies valued at over 1 billion euros (or dollars): the unicorn boom had arrived in our country.
This analysis followed an exceptional year, during which investment in Spanish startups broke all records, exceeding 4.2 billion euros, quadrupling figures from previous years. In just a few months, five new companies joined the six already waiting in the exclusive billion-dollar club.
Three years later, the landscape has changed significantly. Some companies have multiplied their value, while others have lost their unicorn status; some have been acquired, and others have had to drastically redefine their business models.
Today, we want to analyze what has happened to those 11 unicorns, where they are now, and who the next candidates might be to join the club.
The Current Status: 9 Unicorns Linked to Spain
According to data from CB Insights, updated as of December 2024, there are currently 9 unicorns linked to Spain: 5 considered properly Spanish and 4 additional companies classified as American in official rankings despite their strong ties to our country.
The 5 Spanish Unicorns:
- Jobandtalent. Valued at 2.35 billion dollars.
- Cabify. Valued at 1.4 billion dollars.
- TravelPerk. Valued at 1.3 billion dollars.
- Factorial. Valued at 1 billion dollars.
- Recover. Valued at 1.1 billion dollars.
The 4 “Spanish” Unicorns Registered as American:
- Devo Technology. Valued at 2 billion dollars.
- Fever. Valued at 1.96 billion dollars.
- Domestika. Valued at 1.3 billion dollars.
- Copado. Valued at 1.2 billion dollars.
This distinction is crucial as it provides a complete picture of companies with Spanish DNA that have reached billion-dollar valuations, regardless of their tax domicile.
The Journey of Each Unicorn: Growth, Stability, and Transformation
To better understand this ecosystem, we will analyze these eleven unicorns in four distinct categories:
- Companies that grew significantly, increasing their value and expanding operations.
- Companies that maintained their position despite turbulence.
- Companies that lost their unicorn status, victims of excessive valuations or unsustainable business models.
- Companies that were acquired by larger firms or funds, integrating into more prominent corporate structures.
📈 Those Who Grew: Strengthening and Positive Evolution
Among the companies that have experienced remarkable growth since 2022, two stand out: TravelPerk and Fever, which not only maintained their unicorn status but also saw significant increases in their valuations.
TravelPerk, a corporate travel management platform, saw its valuation grow to 2.7 billion dollars following a massive Series E investment round of 200 million dollars in January 2025.
This capital injection was accompanied by a strategic acquisition of Yokoy, a platform for expense management, thereby integrating its travel offerings with corporate financial management. This diversified growth, combined with previous acquisitions such as NexTravel (United States), Click Travel (United Kingdom), and AmTrav, positions TravelPerk as one of the greatest success stories among Spanish unicorns. This success has been achieved through an aggressive M&A strategy.
Fever, an event and experience discovery platform, reached a valuation of 2.1 billion euros in October 2024, following a transaction where Atresmedia sold part of its stake.
This represents a 30% growth over its 2023 valuation when it had already reached 1.8 billion dollars. Fever’s model, combining predictive technology with the creation of proprietary experiences like Candlelight concerts, has proven to be robust even in economically turbulent times.
⚓ Those Who Maintained Their Position: Resilience in the Storm
Several of the unicorns from 2022 have managed to maintain their status, albeit with varying degrees of difficulty.
eDreams ODIGEO, the pioneering online travel agency, maintains a market capitalization of approximately 1.6 billion euros. After the pandemic’s hit, the company recovered thanks to its Prime subscription model, which now boasts over 7 million subscribers.
In the first three quarters of its fiscal year, eDreams managed to return to profitability, with a net profit of 4.1 million euros and a 5% increase in revenue to 533 million. Its cash EBITDA reached a record high of over 215 million euros.
Flywire, the international payments fintech founded in Valencia and based in Boston, retains a capitalization of 1.2 billion dollars on the Nasdaq; however, its stock has been declining for some time. Nevertheless, the company is expanding in terms of customer numbers and size: in February 2025, it acquired Sertifi for 330 million dollars, a payment platform for hotels that strengthens its presence in the tourism sector.
This growth strategy via acquisitions (after WPM in 2023) and the diversification into business expense management aims to improve its margins amid a shift in investor focus from growth companies.
Devo, the cybersecurity platform focused on data analysis, maintains a valuation of 2 billion dollars, achieved after a Series F of 100 million in June 2022. The company has demonstrated strong revenue growth, climbing from approximately 28 million in 2021 to around 70 million in 2024.
With more than 650 employees globally, Devo has continued to expand internationally and acquired Kognos (autonomous AI threat detection) to enhance its capabilities. It also launched a cybersecurity research team (Devo SciSec) aimed at innovating proactive detection.
Jobandtalent, the temporary employment platform, maintains its valuation of around 2.35 billion dollars. However, its financing strategy has evolved, resorting to debt instead of equity to sustain its growth—a trend that is becoming more widespread and of which we have previously spoken.
