#3: One Agtech, one Biotech, Spanish early-stage, impact startups entering the global stage
One protects invisible Agri-foods assets in a blockchain. The other saves lives by quickly detecting Sepsis. These high-potential startups based in Spain are likely to be NEW to you.
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Deeply researched, handcrafted from content in English and Spanish to paint a detailed picture, rich in facts, references and images.
Presenting 2 high-potential, impact startups/week: (premium in bold)
Company name with links
Sector
Launch date and HQ
Challenge
Product/solution
Mission statement
Business model
Market potential
Growth Signal
Competitive edge
Financing
Investors
Employee count
Founder profiles with links
Team dynamics incl. video
Future
Sources online
Wishing you a beautiful summer from Stockholm,
Caroline Lagergren, founder of Expand To Spain
Company name: The Food Chainers
Sector: Agtech/Blockchain
Launch date and HQ
The company Food Chainers was founded in 2022. The team is based in Madrid.
Challenge: Valorise solutions for food waste
To simplify, to solve the food waste problem, we need many, many different solutions, by many, many different, very smart innovators. Innovators who also get compensated for their ideas. Today though, too many extraordinary innovations fall outside of traditional IP systems.
The challenge is well articulated by Juan Novelli’s, one of the founder’s, in his latest Substack about The Invisible Power. What Intellectual Property Really Is. He writes:
“Most scientists, developers, creators and entrepreneurs aren’t trained to think of their knowledge as an asset. And that blindness is costing billions every year.”
In fact, only 10–20% of innovations from public research ever reach the market.
Source: OECD & AUTM Scorecard
He gives some examples of valuable knowledge assets that can’t be patented:
Scientific discoveries like a newly isolated protein
Natural processes or unmodified genes
A molecule without a clearly defined use
Solution: Protects invisible agri-food assets
The Food Chainers is building solutions to protect, trace, and commercialise the intangibles that drive the AgriFood sector. From functional food formulations to smart farming models.
Their platform transforms knowledge, developments, patents and formulations into traceable and investable digital assets, creating a new intellectual property market for the global foodtech sector.
Their technology ensures the security of intellectual assets and enables their effective monetisation through controlled and traceable access, using Blockchain technology.
Said in another way, their system tokenises know-how, technological developments, formulations, patents, and expert knowledge. That way, the platform enhances traceability, collaboration, and the value of innovation across the food industry.
With this token, called a CITE token, monetisation of knowledge, transformed into intellectual property, becomes possible and can support the reduction of food waste.
Mission statement
Transforming Food Waste Into Wealth
Business model: B2B/PaaS
The Food Chainers help startups, smaller foodtech companies and corporates to protect and monetise their knowledge without exposing it.
They can license and securely commercialise their knowledge-based assets, ensuring protection, monetisation, and control of their valuable contributions.
Using a PaaS model, (Platform as a service), their customers pay a monthly fee along with a commission on each transaction. The companies in turn, get paid every time their innovation is used.
Market potential: part of EUR 132 billion in the EU
In a pitch, they resembled their solution to being a Spotify for Agtech innovators solving the food waste challenge, so my thinking goes to that market, instead of ´AgTech involving blockchain´ which is a much broader market to quantify.
In the EU alone, over 59 million tonnes of food is discarded annually, amounting to a staggering 132 kg per inhabitant and a market loss of approx. EUR 132 billion.
-Facts by the European Patent Office, related to an Agtech startup featured earlier.
More than pure financials, another perspective from the company’s website, is that 10% of the current human population, approx. 800 millions people, still go hungry.
AgTech deals involving blockchain startups
In terms of capital raised, one of the biggest rounds is from March 2020, when GrainChain raised $8.2M of venture funding in a round led by Medici Ventures.
GrainChain's farm management software utilises a tamper-proof technology to provide blockchain-based data service for organic farms or internationally certified farms which export products or food ingredients. This capability helps farmers produce eco-farm products of the highest quality. For more deals see Sources.
Growth Signal
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On June 18, 2025, as the only startup from Spain, they were selected, together with four other startups from Latin America, to be part of the Raíces 2025, an acceleration program promoted by Eatable Adventures, with the support of ICEX, CNTA, Grupo Bimbo and Alianza Team. The program received more than 175 applications.
