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Two years ago, Jon Fath moved with his family to Portugal from the Netherlands with the sole purpose of launching a fintech startup there. “This country is brimming with talent and ambition,” says Fath. “I thank Lisbon for welcoming me so warmly, along with so many other expats and businesspeople.”
In fact, it is not surprising that the European Commission has named Lisbon the European Capital of Innovation in 2023, while the Financial timesin partnership with Statista, ranked two Portuguese startup hubs among the top ten startup hubs in Europe, including Unicorn Factory Lisbon, which launched in 2022 and has already supported over 820 startups and helped raise over €1 billion ($1.1 billion).
“Portugal offers unique advantages, such as its climate, safety and cost of living, which make it an attractive option compared to countries in central or northern Europe,” says Nuno Pereira, CEO of Paynest.
The government has also played a role, with policies such as residency visas for entrepreneurs and tax incentives for new companies engaged in R&D. “That was instrumental in allowing Portuguese startups to come out alive on the other side, after the venture capital drought of the last two years,” says Mauro Frota, CEO of fittech startup Bhout.
rauva
Before launching Rauva in Lisbon, Jon Fath had been CEO of a startup in Amsterdam, co-founded a logistics company in Frankfurt, and worked for an investment management firm in Beijing. “I decided to found Rauva based on my experience working with entrepreneurs and co-founding other companies,” says Fath. “I set out to build a one-stop shop to make entrepreneurship accessible to everyone.” Rauva allows entrepreneurs to register their businesses online in a matter of minutes, offering a host of features such as debit cards and billing. “Also, if the company has not yet been created, Rauva offers that service with the support of lawyers,” says Fath. “Our solution helps reduce the time spent on bureaucratic processes.” The startup, launched in 2022 by Fath and Sam Mizrahi, also recently partnered with researchers to design a faster, more accurate credit scoring system using machine learning and quantum computing. Currently, Rauva has more than 3,000 users and has helped create more than a thousand new companies. rauva.com
Neuraspace
Currently, there are about 9,900 active satellites orbiting the planet, a number that is estimated to increase by an order of magnitude between now and 2030. “The risk of collisions caused by space debris is increasing,” says Chiara Manfletti, founding president of the Agency. Portuguese Space. and CEO of Neuraspace. “These collisions can destroy satellites, cause substantial financial losses and disrupt essential services such as banking transactions, the Internet, GNSS (global navigation satellite system) and Earth observation. “Current manual decision-making processes are inadequate to handle this scale.” Neuraspace addresses this problem by using AI to analyze various data sets, including radars and star trackers, and automatically predict potential collisions and suggest maneuvers to avoid them. This space traffic management platform currently tracks more than 300 satellites from satellite operators such as Spire, Nanoavionics and the European Space Agency. Founded in 2020, the startup has raised a total of $27.5 million (£20.8 million). “Neuraspace’s grand vision is to achieve autonomous and self-sustaining space activities,” says Manfletti. neurospace.com
Bout
In 2021, Mauro Frota inaugurated a gym with unique equipment: a smart punching bag. Developed by Frota and Pedro Barata, the Bhout bag comes with an artificial intelligence processing unit, biometric sensors and a smart camera that can track the accuracy, speed and power of each hit. “The idea came to me in a dream,” says Frota. “I lost count of the number of iterations to get there. “We were creating a new product from scratch.” The punching bag is also equipped with a set of light-up rings that nudge gym-goers into different training paces. Its core is made up of layers of foam and filled with water, imitating the sensation of hitting another boxer. According to Frota, 20 new Bhout clubs are already confirmed in Portugal and Spain. Soon, it will also begin selling the Bhout bag, at prices ranging from 6,000 to 10,000 euros ($6,1000 to $11,000) to clients such as LinkedIn and Marriott Hotels. In 2023, the fit tech startup raised a €10 million ($11 million) seed round co-led by Explorer Investments and Lince Capital. bhout.com
MyCareforce
MyCareforce is bringing the sharing economy to healthcare. “Hospitals often lack the staff needed to meet demand and don’t have the right tools to quickly hire people for additional shifts,” says CEO Pedro Cruz Morais. “We knew a lot of doctors who were using WhatsApp to find extra shifts and we realized we could solve this problem with technology.” MyCareforce provides an intelligent platform that connects nurses with hospitals and clinics, allowing them to immediately request and book available shifts. The platform, launched in 2021 by Cruz Morais and co-founder João Hugo Silva, has more than 15,000 registered nurses on the platform and works with more than 70 health units, such as hospitals and clinics, in Portugal and Brazil. It has raised a €2 million ($2.2 million) round led by Portugal Gateway, Shilling and Demium Capital. mycareforce.co
