Archive for July, 2024

Our partner of July couldn’t be other than Marina de Empresas, a vibrant entrepreneurial hub in Valencia, consists of EDEM, Angels, and Lanzadera. These entities work synergistically to offer exceptional education, mentorship, and funding to entrepreneurs. A perfect combination to boost Valencia as a reference innovation hub in Europe:  

• EDEM: Premier business school offering advanced management and entrepreneurship programs. 

• Lanzadera: Accelerator that has supported over 1.300 startups. Some of them after visiting Lanzadera as part of our Destination and InnoConect VLC programs, initiatives developed by Invest In Valencia, offering a comprehensive overview of the opportunities our vibrant city has to offer. 

• Angels: Venture capital firm investing in innovative startups with over 38M€ of accumulated investment and 59 participated companies
  

  Why Marina de Empresas?
  

   Their dedication to creating wealth, employment, and fostering entrepreneurship aligns seamlessly with our mission. Their openness to collaboration and substantial contributions make them a cornerstone of Valencia’s business community.

  Founded by Juan Roig, the visionary behind Mercadona, Marina de Empresas embodies his legacy of promoting entrepreneurship and economic growth. Roig’s commitment to nurturing talent and innovation has left an indelible mark on Valencia’s business landscape. 

Marina de Empresas is embarking on exciting expansion plans to further bolster Valencia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. This expansion will enhance their capacity to support startups and foster innovation.

Our team recently visited our partners at their stunning location in Marina de Valencia. Toni Villuendas, Investment Analyst at Angels Capital, shared detailed insights and his vision on our fruitful collaborative relationship. This visit highlighted the strong synergy between our teams and reinforced our commitment to driving innovation and growth together.

https://youtu.be/WmteNQwsVcs

The Invest in Valencia professional team is dedicated to the city’s development. Our commitment and care shine through in every project we undertake, celebrating each achievement of the companies we support as if they were our own. 

Recently, we have been particularly proud of two outstanding business achievements that have generated remarkable local and national impact, both for their size and innovation: UMIbeach, the smart robot designed for beach cleaning and developed by Umibots, and ShibataFenderTeam‘s new expansion initiative. 

UMIbeach: Cutting-Edge Technology from an Aftercare Event  

Effective networking is key to our work. Weekly, our team participates in numerous events, including those organized by our partners, specialized trainings, national and international technology and innovation congresses, trade fairs, and meetings with potential investors. Our agenda is always active, as seen on our social networks. 

As part of the AFTERCARE program, which we offer to foreign companies in Valencia, we organize quality networking events on a recurring basis, always with a touch of originality and interest. Doing business is not incompatible with having fun, and we know that in a relaxed atmosphere, the best conversations are held, revealing the needs of other companies in the ecosystem and creating successful synergies. 

 At one of these Aftercare events, Siemens Mobility and Umibots connected, leading to the creation of UMIbeach, an intelligent robot for cleaning beaches that a few months ago we already advanced in Invest in Valencia. This innovation premiered in the Urban Sandbox of Valencia, a pillar of the Valencia Innovation Capital strategy. This ordinance, a pioneer in Spain and Europe launched by the Valencia City Council, allows the entire city to be used as a real scenario to test new products and services, aiming for market succes. 

 During a live demonstration, UMIbeach,  affectionately known as the Roomba of the beach, showcased its capabilities. Local and national media covered the event, which was attended by the city Mayor María José Catalá and Councilor for Tourism, Innovation and Investment Attraction Paula Llobet. They praised UMIbeach for its role in maintaining clean beaches, aligning with the Green Capital 2024 initiative. 

ShibataFenderTeam: €7 Million Investment in the Province

At Invest in Valencia we continue supporting national and international companies established in our city with all our office services. A notable example is ShibataFenderTeam, a world leader producer of marine foam fenders based in Germany, which decided to take the leap and go from having a small team in Valencia to building the fourth factory in its portfolio.  

We provided them with all the necessary support to define their real estate strategy. To this end, we put them in contact with the most cutting-edge professionals. Inmoking, as real estate experts, successfully identified the ideal location, and construction began in June in Sollana, 25 km from the port of Valencia.