Raíces is an acceleration program that aims to support and promote the talent of entrepreneurs in Spain and Latin America. Through Roots, the program connects these visionaries with the resources, knowledge, and support network needed to take their innovations to the next level.
Juan Novelli gives thanks on LinkedIn:
“Thank you for the trust and for pushing us to go above and beyond. We believe that applied knowledge is the currency of the future, and that intellectual assets in the agri-food sector need their own space: Safe, decentralised and with real impact. Being part of Raíces not only excites us, it commits us. We know there are thousands of invisible solutions ready to transform the food system and our mission is to make them visible, valuable and accessible.”
In addition, The Food Chainers was selected as one of just 60 global companies to participate in the SelectionDays of Startupbootcamp. On April 3r, 2025, they pitched in the AgriFoodTech vertical, where only 20 startups were selected. See video below.
Competitive edge
They offer the very first Web3 platform globally that protects and markets intangible assets in the agri-food industry. With NFTs and Blockchain technology, the sector is estimated to be able to safeguard and monetise up to 80% of its true value: knowledge, processes, industrial secrets and intellectual assets.
Key Features
Their CITE token converts seamlessly to FIAT, facilitating transactions within the WeCite Blockchain, a proprietary ecosystem created by a sister company. This token is integral for the buying, selling, and licensing of CITE-NFTs, optimising funding for innovative projects and commercialisation of protected solutions.
By utilising encrypted Non-Fungible Tokens, they offer a superior level of security in managing intellectual property. The CITE-NFT technology allows for precise control over information access and usage, ensuring traceability and immutable documentation from inception to market.
Powered by WeCite and deployed on Alastria’s public permissioned blockchain, The Food Chainers Web3 Platform acts as a decentralised marketplace. It facilitates direct connections among SMEs, innovators, and investors in the agri-food sector, fostering the adoption of transparent and traceable practices.
Said about the product
“Imagine having a marketplace that contains the largest library of intellectual property in the agri-food industry, patents, industrial secrets, processes and recipes, and that is a new way for food companies to strengthen their Open Innovation strategies.”
- Miguel Ángel Flórez Pérez, Venture partner, Eatable Adventures
Financing
The company is at a stage where it is generating revenue.
They will receive direct investment from Eatable Adventures. Sum not disclosed.
Investors
Eatable Adventures
Employee count: 3
3 team members on their website and 3 associated members on LinkedIn and on their website. Activity from the founders suggest they are hiring more people soon.
Founder profiles
Verónica Medaura, Co-founder & CEO
As the CEO, she leads The Food Chainers’ business growth, strategic partnerships, and market expansion, ensuring that IP commercialisation in agri-food becomes accessible, scalable, and impactful.
Veronica is an International business strategist with 25+ years in deep tech startups, sustainability, and emerging markets. She holds a PhD in International Business Development, specialising in scaling tech-driven ventures and ESG strategies.
She expresses on LinkedIn that she has spent over 30 years turning her life into a constant entrepreneurial journey, 25 of which have involved experiences in different countries and professional roles in companies of various sizes, sectors, and cultures.
“My tireless passion for exploring, knowing, discovering, building, creating, and sharing experiences and knowledge about 'human behavior and the way we organize ourselves' is reaching its peak.”
”Alongside an extraordinary team with notable international expertise in high technologies and the food sector, we are proposing a new milestone in how we relate to each other and with food. All parts of the chain, of which we all are a part.”
Juan Novelli, Co-Founder & COO
As the COO, he oversees product development, operations, and industry engagement.
Juan is a serial entrepreneur with 15+ years in agri-food innovation, blockchain, and IP commercialisation. He successfully led and exited two agri-food tech companies, proving his ability to scale ventures and drive market adoption.
He started his trajectory as a chef and innovation director in the food industry. Over time, he says on LinkedIn:
“I realized something: innovation doesn’t just live on a plate. It exists in every process, every piece of data, and every idea that could create value—if only someone knew how to protect it and turn it into business.”
That is why piensas.xyz was created, described as “an ecosystem where deeptech and bold ideas come together to grow, transform, and make real impact.”
