SolarMente
SolarMente was a Barcelona-based residential solar and home-electrification startup that installed solar panels, batteries, EV chargers and heat pumps at zero upfront cost, with homeowners paying a monthly subscription funded by their energy-bill savings. Founded in 2020 by Wouter Draijer and Victor Gardrinier, it went through Y Combinator (S21), raised ~€1.8M seed plus a $2M seed extension in which Leonardo DiCaprio became a strategic investor (his first Spanish investment), and secured a €50M mostly-debt SPV facility from GNE Finance; it acquired installer Eltex in 2024 and peaked around 50-65 staff. It filed for concurso de acreedores (insolvency) at Barcelona Commercial Court No. 11 in February 2026 with ~€197,000 of debt, and both founders have departed (CEO Wouter Draijer stepped down in August 2025).
Founders
Global models
In the same niche 26 others
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Notes: Most funded first
Investors 7
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GFunding rounds 2
·1 not counted| Date | Round | Amount | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-03-12 | No stage disclosed | — |
Lead not disclosed
+1 more
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| 2021-11-03 | Seed | €1.8M |
Lead not disclosed
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News 5
Open as list →| Published | Article |
|---|---|
| 2026-06-06 |
Qué hay tras la caída de la startup catalana que 'captó' al actor DiCaprio: La fotovoltaica SolarMente, ahora en quiebra ↗
El Cierre Digital
2026-06-06 |
| 2024-10-09 |
SolarMente Acquires Eltex to Expand Solar Services ↗
List.Solar
2024-10-09 |
| 2024-09-12 |
Fundraising Files: How a Spanish Solar Startup Succeeded in the U.S. Market ↗
Carta
2024-09-12 |
| 2024-04-05 |
How does subscription solar work? This Spanish company instals panels with no upfront investment ↗
Euronews
2024-04-05 |
| 2024-03-11 |
Leonardo DiCaprio backs YC alum SolarMente to democratize solar power in Spain ↗
TechCrunch
2024-03-11 |