Oscar
Oscar allows users to book more than 150 home services, from cleaning to blind repair, for a flat rate and within 30 minutes. “The idea came about after a bad experience trying to call a plumber to fix my water heater,” says João Marques, founder and CEO of Oscar. “After spending hours contacting several technicians and comparing quotes, I scheduled a service and the technician never showed up. It was obvious that an Uber home service was missing.” The platform, which is available in Portugal and Madrid, currently hosts more than 20,000 technicians, who are admitted after a rigorous selection and background check process. According to Marques, its annual revenue currently amounts to 12 million euros ($13.4 million) and grows 40 percent each quarter. They have raised more than 6 million euros ($6.7 million) in a round led by Lince Capital and Indico Capital Partners. oscar-app.com
glooma
Francisco Nogueira’s cousin was 40 years old when a lump was detected in her breast. “She thought it was nothing, but three months later, the lump had not gone away,” says Frederico Stock, CEO of Glooma. Unfortunately, the lump was a malignant tumor and they had to undergo a mastectomy. “Francisco decided to create Glooma so that women in the same situation can act sooner.” The startup, launched in 2020 by Nogueira and Stock, is developing SenseGlove, a glove equipped with smart sensors that women can use to self-examine their breasts. “It can track changes in breast tissue over time and notify doctors when there is an abnormality,” says Nogueira. According to him, an initial proof-of-concept test showed that SenseGlove correctly diagnosed cancer 88 percent of the time, with a false positive rate of 12 percent. The startup, which has raised more than 600,000 euros ($671,000), is now in clinical trials with the most recent prototype. The team hopes to receive FDA approval by 2025. glooma.pt
Sheerme
“When you need a taxi, you have Uber; “When you need a hotel, you have booking.com, but what do you do when you need a hair salon or a spa?” asks Miguel Ribeiro, CEO of Sheerme. According to Ribeiro, 85 percent of wellness and beauty services require prior reservation, but only 10 percent can be booked online. “Sheerme fills that void,” he says. The platform allows users to find, book and pay for services provided by 7,000 health and beauty merchants. “We also partnered with L’Oréal and created a white label solution called SAL(ON),” says Ribeiro, who founded the platform with Karly Alves and Shakil Satar. The startup, which has more than 250,000 users in Portugal, Brazil and Spain, has raised an initial round of 5 million euros ($5.5 million) led by Lince Capital. sheerme.com
ability
Sqill is an AI-powered mobile video editor for social media brands. “With our social media suite and with a single click, anyone can create better content than a social media expert,” says Afonso Coimbra, co-founder and CEO of Sqill. The platform uses AI for a variety of tasks, such as recommending what to post or automatically adding subtitles. Founded in 2021 by Coimbra, Rui Ascenso and André Perdigão, the startup has raised €2 million ($2.2 million) from GED Ventures. It has clients in Portugal, Spain, Brazil and the United States, including L’Oréal, online marketplace Worten and Portuguese soccer club FC Porto. sqill.so
Ubu
More than 300,000 students in more than 20 countries have used the Ubbu online learning platform to learn coding and digital skills. “Our platform is designed for the everyday teacher, even those without programming experience, which represents around 90 percent,” says João Magalhães, CEO and founder of Ubbu. “It is accessible to everyone because we want to reduce the barriers to entering the technology market.” Aimed at children between 6 and 12 years old, the platform is available in four languages and includes Ubbox, a tool that allows you to carry out projects using a block programming language. A research study from Universidade Nova Lisboa found that Ubbu students could improve their math grades by up to 17 percent compared to a control group. Ubbu.io
Payne
Founded in 2022 by Nuno Pereira, Paynest is a platform for companies to manage their employees’ finances. “Our mission is to help companies address all the financial needs of their employees everywhere while empowering them to gain greater control over their finances,” says Pereira. Features include simplified expense management, early access to salaries and bonuses, financial advice, and access to financial education tools. Paynest is currently used by more than 30,000 workers at more than 50 companies in Portugal, Greece and France. It has also raised a total of €3 million ($3.3 million) from investors including Lince Capital and Bluecrow Capital. paynest.co
This article first appeared in the November/December 2024 issue of WIRED UK.