From Piensas, projects like The Food Chainers were born. He further writes:
“Most of what I know, I learned by doing. Getting my hands dirty, making mistakes, and starting over. That’s why everyone knows me as nerdy by doing—because innovation isn’t about having all the answers, it’s about never running out of questions.”
Hernán Asorey, Co-Founder and Technical Leader
Being the CTO, he is the Technical Lead, overseeing the implementation of WeCITE, their proprietary blockchain infrastructure. He guides the development of scalable, secure systems that transform knowledge, processes, and know-how into protected, tradable digital assets, bridging deep tech with real-world innovation needs.
Hernán is a computational physicist with 20+ years in AI, IoT, blockchain, and data science. He has led interdisciplinary R&D teams in academia and industry, specialising in distributed computing, Web3 ecosystems, and IP protection technologies.
His expertise in AI-powered platforms and blockchain security drives TFC’s scalability and deep-tech innovation, complementing Verónica’s strategic leadership and Juan’s operational execution.
Team dynamics
What sparked the idea
It first started with the project called piensas.xyz being created, “an ecosystem where deeptech and bold ideas come together to grow, transform, and make real impact.”
From Piensas, The Food Chainers was a natural outcome.
Video featuring the founders
Starting at 30:55, Juan Novelli, pitches in the AgriFoodTech vertical, where only 20 startups were selected. From April 3rd, 2025. You can tell his passion even though he was joining early in the morning while in parallel, being out on tour in Latin America.
Future
Enough said above. :-)
Sources:
https://eatableadventures.com/news/five-startups-set-to-transform-agrifood-innovation-across-spain-and-latin-america/
substack.com/pub/juannovelli/p/the-invisible-power-what-intellectual
https://www.finalis.com/blog/agtech-how-blockchain-is-disrupting-the-space
Company name: Viva In Vitro
Sector: Biotech/Immunological Medicine/Sepsis
Launch date and HQ
Viva In Vitro is based in Murcia and was launched in 2021.
In this context, it is worth knowing that Murcia is a European benchmark in genomic medicine with an ecosystem recognised for its deep commitment to rare diseases.
Last summer in 2024, the company started working from the Science Park of Murcia, from its own 85 square meters laboratory.
Challenge: Fatally slow detection of Sepsis
Sepsis is the leading cause of in-hospital deaths in the world. In Spain alone, Sepsis kills more than 20,000 people every year. It is a condition that affects millions of people every year but still remains under-diagnosed and misunderstood.
Sepsis occurs when your immune system has a dangerous reaction to an infection. It causes extensive inflammation throughout your body that can lead to tissue damage, organ failure and even death. Many different kinds of infections can trigger sepsis, which is a medical emergency.
Currently, traditional diagnostic methods do not effectively anticipate the stratification of patients at increased risk of complications and mortality.
The main problems as defined by the company:
Lack of tools to adequately stratify patients.
Late diagnosis preventing early interventions.
Absence of key information about the patient’s immune system response.
Solution: Rapid detection of NLRP3 inflamasoma
With a minimal blood sample using a highly sensitive ex vivo immunoassay, Viva In Vitro provides solutions for rapid and accurate detection of NLRP3 inflamasoma impairment/activation in critical septic patients.
The NLRP3 inflamasome function provides important information on how the patient's immune system is adapting to an infection or other serious stimulus that causes organ dysfunction, secondary infections, and other life-threatening complications associated with sepsis.
Through immunomarkers and technologies, such as their VIVA-ELISA® , they provide accurate analysis of the patient’s immunological status in real time.
Mission statement and main objectives
Improve stratification of sepsis in patients
Business model: B2B
The business plan addresses its three priorities: the development of the alpha prototype, the extension of clinical validation and progress in the regulatory process, which will allow it to begin commercial prospecting, mainly with pharmaceutical companies, as well as the internationalisation of the company.
Market potential: valued US$ 438.4 Million, 2023
“The sepsis market size reached a value of US$ 438.4 Million in 2023. Looking forward, the market is expected reach US$ 907.3 Million by 2034, exhibiting a growth rate (CAGR) of 6.84% during 2024-2034.”
