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).
Profile updated 3 Sep 2026
Founders
Global models
Investors 5
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YFunding rounds 3
News & media 5
| 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
|
| 2024-10-09 |
SolarMente Acquires Eltex to Expand Solar Services ↗
List.Solar
|
| 2024-09-12 |
Fundraising Files: How a Spanish Solar Startup Succeeded in the U.S. Market ↗
Carta
|
| 2024-04-05 |
How does subscription solar work? This Spanish company instals panels with no upfront investment ↗
Euronews
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| 2024-03-11 |
Leonardo DiCaprio backs YC alum SolarMente to democratize solar power in Spain ↗
TechCrunch
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