CaixaBank and Afi study finds AI in a quarter of EmprendeXXI award entries

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CaixaBank, through its DayOne unit, and Afi have published a study of the 1,006 companies that applied to the 2025-2026 EmprendeXXI awards, a sample they put at roughly a fifth of the start-ups identified in Spain. Artificial intelligence now features in 25% of entries, up from 15% a year earlier. AI start-ups raised €72.7 million, almost exactly level with the €73.3 million raised by biotech companies, and AI funding grew 59% while most other technologies fell back.

The number of entries was a record, 5% more than the previous call, and the entrants are young: 60% are under two years old. B2B models appear in 77% of them, and 44% sell outside their home market. The total funding applicants reported has moved the other way, from €606 million in 2023 to €468 million in 2024 and €345 million in 2025, a 43% drop that the authors partly put down to the larger share of very early companies, which have had fewer rounds and less debt. Perhaps relatedly, 76% now name funding as their main medium-term challenge, up from 68%.

The 20th edition opens on 1 October for technology and innovative companies based in Spain and incorporated from 1 January 2023, with entries accepted until 22 January 2027. Seventeen regional winners will receive €6,000 each, and the nine winners of the national challenges €15,000 each.