- Open Future joins startup exchange programme in Portugal.
- Telefónica Open Future reached an agreement with Startup Madeira to promote disruptive startups and collaboratively search for investment opportunities. The agreement will see the pair oversee an exchange of startups at their respective headquarters, in Spain and Portugal, over a six‑month period. The European Business Network-certified Startup Madeira is a supporter of the ‘blue economy’ — using ocean resources sustainably for economic growth — and international projects related to tourism. Telefónica highlighted that its Open Future subsidiary has created “more than 4,000 jobs” and developed in excess of “200 Open Innovation calls” since its launch in 2014.
- Streaming TV operator, and Wayra Chile investment, Zapping, launched its services in Brazil with the acquisition of local IPTV provider Guigo TV. The Chilean streaming TV platform, which also counts Chile Ventures and Mountain Partners as investors, will have more than 60,000 users following the acquisition, with the possibility mooted of extending the business into the online gambling sector. Wayra reportedly invested in the Chile‑based Zapping in 2018, when it injected a total of $500,000 (€482,930) into three startups, also including Cloner (a cloud‑based backup and cybersecurity solutions provider — Telefónicawatch, #157) and PostedIn (a marketplace for freelance content creators).
- Wilapp, a health and wellbeing marketplace app provider, was flagged to have been incubated by Andalucía Open Future, as part of the El Cable startup accelerator programme in Almería, and is now valued at €500,000 following a recent financing round. Wilapp provides health and beauty customers with an appointment booking service, along with twelve months of free chat, hosting, and domain registration, as well as digital solutions including ecommerce and social network management, for service providers. The El Cable programme is supported by Andalucía Open Future, Almería City Council, and regional government Junta de Andalucía. A subsidy of up to €6,000 was said to be available to beauty and wellness providers to help digitise their business, which is managed by Wilapp “at no cost to the professional”, although it was not disclosed who is providing the grant.