Its revenues in 2022 almost doubled compared to the previous year, reaching 1.9 billion dollars. Nevertheless, the company faces significant challenges, with net losses in some subsidiaries and the need to refinance its debt to maintain operations. In 2023, it replaced short-term loans and managed to breathe easier by restructuring liabilities with BlackRock.
Cabify, while still a reference in the urban mobility sector, has seen its valuation drop, according to internal reports. By the end of 2022, investors internally marked its value at around 670 million euros, below the unicorn threshold at that time. Nonetheless, the company has shown sustained growth, achieving nearly 900 million dollars in revenue in 2023 (30.7% more than in 2022) and a gross profit of 111 million dollars. A more updated figure for its valuation climbs to 1.45 billion dollars.
In March 2023, it closed a round of 110 million dollars to accelerate its expansion in Spain and Latin America, but decided to postpone its plans for an IPO, which currently seem completely frozen. Cabify now faces regulatory challenges due to restrictions in the VTC sector in Spain and the need to refinance debt.
📉 Those Who Lost Status: The Downward Path
Two of the unicorns from 2022 have lost their status or are experiencing complicated situations that call their previous valuations into question.
Wallbox, a developer of electric vehicle chargers, has suffered the most dramatic decline. From a valuation that reached 3 billion dollars after its IPO in 2021, its market capitalization has dropped to approximately 300 million dollars, a 90% loss in value.
Despite this collapse, the company has continued to grow in sales and expand internationally, opening a factory in Arlington (United States) and expanding its plant in Barcelona. However, margins remain a hurdle, and the company continues to be in the red due to heavy investments in R&D and expansion.
Domestika, the online courses platform, maintained its valuation of 1.3 billion dollars “on paper” after its January 2022 round, but in practice, suffered a major correction. Following the boom in online courses during the pandemic, Domestika saw a significant decline in 2023, with a 30% drop in revenue.
In light of this situation, the company opted for drastic cuts, reducing its workforce by over 60% (from 250 employees to just over 100 by mid-2024). These measures managed to stop the hemorrhage but laid bare the elephant in the room regarding Domestika’s issues with a model that overestimated demand post-COVID and overspent.
🚚 Those Who Were Bought: New Homes, New Challenges
Two unicorns from 2022 have been purchased by larger companies or investment funds.
Glovo, the delivery platform, was acquired in 2022 by the German multinational Delivery Hero, in a deal that valued Glovo at 2.3 billion euros. Since then, Glovo has ceased to be independent, and its performance is integrated into its parent company’s results.
As part of Delivery Hero, Glovo has helped the group improve margins and reach operational break-even sooner. However, the company has faced various regulatory challenges, accumulating fines of 205 million euros for its false self-employed model and finally, in 2023-24, adopted a hiring labor model in compliance with the Rider Law.
Idealista, the real estate portal, was initially acquired in 2020 by EQT, which brought it to unicorn status. In June 2024, the British fund Cinven purchased 70% of Idealista in a transaction that valued the platform at 2.9 billion euros, more than doubling its value in four years.
Idealista is one of the few profitable scale-ups in Spain, with estimated revenues exceeding 100 million euros annually and very healthy margins. The company has expanded its services beyond housing classifieds, offering market data, mortgage services, and renovations, in addition to strengthening its position in Italy and Portugal through purchases of local portals.
Investment in Spanish Startups: From Boom to Adjustment
An analysis of what has happened with Spanish unicorns cannot be separated from the general evolution of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Spain, which has undergone a clear cycle of boom and subsequent adjustment.
2021 marked a historic peak with 4.256 billion euros invested in 406 operations, driven by mega rounds from Glovo and Jobandtalent, which accounted for more than 1 billion between them.
This boom continued somewhat into 2022, with 3.365 billion euros invested in 412 operations, a 21% drop from the previous year but maintaining a level far above the usual before 2021.
However, 2023 marked a strong correction: investment plummeted to 1.525 billion euros in 332 operations, a 55% decrease compared to 2022. This drop was mainly due to the reduction in mega rounds (over 100 million euros): in 2023, there was only one round of this caliber (Fever) compared to 8 in 2022 and 10 in 2021.
- Despite this slowdown in large tickets, the ecosystem has not stalled. Activity in early-stage rounds remained steady and even saw a slight increase in 2023, with more than 266 smaller operations below 6 million euros.
- This may indicate that there continues to be a steady flow of new startups and that investors are still backing early-stage projects, although more mature startups have had to cope with lower valuations and increased difficulty in capturing growth capital.
🌟 The New Ones in the Club: Unicorns Not Present in 2022
There are also three new entrants that did not feature in the January 2022 article.
Factorial, founded in 2016 in Barcelona, is one of the most outstanding cases. This HR management software platform aimed at SMEs achieved unicorn status in October 2022 after a Series C round of 120 million euros led by Atomico.
