South Summit Madrid 2026 Unveils Its 100 Finalist Startups

Under the banner “AI Convergence”, South Summit Madrid 2026, co-organized by IE University, confirms the central role Artificial Intelligence is playing in the global entrepreneurial ecosystem. Just days before doors open, the organizers announce that 50 of the 100 startup finalists in their Startup Competition are using AI as the primary technology behind their business. This comes with an increasingly international and mature profile: the finalists come from 26 countries (up from 22 last edition), 57% generate more than $150,000 in revenue (compared with 50% that reached that figure in 2025), and 60% have raised more than $1 million in investment.

The 100 finalists of #SouthSummit26, chosen from more than 4,500 applications from 110 countries, of which 80% were international, reflect an entrepreneurial ecosystem that is increasingly global and interconnected. Europe accounts for the largest share of the competition, with roughly 77% of finalist startups, while the United States represents 6% of the total, with 6 startups selected. Meanwhile, Latin America continues to expand its presence in the Startup Competition, rising from 7 finalists in 2025 to 10 in this edition.

Specifically, the list of countries represented among the 100 finalists is as follows: Spain (44 finalists); Portugal (7 finalists); United States (6 finalists); France (5 finalists); Italy and the United Kingdom (4 finalists each); Germany and Singapore (3 finalists each); Argentina, Brazil, Finland, Israel, the Netherlands, and Poland (2 finalists each); Chile, Colombia, South Korea, El Salvador, Estonia, Mexico, Norway, Paraguay, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and Uruguay (1 finalist each).

Spain remains the country contributing the most startups to the finalist stage with 44 finalists, although its representation is down from 54 startups last year, underscoring the international growth of the Startup Competition. By region, the Community of Madrid (19) and Catalonia (15) again account for the largest share of national entrepreneurial representation at the event, while the rest is spread among Community of Valencia (4), Andalusia and Navarre (2 each), and the Region of Murcia and the Basque Country, with one startup each.

Most experienced finalists and those with the strongest investor appeal

The finalist startups at South Summit Madrid 2026 also demonstrate a high degree of business maturity. In fact, 35% of the finalists exceed half a million dollars in revenue and 4% surpass $5 million. In terms of investment, 53% of the finalists already have backing from Venture Capital funds (43% in 2025), compared with 22% backed by angel investors and 7% that have accessed public funding, figures that underline the growing professionalization of the ecosystem and confirm the Startup Competition as an international showcase for projects with high scalability potential and capital attraction.

Also worth noting that among all selected startups, 36 are in the scaleup phase. In addition, 46 have filed at least one patent, a clear indicator of their innovation capacity and technological development, while 38 have at least one woman on the founding team.

The 100 finalist startups of South Summit Madrid 2026 are the following, grouped by verticals:

1. Climate Tech & Sustainability: EarthScan (Spain), Green Growth (Spain), MESPAC (Italy), NPHarvest (Finland), Ocean Oasis (Norway), Phen Olives (Israel), PowerUP (Estonia), Ravenwits (Spain), Solfium (Mexico) and UniSCool (Spain).
2. Consumer: Ciudadela (Spain), Fibrazo (Colombia), FindNido (Spain), FoodieFame (Spain), iCook (United Kingdom), Macadam (Spain), Manie (Portugal), Ochy (France), Qualla (Spain) and Tangy Market (Sweden).
3. Digital & Tech Solutions: Arq Quantum Technologies (Spain), Astroteq.ai (United States), HISTRANGER (South Korea), Lokutor (Spain), LunaLift (United Kingdom), Oasy (Netherlands), OmniShelf (Singapore), Spendbase (United States), tranSkriptorium AI (Spain) and Ubicuity (Spain).
4. Fintech & Insurtech: Brokerware AI (Uruguay), CryptoMate (Argentina), Dalatea (Spain), Dost (Spain), EthicHub (Spain), Granter (Portugal), Initiativ (France), PagaFactu (Spain), Paynest (Portugal) and VENDY (United States).
5. Future of Work & Talent: Kincode AI (Spain), Diingu (Germany), Nova (Spain), OneNewOne (Turkey), Sendsteps AI (Netherlands), Space To Grow (Poland), Stemdo (Spain), Trainect (Italy), Valeria (Spain) and Worksible (Spain).
6. Health: 60Nd (Spain), Altum Sequency (Spain), FLOMICS (Spain), iYoni App (Poland), MedicubeX (Finland), Miramoon (Spain), Moonlight AI (Switzerland), Nanogrow Biotech (Spain), PREDICTHEON (Spain) and Tissue Dynamics (Israel).
7. Industry 5.0: A4Radar Vitals (Spain), Ailytics (Singapore), Ainwater (Chile), Dairy Tech (Brazil), Dottir Labs (United States), Floatech (Spain), Mapsi (Spain), NanoChronia (Spain), URAPHEX (Spain) and Xplorobot (United States).
8. Mobility & Smart Cities: boxful (El Salvador), DeepNeurotic (Portugal), DeterCamAI (United Kingdom), Mettis AI (Spain), Mobi (Paraguay), Nido Constructech (Spain), Serp Energy (Portugal), UP’ONE (France), Xplora Srl (Italy) and ZYON Helmets (Spain).
9. Trust Tech & Data: Captain Compliance (United States), Coalex.ai (Portugal), Judit (Brazil), Metadataworks Limited (United Kingdom), MicelioData (Spain), Naltilia (France), Peris.ai (Singapore), Riskita (Spain), Secrets Vault (Spain) and simplyblock (Germany).
10. Enterprise Solutions: anyformat (Spain), Dealcar (Spain), KonvoAI (Germany), Libertify (France), LoopOS (Portugal), Service Club (Spain), Silmaril Technologies (Spain), SmarterMRP (Spain), Soource (Italy) and Wise CX (Argentina).