Two years ago, Jon Fath moved to Portugal from the Netherlands with his family with the sole purpose of launching a fintech startup there. “This country is bursting with talent and ambition,” says Fath. “I thank Lisbon for welcoming me, along with so many other expats and entrepreneurs, so warmly.”
It is therefore no surprise that the European Commission has named Lisbon the European Innovation Capital of 2023, while the Financial Times, in collaboration with Statista, has ranked two Portuguese startup hubs among the top 10 startup hubs in Europe, including the Unicorn Factory Lisboa, which launched in 2022. and has already supported more than 820 startups and raised more than €1 billion ($1.1 billion).
“Portugal offers unique advantages such as climate, safety and cost of living, making it an attractive choice over countries in Central or Northern Europe,” said Nuno Pereira, CEO of Paynest.
The government has also played a role, with policies such as residency visas for entrepreneurs and tax incentives for startups involved in research and development. “That helped Portuguese startups reach the other side alive, after the VC drought of the past two years,” says Mauro Frota, CEO of fittech startup Bhout.
Rauva
Before launching Rauva in Lisbon, Jon Fath was CEO of a startup in Amsterdam, co-founded a logistics company in Frankfurt and worked for an asset management firm in Beijing. “I decided to start Rauva based on my experiences working with entrepreneurs and co-founding other companies,” says Fath. “I took the leap to build a one-stop shop to make entrepreneurship accessible to everyone.” Rauva allows entrepreneurs to register their business online in minutes and offers a range of features such as debit cards and invoicing. “In addition, if the company has not yet been established, Rauva offers that service with the support of lawyers,” says Fath. “Our solution helps reduce the time spent on bureaucratic processes.” The startup, launched in 2022 by Fath and Sam Mizrahi, also recently collaborated with researchers to design a faster and more accurate credit scoring system using machine learning and quantum computing. Currently, Rauva has more than 3,000 users and has contributed to the creation of more than a thousand new companies. rauva.com
Neuraspace
There are currently almost 9,900 active satellites orbiting the planet, a number expected to increase by an order of magnitude by 2030. “The risk of collisions caused by space debris is increasing,” said Chiara Manfletti, the founder and president of the Portuguese Space Agency. and CEO of Neuraspace. “These collisions can destroy satellites, causing significant financial losses and disrupting essential services such as banking transactions, the Internet, GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) and Earth Observation. Current manual decision-making processes are inadequate to handle this scale.” Neuraspace tackles this problem by using AI to analyze various data sets, including radar and star trackers, and automatically predict potential collisions and suggest evasive maneuvers. This space traffic management platform currently tracks more than 300 satellites from satellite operators such as Spire, Nanoavionics and the European Space Agency. The startup, founded in 2020, has raised a total of $27.5 million (£20.8 million). “The big vision for Neuraspace is to realize self-sustaining, autonomous space operations,” says Manfletti. neuraspace.com
Bhout
In 2021, Mauro Frota opened a gym with a unique device: a smart punching bag. Developed by Frota and Pedro Barata, the Bhout Bag comes with an AI processing unit, biometric sensors and a smart camera that can track the accuracy, speed and power of each punch. “The idea came from a dream,” says Frota. “I've lost count of the number of iterations to get there. We were creating a new product from scratch.” The punching bag is also equipped with a set of light rings that push gym-goers into different training rhythms. The core is made of foam layers and filled with water, simulating the feeling of hitting another boxer. According to Frota, twenty new Bhout clubs have already been confirmed in Portugal and Spain. It will also soon begin selling the Bhout bag, at prices ranging from €6,000 to €10,000 ($6,1000 to $11,000) to customers including LinkedIn and Marriott Hotels. In 2023, the fittech startup raised a seed round of €10 million, funded by Explorer Investments and Lince Capital. bhout.com
MyCareforce
MyCareforce brings the gig economy to healthcare. “Hospitals often do not have the necessary staff to meet demand and they do not have the right tools to quickly hire for additional services,” says CEO Pedro Cruz Morais. “We knew many doctors who used WhatsApp to find additional services and we realized we could solve this problem with technology.” MyCareforce provides an intelligent platform that connects nurses with hospitals and clinics, allowing them to request and immediately book available services. Launched in 2021 by Cruz Morais and co-founder João Hugo Silva, the platform has more than 15,000 nurses registered on the platform and partners with more than 70 healthcare units, such as hospitals and clinics, in Portugal and Brazil. It has raised a €2 million ($2.2 million) round led by Portugal Gateway, Shilling and Demium Capital. mycareforce.co