 This operation translates to 10,000 square meters of facilities, a €7 million investment, and 30 new jobs. The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by government representatives such as the regional secretary of Industry and Trade, Felipe Carrasco, who highlighted the “dragging effect of the establishment of companies of this entity in our territory, which undoubtedly results in excellent investment figures”, and Ester Olivas, Generalitat Valenciana general director of Entrepreneurship and Internationalization. 

 The Importance of a Strong Collaborative Network  

The successes of Umibots with Siemens Mobility and ShibataFenderTeam illustrate the vital role of collaboration within Valencia’s vibrant technological and innovative ecosystem. These partnerships showcase how effective networking and cooperation drive significant advancements and economic growth. 

At Invest in Valencia, we strive to be the key facilitator, promoting our companies, fostering synergies, and attracting new success stories to our city. We build bridges to business success and remain a driving force for innovation and collaboration in Valencia. 

The Italian startup Thimus, a pioneer in the use of cultural neuroscience applied to food, has settled in La Harinera, the innovation center of the City of Valencia, with the support and advice of Invest in Valencia, the investment office of the City Council and the Chamber of Commerce of Valencia.

The founder and CEO of Thimus, Mario Ubiali, presented his project and gave a live demonstration of his technology, which allows obtaining and analyzing brain data in real time to transform it into knowledge about the behavior and preferences of consumers. The company defines itself as a unique tool that helps the world to better understand the human experience with food through neuroscience.

This innovative technology makes it possible to scientifically understand how humans perceive the texture, fragrance and taste of food, and to use this data to better understand the complex relationship between the brain, culture and behavior in the gastronomic field.

The presentation ceremony was attended by the Councilor for Tourism, Innovation and Investment Attraction of the City of Valencia, Paula Llobet, who explained that “this is the type of company we want to attract to Valencia, with talent and innovative technology that will help us solve the challenges we have as a city. The data obtained with this technology will allow companies in the agri-food sector, a very important sector for our territory, to make more efficient and effective decisions and improve the consumer’s gastronomic experience”.

https://youtu.be/6WXkmqPH3q4

For his part, the CEO of Thimus, Mario Ubiali, said that “the opening of our House Of Humans in Valencia is incredibly exciting and represents the culmination of a long journey. For the past 5 years Thimus has explored the powerful ecosystem of Valencia and learned how the special energy around food innovation seems to be concentrated in this magical city. Having a point of presence here is just the beginning of successful growth in Spain and we look forward to continuing to join forces with like-minded innovators.”

Innovation and Technology in Valencia

At Thimus’ House of Humans in Valencia, food companies will be able to access advanced technology that provides a scientific understanding of how humans perceive the texture, fragrance and taste of food, as well as the impact of cultural influences on the sensory experience. This combination of neuroscience and data analysis provides a comprehensive framework for improving product creation, consumer research and food product reformulation.

The House of Humans in Valencia will be part of a wider network, which includes presence in Milan, Wageningen (The Netherlands), and Budapest (Hungary).

Thimus has been a prominent participant in ftalks, the international meeting on the future of food created by KM ZERO, since its first edition in Valencia. Invest in Valencia met Thimus in one of its investment attraction actions – during a side event organized in the framework of ftalks 2023. This relationship has been key in attracting Thimus to our city and establishing a solid foundation for its expansion. The startup continues to actively collaborate with KM ZERO and explore further synergies to continue to jointly bring value to the food industry.

“The arrival of Thimus in Valencia reinforces our position as a hub for technological innovation. This collaboration is a clear example of how Valencia is becoming a magnet for disruptive companies,” say Invest in Valencia officials.

At the beginning of 2024, Thimus closed a deal with Línea Verde, an Italian food company based in Valencia, reinforcing its decision to create a hub in the city. The startup has ambitious plans to actively integrate itself into Valencia’s innovative ecosystem. It has already prepared new actions with AINIA to explore new opportunities for collaboration and expansion. And it has received support from the Valencia Innovation Capital team to promote its development at La Harinera.

About Thimus

Thimus defines itself as a unique global player that helps the world better understand the human experience with food through neuroscience. With a qualitative and quantitative approach, the company offers support to other companies in the creation, research, quality review and reformulation of food products, using technology that acquires replicable and statistical data to support strategic decisions.

About Invest in Valencia

Invest in Valencia is the investment attraction office of the city of Valencia, the result of a collaboration agreement between the Valencia Chamber of Commerce and the Valencia City Council.