New technologies applied to connect with professional experts present a wide range of opportunities, even in sectors where it seemed impossible, as in the case of medical care. In recent years, numerous companies have emerged that use new technologies to carry out patient monitoring, thus saving time and costs and providing a more personalised service. Venture capital has not wanted to be left behind and has decided to invest in the sector.
Numerous companies have taken advantage of the concern for health and wellbeing and the increased use of new technologies to create innovative companies in this field. Investors have not been left behind and are betting heavily on the sector. Proof of this is that the number of Series A and B rounds in the health sector has increased by 179% from 2010 to 2013, from 24 deals in 2011 to 67 in 2013.
The use of new technologies for hr management is a great source of opportunities such as task efficiency, cost reduction, increased productivity or improved internal communication and coordination, which have not gone unnoticed by investors. This is why in recent years we have witnessed a large number of operations, first at international level, and little by little at national level.
In the last 5 years, investment in the Fintech sector worldwide has tripled, reaching an investment of $3B in 2013. In Europe, the UK tops the list of major investors.
Funding from the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism, for companies that have invested in innovative business projects or growth.
Obtaining bank financing for a start-up is often linked to guarantees that are difficult for entrepreneurs to obtain. The ICF helps SMEs operating in Catalonia to solve this problem by granting guarantees of up to 70% for the formalisation of bank loans. The guarantees can be used both to finance working capital and to finance investments.
In recent years, several natural language processing companies have been created that offer advantages for day-to-day business. Venture capital and large corporations have wanted to take advantage of this opportunity, as Inversur Capital has just invested in Inbenta.
On 7 March, a series of measures were approved in relation to debt refinancing and restructuring. Among the measures introduced, we would like to analyse those that may have an effect on investment strategies and the sale of mortgage debt assets.
In recent years, the tourism sector has undergone several changes, one of which has been the use of new technologies by customers to find out about the wide variety of offers and organise their trips. This has revolutionised the tourism offer, which has wanted to take advantage of this great opportunity, carrying out numerous purchasing operations to adapt to the technological market or to take advantage of the opportunity that the Internet gives to open up to new geographical markets.
Caixa Capital Risc, the "la Caixa" group's venture capital manager for early-stage innovative companies, which had 4 investment vehicles specialising in Biotechnology, Industry and ICT, has launched a new Biotech fund together with the CDTI.
Due to the rise of new technologies, learning has become much easier and more fun. Investors have realised that e-learning presents an opportunity for their portfolios and have been very active in this sector, especially in the last 3 years.
Funding to AI-related companies has tripled in the last 5 years, and this trend seems to be growing. In 2013 alone, $581M was invested in 142 deals.