With over 7,000 clients in more than 65 countries, Factorial has consolidated a proposal that simplifies HR operations for small and medium enterprises by automating payroll, vacations, and talent management processes. Its growth has been propelled by strong international expansion, particularly in Latin America and the United States.
Recover, the Alicante-based company dedicated to the production of recycled cotton fibers, represents an atypical case among Spanish unicorns. Unlike most tech startups, Recover operates in the industrial sector and has capitalized on the increasing demand for sustainability in the textile industry.
It reached its valuation of 1.1 billion dollars thanks to an investment from Goldman Sachs in 2022. With over 70 years of history but a renewed focus on the circular economy, Recover collaborates with major international brands to minimize the environmental impact of fashion, proving that sustainable innovation can also create highly valuable companies.
Copado, while listed as American in rankings, has deep Spanish roots—it was founded in Madrid in 2013. This DevOps platform for Salesforce environments has experienced exponential growth since 2018, becoming a unicorn in 2021 with a valuation of 1.2 billion dollars after a Series C round of 140 million in 2021.
Its technology, which enables application development and deployment in the Salesforce ecosystem, has been adopted by over 1,000 companies, including multinationals like Coca-Cola, IBM, and Spotify. Its model, based on automating processes traditionally requiring considerable manual labor, has proven to be extraordinarily scalable in a high-value niche market.
Upcoming Spanish Unicorns: Who Will Reach the Billion
Although 2023-2024 were years of drought for new unicorns, Spain has a considerable number of startups that could achieve a valuation of 1 billion in the short or medium term. Among the most noteworthy candidates are:
- Exoticca (traveltech): An online agency specializing in exotic and luxury travel that has shown solid sales metrics and efficiency post-pandemic. It is growing profitably and targeting new markets, potentially leading to that new status.
- CoverManager (foodtech): A reservation management platform for restaurants, leading in Spain and Latin America in its B2B SaaS niche, with a profitable and scalable model that has attracted attention as a potential next unicorn.
- Clikalia (proptech): An instant buying and selling startup that raised significant rounds (460 million euros in debt + equity in 2022) and expanded operations in Spain, France, and Mexico. If the housing market stabilizes, it could cross the billion valuation threshold.
- Seedtag (adtech): A contextual advertising platform using AI that raised 250 million euros from a global investor in 2022, getting close to unicorn status. With major brands adopting its cookieless technology, it is well-positioned for international scaling.
- Red Points (legaltech): A Barcelona-based software company for brand protection and online anti-piracy that has grown globally and secured over 60 million dollars in funding. Its leadership in its segment and expansion in the U.S. and Asia make it a strong candidate.
- Capchase (fintech): A financing platform for startups that advances revenues, founded by Spaniards but based in the U.S.; it has reached valuations close to 500 million dollars, and its recurring model could eventually push it past 1 billion.
- Freepik (creative marketplace): A Malaga-based platform for graphic resources generating recurring subscription revenue. It is already profitable and was partially acquired by EQT in 2020. Its organic growth has positioned it with a valuation of several hundred million that should grow with its strong AI focus.
- Civitatis (traveltech): A leader in booking tours and activities at destinations that has grown profitably and organically without major rounds but has high revenues and a global presence in various markets.
Other notable startups on the radar include SeQura (installment payment fintech), ID Finance (loan fintech), Playtomic (sports, court reservation), Submer (data center cooling), Genially (interactive content tools), ThePowerMBA (digital education), and Vicio (digital restaurant brand).
It is also worth mentioning Recover, a sustainable fashion company (textile recycling) that already achieved a valuation of approximately 1.1 billion dollars in 2022 after Goldman Sachs’ investment, making it an industrial case rather than purely digital.
Present and Future
The current landscape of Spanish unicorns reflects an ecosystem that has matured. Of the eleven unicorns identified in 2022, six maintain or have surpassed that status (including two that were acquired), while five have faced turbulence or have lost valuation.
The current picture of unicorns in Spain shows a more prudent ecosystem focused on profitability and building sustainable businesses instead of the relentless pursuit of growth at all costs. This correction is likely necessary and healthy, particularly as a way to mitigate the hangover left by the capital rush of 2021.
Looking to the future, there are reasons for cautious optimism. 2025 is expected to bring some revival if macroeconomic factors improve, such as a potential drop in interest rates, a growing appetite for disruptive technologies (generative AI, technology applied to climate, etc.), or new supporting policies that could revitalize large rounds.
The sectors that will lead the next wave of unicorns are likely to be near AI, B2B software, traveltech, and cybersecurity—all areas where Spanish startups are demonstrating notable traction even in contraction times.
The Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem is undergoing a consolidation phase after the excesses of the 2021 boom. The “unicorn label” has become more elusive lately, but this reflects a healthy market correction rather than a lack of innovation or potential. Today’s startups are, on average, more efficient and focused on creating sustainable value, which always bodes well for a brighter future than a life centered solely on securing funding.
Image credits | Xataka with Freepik, company logos.
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