€80M for Spanish digitalization: COFIDES boosts innovation with the Cathay Innovation Fund III

FOCO's investment in Cathay Innovation III, a venture capital fund venture capital valued at billion euros and considered the largest outside the European Union focused on artificial intelligence, represents a significant step in the modernization of the Spanish productive fabric. Cathay Innovation III already has 16 investments globally, with half of them destined for startups European.

The fund focuses on four key industrial sectors: consumption, health, financial services and energy/mobility. Its primary objective is to support digital companies with high growth potential, great value creation capacity, and a clear vision of international scalability. It is projected that a substantial part of the European allocation, at least 160 millones de euros, is specifically aimed at Spanish companies with strong digital and growth prospects.

Since 2016, Cathay Innovation has maintained an active presence in the Spanish market, supporting companies with significant potential for global expansion. Among its most notable investments in Spain are Glovo, Wallbox y payflow. Recently, the fund invested in Abacum, an AI-powered enterprise planning (FP&A) platform originating in Barcelona and rapidly growing.

New deals are anticipated to materialize in the coming years, and as part of FOCO's investment commitment, the fund manager has announced plans to establish an office in Spain.

Cathay Innovation III is a €1.000 billion venture capital fund dedicated to artificial intelligence - the largest outside the European Union - and has already made 16 investments worldwide, half of them in European startups.

Angela Perez, President and CEO of COFIDES, underlined the importance of this initiative: “With this investment we contribute to FOCO's mandate, as the Cathay Fund is aimed at supporting the digitalization of Spanish companies with high growth potential, global scalability and the ability to generate value. FOCO thus contributes to Transform Spanish industry by combining technology and impact to foster a more competitive productive fabric".

For its part, Jacky Abitbol, Managing Partner of Cathay Innovation, expressed his enthusiasm for the collaboration: “Welcoming FOCO as a strategic partner in Fund III represents a A key milestone in our mission to accelerate digital transformation in Spain and across EuropeWe have been investing in Spain for many years and are particularly optimistic about the future success of the next generation of Spanish tech entrepreneurs on the international stage. By leveraging our global platform, we offer founders the scale, knowledge, and corporate access needed to thrive globally. We are excited to support the new generation of Spanish entrepreneurs who are building AI-powered solutions with the potential to transform entire industries.”

Cathay Innovation is a multi-stage venture capital firm affiliated with Cathay Capital. It invests in founders building transformative businesses in Europe, North America, Asia, Latin America and Africa. Its platform facilitates the connection between entrepreneurs, investors and its network of leading Fortune 500 corporations, in order to drive the growth of startups and the transformation of industries through consumer-to-business and artificial intelligence solutions in sectors such as commerce, fintech, digital health and mobility-energy.