“The market is driven by significant advancements in diagnostics and treatment approaches, including biomarker identification and molecular testing, which enable quicker and more accurate detection of sepsis. Furthermore, the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning in sepsis management is further enhancing early detection and treatment strategies, driving the market forward.”
Growth Signal
Recognised as one of the 40 most disruptive companies in Europe, Viva in Vitro was selected to receive funding from EIC Transition 2024. With 390 participating startups from all over Europe, the 2024 call was considered the most competitive to date.
The EIC Transition is part of the European Innovation Council (EIC) and aims to support SMEs with scalability with up to 2.5 million euros in grants, as well as access to one of the largest business acceleration service programs.
"Obtaining the EIC Transition places us in a very small group of the most innovative European companies. This recognition underscores our potential to become leaders in the biomedicine market. We are committed to bringing our innovations to hospitals and pharmaceutical companies around the world, improving the quality of life for millions of people,” says Toni Vilaplana, CEO of Viva in Vitro.
Competitive edge
VIVA-ELISA® is an innovative technology in the field of NLRP3 inflammasome activation by detection of ASC-Speck in critically ill septic patients.
Their solutions make it possible to assess the patient’s condition more accurately and optimise the treatments, potentially reducing mortality between 25% and 40%.
The company is developing the first device allowing to determine the situation, immunocompromised or not, of the septic patient to predict their evolution and facilitate the medical team to prescribe more personalised treatments.
Their technology has been validated with 158 patients and they have initiated a pre-clinical evaluation with over 360 patients at leading hospitals and research centres across Spain.
They hold an international patent (PCT) WO 2020/182964 A1 and have published national phases in the European Union, Israel, Canada and the United States.
Financing
Viva in vitro has raised a total of 5.7 million euros in financing, combining private investments and support from public administrations.
The support from the mentioned EIC Transition program includes 2.5 million euros of non-dilutive funding, adding to previously received grants of 600,000 euros.
Investors
Previously they have had the support of the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI), as well as from the FECYT (Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology), under the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.
Murcia Emprende, the venture capital company of the Instituto de Fomento de la Región de Murcia is an investor.
They participated in an acceleration program from Ship2B Foundation in 2023.
Employee count: 9
There are 9 team members on the company website.
Founder profiles
Dr. Pablo Pelegrín Vivancos, Scientific Advisor and Co-founder
He is Deputy Scientific Director of IMIB, Professor of Immunology at the University of Murcia. Responsible for seminal contributions in this field, with international recognition for his research on inflammasomes and immune response.
Joaquín Gómez Moya, Executive President and Co-founder
He holds an MBA and a Master’s degree in International Business Management and has more than 30 years of experience in senior management, including the launch of bio- and nano-technological solutions in Europe and the US in the bio-health and DeepTech sectors.
Team dynamics
What sparked the idea
Viva in vitro was born as a spinoff to take advantage of a diagnostic technology developed by Dr. Pablo Pelegrín regarding the mechanisms of sepsis.
International Scientific Advisory Committee
Video featuring the founders
PRESTO interviews Professor Pablo Pelegrin covering chronic inflammation.
From October 2024, the video is in English and 5:33 minutes long. Although it doesn’t talk about the company specifically, I think it conveys well the depths of knowledge and the deep commitment possessed by the co-founder.
Future
The Viva-Elisa project has a maturity level of TRL4, validation technology in laboratory. The aim is to develop the project to TRL6, to be validated in a relevant environment.
“VIVA-ELISA is likely to extend beyond this initial approach to other conditions such as heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis, diabetes, cancer and other ailments", one of the co-founders claims in an interview with Murcia Plaza.
Sources:
https://murciaplaza.com/murciaplaza/plaza-innovacion-murcia/el-european-innovation-council-eic-elige-a-la-murciana-viva-in-vitro-entre-las-40-empresa-mas-disruptivas-de-europa
https://vivaivd.com/en/new-e1-3-million-round-for-viva-in-vitro-brings-it-over-e3-million-investment-to-fight-sepsis-and-boost-personalized-medicine/
https://www.biospace.com/sepsis-market-size-to-reach-us-907-3-million-by-2034-impelled-by-widespread-adoption-of-effective-drugs