Oscar
With Oscar, users can book more than 150 home services, from cleaning to blind repairs, for a fixed fee and within 30 minutes. “The idea came from a bad experience when I tried to call a plumber to fix my boiler,” says João Marques, founder and CEO of Oscar. “After wasting hours contacting multiple technicians and comparing quotes, I scheduled a service call and the technician never showed up. It was clear that an Uber home service was missing.” Available in Portugal and Madrid, the platform currently hosts more than 20,000 technicians, who are admitted after a rigorous selection process and background checks. According to Marques, their annual turnover is currently €12 million ($13.4 million) and is growing by 40 percent every quarter. They raised more than €6 million ($6.7 million) in a round led by Lince Capital and Indico Capital Partners. oscar-app.com
Glooma
Francisco Nogueira's cousin was 40 when she discovered a lump in her breast. “She thought it was nothing, but three months later the lump had not disappeared,” says Frederico Stock, CFO and COO of Glooma. Unfortunately, the lump was a malignant tumor and she had to undergo a mastectomy. “Francisco decided to create Glooma so that women in the same situation can act faster.” The startup, launched in 2021 by Nogueira and Stock, is developing SenseGlove, a glove equipped with smart sensors that allows women to perform a breast self-examination. “It can track changes in breast tissue over time and notify doctors if there is an abnormality,” says Nogueira. According to him, an early proof-of-concept study showed that the SenseGlove correctly diagnosed cancer 88 percent of the time, with a 12 percent false positive rate. The startup, which has raised more than €1.3 million, is now undergoing clinical testing of its latest prototype. The team hopes to receive FDA approval by 2025. glooma.pt
Sheerme
“If you need a taxi, you have Uber; if you need a hotel, you have booking.com, but what do you do if you need a hair salon or a spa?” asks Miguel Ribeiro, CEO of Sheerme. According to Ribeiro, 85 percent of wellness and beauty services require advance booking, but only 10 percent can be booked online. “Sheerme fills that void,” he says. The platform allows users to find, book and pay for services from 7,000 health and beauty retailers. “We have also partnered with L'Oréal and created a white-label solution called SAL(ON),” says Ribeiro, who co-founded the platform with Karly Alves and Shakil Satar. The startup, which has more than 250,000 users in Portugal, Brazil and Spain, has raised a €5 million ($5.5 million) seed round led by Lince Capital. sheerme.com
Squill
Sqill is an AI-powered mobile video editor for social media brands. “With our social media suite, anyone can create better content than a social media expert with a single click,” said Afonso Coimbra, co-founder and CEO of Sqill. The platform uses AI for a range of tasks, such as recommending what to post or automatically adding subtitles. The startup, founded in 2021 by Coimbra, Rui Ascenso and André Perdigão, has raised €2 million ($2.2 million) from GED Ventures. It has clients in Portugal, Spain, Brazil and the US, including L'Oréal, online marketplace Worten and Portuguese football club FC Porto. sqill.so
Ubbu
More than 300,000 students in more than 20 countries have used the Ubbu online learning platform to learn coding and digital skills. “Our platform is built for the everyday teacher, even those without coding experience, who account for about 90 percent,” says João Magalhães, CEO and founder of Ubbu. “It is accessible to everyone because we want to reduce the barriers to entry into the technology market.” The platform is aimed at children between 6 and 12 years old and is available in four languages. It includes Ubbox, a tool that allows projects to be created using a programming language through blocks. A study from Universidade Nova Lisboa found that Ubbu students were able to improve their math grades by up to 17 percent compared to a control group. Ubbu.io
Paynest
Founded in 2022 by Nuno Pereira, Paynest is a platform for companies to manage their employees' finances. “Our mission is to help companies meet all the financial needs of their employees, wherever they are, while empowering them to gain more control over their finances,” says Pereira. Features include simplified expense management, early access to salary and bonuses, financial coaching, and access to financial literacy tools. Paynest is currently used by more than 30,000 employees from more than 50 companies in Portugal, Greece and France. It has also raised a total of €3 million ($3.3 million) from investors such as Lince Capital and Bluecrow Capital. paynest.co
This article first appeared in the November/December 2024 edition of WIRED UK.
Updated 10/14/2024 5:06 PM GMT: This article has been updated to correct some details about Glooma.
