Table of contents
As we had anticipated under the theme ‘AI Convergence’, South Summit Madrid 2026, co-organised by IE University – for which Startupbusiness is a media partner – confirms the central role that artificial intelligence is playing in the global entrepreneurial ecosystem. This trend is also reflected in the Startup Competition, where 50 of the 100 finalist startups use AI as the core technology of their business. The competition also has an increasingly international and mature profile: the finalists come from 26 countries (compared to 22 in last year’s edition), 57% generate a turnover of over $150,000 (compared to 50% in 2025) and 60% have raised over $1 million in funding.
As a media partner, Startupbusiness is offering readers the opportunity to attend the event in Madrid, with a discount on admission tickets, which can be purchased via this link.
The 100 finalists for South Summit 26 were selected from over 4,500 applications submitted from 110 countries, 80% of which were international, reflecting an increasingly global and interconnected entrepreneurial ecosystem. Europe accounts for the largest share of the competition, with almost 77% of the finalist start-ups, whilst the United States accounts for 6% of the total, with six start-ups selected. Meanwhile, Latin America continues to expand its presence in the Start-up Competition, rising from seven finalist start-ups in 2025 to 10 in this year’s edition.
Specifically, the list of countries represented among the 100 finalists is as follows: Spain (44 finalist start-ups); Portugal (7 finalists); the United States (6 finalists); France (5 finalists); Italy and the United Kingdom (4 finalists each); Germany and Singapore (3 finalists each); Argentina, Brazil, Finland, Israel, the Netherlands and Poland (2 finalists each); Chile, Colombia, South Korea, El Salvador, Estonia, Mexico, Norway, Paraguay, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Uruguay (1 finalist each).
Spain remains the country with the highest number of start-ups in the final stage, with 44 finalists, although its representation has fallen compared to the 54 start-ups selected in last year’s edition, highlighting the clear international growth of the Startup Competition. At a regional level, the Community of Madrid (19) and Catalonia (15) once again account for the largest share of Spanish entrepreneurial representation at the event, followed by the Valencian Community (4), Andalusia and Navarre (2 each), and the Region of Murcia and the Basque Country, with one startup each.
More experienced finalists with greater appeal to investors
The start-ups shortlisted for South Summit Madrid 2026 also demonstrate a high level of business maturity. In fact, 35% of the finalists generate more than half a million dollars in revenue, whilst 4% exceed 5 million dollars. In terms of funding, 53% of the finalist startups are already backed by venture capital funds (compared to 43% in 2025), whilst 22% are supported by business angels and 7% have accessed public funding. These figures highlight the growing professionalisation of the ecosystem and confirm the Startup Competition as an international showcase for highly scalable projects ready for investment.
It is also worth noting that, of all the selected start-ups, 36 are already in the scale-up phase. Furthermore, 46 have registered at least one patent, a clear indicator of their capacity for innovation and technological development, whilst 38 have at least one female founder on their team.
The 100 finalist start-ups at South Summit Madrid 2026 are as follows, grouped by sector:
Climate Tech & Sustainability: EarthScan (Spain), Green Growth (Spain), MESPAC (Italy), NPHarvest (Finland), Ocean Oasis (Norway), Phen Olives (Israel), PowerUP (Estonia), Ravenwits (Spain), Solfium (Mexico) and UniSCool (Spain).
Consumer: Ciudadela (Spain), Fibrazo (Colombia), FindNido (Spain), FoodieFame (Spain), iCook (United Kingdom), Macadam (Spain), Manie (Portugal), Ochy (France), Qualla (Spain) and Tangy Market (Sweden).
Digital and technological solutions: Arq Quantum Technologies (Spain), Astroteq.ai (United States), HISTRANGER (South Korea), Lokutor (Spain), LunaLift (United Kingdom), Oasy (Netherlands), OmniShelf (Singapore), Spendbase (United States), tranSkriptorium AI (Spain) and Ubicuity (Spain).
Fintech and Insurtech: Brokerware AI (Uruguay), CryptoMate (Argentina), Dalatea (Spain), Dost (Spain), EthicHub (Spain), Granter (Portugal), Initiativ (France), PagaFactu (Spain), Paynest (Portugal) and VENDY (United States).
The future of work and talent: Kincode AI (Spain), Diingu (Germany), Nova (Spain), OneNewOne (Turkey), Sendsteps AI (Netherlands), Space To Grow (Poland), Stemdo (Spain), Trainect (Italy), Valeria (Spain) and Worksible (Spain).
Health: 60Nd (Spain), Altum Sequency (Spain), FLOMICS (Spain), iYoni App (Poland), MedicubeX (Finland), Miramoon (Spain), Moonlight AI (Switzerland), Nanogrow Biotech (Spain), PREDICTHEON (Spain) and Tissue Dynamics (Israel).
Industry 5.0: A4Radar Vitals (Spain), Ailytics (Singapore), Ainwater (Chile), Dairy Tech (Brazil), Dottir Labs (United States), Floatech (Spain), Mapsi (Spain), NanoChronia (Spain), URAPHEX (Spain) and Xplorobot (United States).
Mobility and smart cities: boxful (El Salvador), DeepNeurotic (Portugal), DeterCamAI (United Kingdom), Mettis AI (Spain), Mobi (Paraguay), Nido Constructech (Spain), Serp Energy (Portugal), UP’ONE (France), Xplora Srl (Italy) and ZYON Helmets (Spain).
Trust Tech & Data: Captain Compliance (United States), Coalex.ai (Portugal), Judit (Brazil), Metadataworks Limited (United Kingdom), MicelioData (Spain), Naltilia (France), Peris.ai (Singapore), Riskita (Spain), Secrets Vault (Spain) and simplyblock (Germany).
Business solutions: anyformat (Spain), Dealcar (Spain), KonvoAI (Germany), Libertify (France), LoopOS (Portugal), Service Club (Spain), Silmaril Technologies (Spain), SmarterMRP (Spain), Soource (Italy) and Wise CX (Argentina).
The start-ups were selected by a panel of experts who assessed key criteria such as innovation, the scalability of their business model, growth potential, investor appeal and the strength of their teams. During the fifteenth edition of South Summit Madrid, taking place from 3 to 5 June at La Nave, the finalist projects will have the opportunity to present their proposals to some of the key players in the ecosystem, from large companies to investment funds, including representatives from major international corporations, with the aim of becoming the competition’s winning startup. It will also be a space to forge connections with other start-ups and gain insight into the trends and technologies shaping the future of entrepreneurship.
The event is supported by the Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence, the Community of Madrid and Madrid City Council, as well as Mutua Madrileña, Google for Startups, BBVA Spark, Wayra – Telefónica Innovation and Banco Sabadell’s BStartup.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ©
