BBVA will invest 15 million euros in Leadwind, a venture capital fund managed by the K Fund. The first phase would invest 140 million euros in technical enterprises in Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. Others include Telefónica, BBVA, Global Omnium via GoHub, SATEC, and AXIS-ICO via the Fond-ICO Next Tech program. 

K Fund seeks to raise up to 250 million euros, and hence welcomes further investors. BBVA and the other partners will not only give financing to the fund's portfolio firms, but also business and market knowledge. Leadwind is Spain's largest independent fund manager, with the ability to catalyze a new generation of entrepreneurialism and global technological development. Its objective is to invest in startups that leverage enabling technologies such as the Internet of Things, networks, cloud services, artificial intelligence, or blockchain to create new businesses and industries. 

"BBVA is committed to innovation and the entrepreneurial ecosystem. We can now approach businesses in rapid growth or scale-up phases that have a proven business model and are looking for capital to develop into new areas, thanks to Leadwind," explains Roberto Albaladejo, BBVA's Head of Banking for Growth Companies. 

K Fund was established in 2016 as a pre-seed and seed stage fund focused on Spain. Factorial, Exoticca, Abacum, and La Gran Familia Mediterránea were among its early institutional investors. Leadwind is the culmination of a five-year process and marks the organization's significant geographic, industry, and stage expansion. It forecasts a final closing of 250 million euros and a five-million-euro investment capacity. 

The fund will be managed by a group of former operators with experience building and managing scaleup companies such as CARTO, Stripe, and Tinybird. From Barcelona to Lisbon, Oporto, and So Paulo, brilliant entrepreneurs are demonstrating that Silicon Valley is a mindset, tackling complex projects fearlessly and developing world-class firms," says K Fund partner Miguel Arias. 

Along with outstanding institutions, these ecosystems are growing networks of successful entrepreneurs who are assisting in the establishment of trusted networks for newcomers. "The European Startup Report forecasts that scaleups will increase at a 10% yearly pace through 2025," Arias says. The team believes that the fund's size, the managers' prior experience as entrepreneurs and operators, and the intimate relationships developed with the fund's founders as a result of proximity will all be critical assets in the fund's target locations. 

Over 1,000 scaleups in Southern Europe and Latin America have raised between one and five million euros in recent years, indicating a booming industry. Over 150 scaleups have already been proactively approached by the Leadwind team, and the portfolio will continue to grow. "We've met some incredible teams with incredible technologies, and we're excited to partner with scaleups to help them compete internationally," Arias says.