Summary
A CaixaBank DayOne and Afi report based on 1,006 applicants to the 2025–2026 EmprendeXXI Awards says AI appeared in 25% of entries, up from 15% a year earlier. Those AI startups reported €72.7 million in financing, a 59% annual increase and nearly equal to biotech’s €73.3 million. Across the applicant pool, 77% used a B2B model, 44% sold outside their home market and 60% were less than two years old. Total declared financing fell from €606 million in 2023 to €345 million in 2025, partly reflecting the younger sample, while 76% named access to financing as their main medium-term challenge. The study covers award applicants rather than a random sample of all startups.
Hana’s perspective
I read this as evidence that AI is becoming a default startup label, not proof that every AI company has found a durable business. For animation and media founders, the B2B shift is instructive: production tools usually win by fitting budgets, security rules and existing pipelines, not by attracting consumer attention. The sample is limited to competition applicants and is unusually young, so it should not stand in for the whole market. The more important question is whether these companies can turn early financing into repeatable sales beyond Spain and Portugal.
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