Kibo has become a great value partner for Mutua and the ecosystem
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In 2012, Mutua invested 5 million euros in the primary fund of Kibo Ventures, one of the most prestigious fund management firms in the European venture capital ecosystem. Since then, the fund has evolved favorably and there are many success stories among its initial portfolio of 30+ companies.
Over the course of this long relationship, we have witnessed every type of operation in the Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem. Some that have stood out are Flywire, Job and Talent, Qustodio, and Worldsensing. Mutua has also actively collaborated with Kibo, not only by signing a business agreement with some investees like Clarity.ai, but also by using our team’s knowledge for the company’s intrapreneurship program and innovation events.
Flywire, a Spanish unicorn in Wall Street.
Flywire, the international payment gateway with offices in more than 9 countries, was one of Kibo’s picks in 2013. Now they will soon be quoted on NASDAQ. Founded in 2008, Flywire has known how to find its space in the market and now has over 2,000 clients and transfers 12 billion dollars annually around the world.
The Flywire team, along with the confidence investors have placed in the company, have been central to the company’s consolidated growth. Its recent IPO sets the company’s value at 3 billion dollars, only one year after its latest round of financing with 120 million dollars, spearheaded by Goldman Sachs.
More success
Ducksboard, Captio or Trip4real are some of the exits already made by the fund.
Jobandtalent is a job-hunting platform that closed an 88-million euro round last January, and two months later, closed Series D financing worth 100 million euros and backed by Softbank. Their international growth, as well as the more than 80,000 people who found jobs in the last year, attest to the success of their service.
Blueliv offers cyberattack detection and analysis services, in a booming market that expects to consolidate its growth over the next few years. Blueliv closed the latest financing round in 2018 with 4 million euros.
One of Kibo’s most successful exits is Ducksboard, an online dashboard that gathers business metrics for key company activities. Kibo invested in the Seed round, and the company was acquired two years later by New Relic, a Californian company listed on Nasdaq, with almost 600 million dollars in turnover.
Captio, a platform that centralizes all business travel expenses, also received funding in the Seed round in 2014. Three years later, it was sold for , a US-based company who make travel and expense-report management software.
Another acquisition was Trip4real, an event management company based in Barcelona that manages events for individuals around the globe. Trip4real was acquired by Airbnb in 2017 for its integration in the app’s experiences section.
Not all ideas are a success
Other companies in Kibo’s investment portfolio were not as fortunate. For example, eShop, an E-commerce company, Mamuky, Molbe or El Armario de la Tele.
Others were unable to find their place in the market, like Supertruper, a shopping list management app that compares prices among supermarkets, or Upclose, a live video app to interact with followers.
Long-term commitment
Throughout our collaboration, Kibo has proven to be a very valuable partner for Mutua and our ecosystem. Mutua Madrileña remains committed to collaborating with fund management firms, as it provides first-hand knowledge and understanding of market trends, new customer needs and the most innovative companies.
