The Community of Madrid attracted €738 million in investment in startups during the first half of 2026, 40% more than the previous year. The volume surpasses that recorded by Barcelona in the same period.
Madrid startups closed the first half of 2026 with €738 million raised, a figure that represents 40% more than in the same period of 2025 and places the region ahead of Barcelona in terms of investment volume. The information, reported by ecosistemastartup.com, confirms the capital's weight on the Spanish venture capital map.
The technological ecosystem of the Community of Madrid now groups more than 2,600 technological and innovative companies, having grown by 19.1% in the last year. These companies employ more than 44,000 people and generate nearly €7.27 billion in revenue collectively.
The scaleup segment, companies that have already surpassed the initial phase and are looking to scale, includes 193 Madrid companies that generate over 8,600 jobs and exceed €2 billion in aggregate revenue. This type of company requires larger funding rounds to tackle international expansions, acquisitions, or technological development.
The Spain Private Equity Pulse 2026 by Grant Thornton, prepared with 514 partners, investment directors, and managers from over 20 countries, indicates that 80% of Spanish managers expect to increase their investments during 2026, compared to 17.5% who plan to reduce them. 30% of respondents expect to increase their investment by between 6% and 10%, and 18% anticipate growth of between 26% and 35%, compared to 13% globally in that range. The priority sectors are technology and financial services (24% each) and energy and sustainability (22% each).
42% of managers believe that divestments are one of the key factors for the growth of their management firm,” the report states, in a context of longer holding periods (52%) and stagnant IPOs (52%).
The bottleneck in the Spanish ecosystem remains in the later stages. During the first half of 2026, two out of three investment operations in Spanish startups were concentrated in PreSeed and Seed, while Series B and C rounds declined. Scaling continues to be the main challenge for companies in the country.
Since the beginning of the regional legislature, Invest in Madrid has accounted for 148 projects that have resulted in over €2.7 billion in investment and nearly 4,900 qualified jobs. Not all of this capital comes from the technological sector, but it reflects the trend of Madrid as an entry point for investment into Spain.
At the same time, the profile of the investor is changing. The digital manager Crescenta, specialised in Private Equity funds, now exceeds 4,300 investors and €250 million in assets under management, with vehicles that select international funds for buyouts, growth, secondary or real assets. 64% of Spanish managers believe that raising funds is less complex than a year ago, compared to 41% globally, according to the same report, thanks to new investment structures (64%) and the expansion of the investor base (56%).
For entrepreneurs operating from the Community of Madrid, available capital is shifting towards more mature phases. The managers consulted by Grant Thornton maintain their forecast to increase investments throughout 2026, with technology and financial services as priority sectors.
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