Cuatrecasas Acelera selects seven startups to take part in 10th edition

Cuatrecasas Acelera, an innovation program where the firm promotes entrepreneurial projects seeking to validate their legal and business strategies, has selected seven startups from the healthtech, insurtech, fintech, deeptech and energy sectors, that will participate in its 10th edition. Out of over 100 candidates, the evaluation committee, made up of external and internal lawyers from the firm, has chosen six Spanish projects and one Portuguese. They will all receive advice from the firm’s lawyers who are experts in the fields mentioned above.

Cuatrecasas has chosen startups from various sectors that are in different stages of maturity. The startups have legal challenges related to their activity or technology, but with the launch of Cuatrecasas Innova, they will have access to an ecosystem of partners and resources that can support them according to their level of maturity.

Francesc Muñoz, CIO of Cuatrecasas, said: “Cuatrecasas Acelera is a bridge between the entrepreneurial ecosystem and the legal field, offering startups the essential legal tools to boost their development and transform their challenges into sustainable opportunities.”

The 10th edition begins in Barcelona on October 15, where the startups will take part in their first bootcamp. The second bootcamp will take place in Madrid on December 2. In addition to having the opportunity to get involved in investment and negotiation simulations, the entrepreneurs will establish legal strategies to encourage their development, addressing the regulatory requirements of the various technologies implemented in their respective initiatives. Likewise, through conferences held by the firm's specialized lawyers, they will receive training and academic sessions focused on labor and tax aspects linked to each project.

Over the course of four months, Cuatrecasas Acelera will support the seven chosen startups in all areas of law they need to encourage growth in their respective business models. Legal mentors will provide the startups with tailored advice adapted to their project’s characteristics and needs at a corporate and technological level.

As well as meeting some of the participants from previous editions and expanding their network of contacts in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, the startups will collaborate with renowned external lawyers from the field of innovation and other strategic sectors. This will help them explore key issues to tackle relevant legal challenges arising from their own business model or from the application of disruptive technologies in regulated sectors.

Alba Molina, senior innovation project manager at Cuatrecasas, said: “In this 10th edition, we reaffirm our commitment to democratizing access to specialized legal knowledge to boost projects that transform traditional sectors and guarantee responsible application of disruptive technologies.”

The team of legal mentors providing the specialized and tailored advice which is adapted according to each startup’s sector, will be made up of the following Cuatrecasas partners and lawyers: Albert Agustinoy, specialist in intellectual property, technologies and digital media; Ariadna Casanueva, Elena Cuatrecasas and Joana Silveira, experts from the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector; Ruth Duque, financial services and insurance partner; Íñigo Egea, specialist in taxation of the digital economy; Roger Freixes, specialist in M&A transactions; Félix Plasencia, specialist in public law, energy and infrastructure; and Miguel Sánchez Monjo, specialist in finance and fintech.

Once again, Cuatrecasas Acelera reaffirms its commitment to supporting and consolidating the entrepreneurial ecosystem, providing the firm's legal knowledge and expertise to turn creative ideas into solid entrepreneurial projects with real opportunities for sustainable development.

Selected startups:

HAIR UP LASER (Healthtech, Spain): develops innovative hair growth devices based on photo-biostimulation, offering a real alternative to medicine that accounts for 90% of non-surgical solutions for people with alopecia. The designs stand out for using combinations of photo-biostimulation variables and for guaranteeing efficient energy delivery to hair follicles.

MORADAI (Insurtech, Spain): a technology company that certifies places of residence through face recognition and automatic registration. The solution “El testigo” enables residences to be recognized legally, quickly and simply, something that is very useful in the areas of taxation and illegal occupation.

USAWA CARE (Healthtech, Portugal): offers families access to a pediatrician in under 15 minutes, every day, 24 hours a day. It works through a subscription model, connecting people to specialists through a chat. Its system, supported by AI, optimizes the efficiency and workload of doctors, guaranteeing security and high-quality care.

ZENIT SOLAR (Energy, Spain): facilitates the implementation and management of collective self-consumption through advanced digital solutions. It develops and operates the first marketplace that connects renewable energy producers with end consumers, including retailers, cooperatives, developers, public entities, and citizens. This promotes the creation of local and decentralized energy communities, granting access to clean energy.

IQANA (Fintech, Spain): this is the first AI Crypto Wealth Manager that acts as a go-to partner for any investor in the crypto world. It offers tailored financial advice, innovative quantitative strategies, and comprehensive portfolio management, all regulated, non-custodial, and directly connected to the client's exchange, allowing them to always maintain control.

EMOGG (Deeptech, Spain): this is a B2B SaaS solution that measures audience attention and experience at events, meetings and brand experiences—in real time—through non-intrusive analysis of visual and behavioral signals. It offers objective data to optimize content, formats and strategic decisions at different events including corporate, training, experiential marketing, and fan engagement.

STAMP SPAIN (Fintech, Spain): is a platform that revolutionizes the experience of tax-free shopping for international travelers. Unlike traditional VAT refund services, Stamp offers VAT exemptions in real time at the point of sale, eliminating bureaucracy, intermediates and delays.