The South Summit Startup Competition grows in global reach and maturity: 100 finalists from 23 countries, most of them in the growth or traction stage

The South Summit Madrid 2025 Startup Competition, co-organized with IE University, will mark its most international edition yet, with 23 countries represented among the 100 finalist startups. This figure surpasses last year’s 16 represented nations and reinforces South Summit’s position as the leading global hub for entrepreneurship and innovation.

The 100 projects were selected through a rigorous process from over 4,500 applications submitted this year, 83% of which came from outside Spain.

Among the most represented countries this year are the United States and the United Kingdom, with 6 startups each, and Portugal with 5 — a notable comeback after having no representation in last year's Startup Competition final. Latin America continues to showcase its innovation potential, increasing its presence at South Summit Madrid with 9 finalist startups from across the region, up from 7 last year. Spain, for its part, contributes 51 startups to the final stage of the Startup Competition.

This fourteenth edition of the Startup Competition also stands out for the maturity of its 100 finalist startups: nearly half (49%) are already generating revenue or gaining market traction, while 32% are in the growth stage, and 6% are already established businesses. Additionally, 37% report annual revenues exceeding $500,000, with 23% surpassing $1 million and 7% exceeding $5 million.

One in four of the finalist startups has a team of more than 20 employees. They also show strong appeal to investors: 70% have already raised over $500,000 in funding. Of those, more than half (52%) have secured over $1 million, 14% have raised more than $5 million, and 9% have surpassed $10 million in funding.

To select the 100 finalist startups, a jury composed of top global experts from the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem evaluated key criteria such as project scalability, funding, degree of innovation, investor appeal, and the strength of the founding team.

The finalist startups of South Summit Madrid 2025 are the following:

1. Climate Tech & Sustainability: Ainwater (Chile), CDotBio (Reino Unido), Emissium (Suiza), Hera Materials (Atacama Biomaterials) (Chile), IPG Energy (Reino Unido), Miogas (España), Pack2Earth (España), Solaris Vita Renovables (España), Voltcore (Luxemburgo), WAS Company (México).

2. Consumer: Brickbro (Spain), Ciudadela (Spain), ENVITA DIGITAL SOLUTIONS (Spain), FADE (Switzerland), Hotel Treats (Spain), Kibus (Spain), Libeen (Spain), Manie (Portugal), Muppy (Spain), Mygocu (Spain). 

3. Digital & Tech Solutions: Adspective (Poland), eldes (Uruguay), KatalistAI (United States), Kimera Technologies (Spain), Kuikads (Spain), MODELIA (Spain), Oriane (Spain), ubbu (Portugal), Volinga AI (Spain), ZAUBAR (Germany).

4. Enterprise: Bronze (Spain), Call2World (Spain), FalkorDB (Israel), Flowlity (France), Inspira (Brazil), Orq.ai (Netherlands), Sharpei (United States), Soource (Italy), Synnect (Spain), Tiledesk (Italy).

5. Fintech & Insurtech: Bankuish (United States), Dealcar (Spain), DOST AI SOLUTIONS (Spain), FraudKeeper (Argentina), Hulahoop (Spain), Reveni (Spain), Silas Insurtech (United Kingdom), Silk (Spain), STAMP (Spain), WEALTH READER (Spain).

6. Future of Work & Talent: BOOKKER (Spain), Evolve (Spain), Excuela (Peru), Medvoice (Ukraine), OpenCyberAI (UK), Remuner (Spain), Talent Hero Ventures (Singapore), U4IMPACT (Spain), WiseWorld (Portugal), Worksible (Spain). 

7. Health: Enhanced Fertility (Reino Unido), Metatissue (Portugal), OrthoTreat (Israel), Oxolife (España), PathKeeper Surgical (Israel), sendance (Austria), TRAK (España), Trialing Health (España), UES (Polonia), Virtuosis (Suiza).

8. Industry 5.0: Advanced Algorithms 4 Radar (Spain), Cooling Photonics (Spain), energHius (Spain), Eolic Wall (Peru), Green Boom (United States), KOA Biotech (Spain), Koolboks (France), Lain Tech (Spain), M Aerospace RTC (United States), UniSCool (Spain), URAPHEX (Spain).

9. Mobility & Smart Cities: Dtonic (Corea del Sur), full&fast (España), Hoop Carpool (España), Invicsa Airtech (España), OTIF (Estados Unidos), Pulpomatic (España), Rhyde (España), Scantinel Photonics (Alemania), Wareclouds (Chile), YPER (Francia).

10. Trust Tech & Data: Amelia Hub (España), Distinkt (España), EarthPulse (España), ImpersonAlly (Israel), NeuralTrust (España), Scavenger AI (Alemania), Tasq.ai (Israel), TerraVoyant (Reino Unido), Wavf (España), Youforget.me (España). 

The finalist startups will have the opportunity to pitch their projects in front of the most influential leaders and players in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, including major corporations and investment funds. They will also be able to connect with fellow startups and gain firsthand insight into the latest trends and emerging technologies.

South Summit 2025: In Motion

#SouthSummit2025 will take place from June 4 to 6 at La Nave under the theme "In Motion", aiming to promote a global movement with purpose, drive innovative solutions to current challenges, and generate a positive impact on the planet, the economy, and society.

This year’s lineup of top-tier speakers and thought leaders includes Greg Hoffman, the mastermind behind Nike’s brand evolution and one of the world’s most influential experts in branding and business creativity; Marc Randolph, co-founder of Netflix; and Dennis Hong, UCLA professor and globally renowned robotics pioneer.

The fourteenth edition of South Summit Madrid, co-organized with IE UNIVERSITY, will have the institutional support of the Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, the Community of Madrid and the Madrid City Council, as well as Mutua Madrileña, Google for Startups, BBVA Spark, Wayra – Telefónica Innovation and BStartup by Banco Sabadell.

For South Summit Madrid 2025 press accreditations

If you want to attend South Summit Madrid 2025 as an accredited media, send us your name, surname, medium, e-mail, telephone, date of birth, DNI/Passport number and country of origin to: 

pablo.gomez@trescom.es ; ignacio.crespo@trescom.es

About South Summit

South Summit is the global platform that brings together all the actors in the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem to promote the development of business opportunities among all of them. Its main event is South Summit Madrid, co-organized by IE University, which has seen more than 42,500 startups pass through its thirteen previous editions, while its Startup Competition, from which 9 unicorns have been born, has resulted in more than 1,000 finalist startups, with a survival rate of 90% and 17,000 million dollars in investment raised. The 14th edition of South Summit Madrid will be held between June 4 and 6, 2025 at La Nave.

After passing through Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile and Argentina, South Summit held its fourth edition in Brazil, also co-organized by IE University, in April 2025. This latest edition brought together more than 23,000 attendees from 62 different countries, including more than 3,000 startups, 800 speakers, and 900 investors with an investment portfolio valued at 215,000 million. South Summit Brazil is already preparing its fifth edition, which will be held between March 25 and 27, 2026 in Porto Alegre.

For more information: https://www.southsummit.co/