Masia closes €18M debut fund and opens Barcelona hub for AI startups
The venture capital firm has backed 46 companies since launching in 2025 and opened Masia House, a 1,000-square-metre space designed to connect founders with international investors and expertise.
Barcelona-based venture capital firm Masia has closed its debut fund at €18 million and opened Masia House, a new hub in the city’s Gràcia neighbourhood aimed at connecting early-stage technology founders with international investors, operators and talent.
The fund focuses on early-stage artificial intelligence (AI) and frontier technology companies with a connection to Barcelona. Since launching in 2025, Masia has invested in 46 companies, representing 60 founders, and co-invested alongside 60 international and specialist venture capital firms.
Its investor base comprises more than 70 limited partners (LPs), including technology founders, executives, experienced investors and two institutional investors. The firm aims to draw on their expertise and networks to help portfolio companies access international markets and scale beyond Spain.
“The moment for Barcelona is right now,” said Carlos Trenchs, co-founder and chairman of Masia. “We launched Masia’s first fund last year because we saw Barcelona’s tech ecosystem was nearing a tipping point, and we wanted to connect successful LPs and international VCs in the city with talent choosing to build and scale global frontier tech businesses from here.”
Masia House is the latest step in that strategy, providing a permanent base for the firm’s network of founders and investors. Spanning more than 1,000 square metres across four floors, the space includes work areas, meeting rooms, accommodation for visiting investors and a terrace. It will host working sessions, private dinners and informal gatherings intended to foster connections between entrepreneurs and potential investors.
“Capital alone doesn’t create innovation,” Trenchs said. “It happens when ambitious people repeatedly encounter other ambitious people.”
Barcelona’s technology ecosystem attracts investment
Masia’s expansion comes as Barcelona strengthens its position as a European technology hub. Startups in the city attracted €1.175 billion in investment during the first nine months of 2026, a 14 per cent increase year-on-year, according to figures cited by the firm. Barcelona also ranked as the European Union’s sixth-largest hub for deeptech startup funding, attracting €610 million between 2020 and 2024.
Masia’s portfolio includes Biorce, which applies AI to clinical trials and announced a $52 million Series A round earlier this year; Prosper, an AI-powered patient management company that raised $30 million in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z); and Didit, an AI-native identity platform backed by Y Combinator.
The firm has co-invested with venture capital investors including Common Magic, Nina Capital, Point Nine and Lunar Ventures. Its portfolio companies have also attracted backing from international investors such as a16z, DST Global, Norrsken VC, Y Combinator and Initialized Capital.
Pepe Borrell, founding partner at Masia Fund, said some of the firm’s early investments had already progressed to Series A funding rounds, with companies expanding into the US.
“We’re already seeing companies we backed last year raise Series A rounds and expand into the US,” Borrell said. “Our focus is on founders using AI and frontier technology to address significant market opportunities, with international ambition from the outset.”
He added that the firm intended to support portfolio companies not only through investment but also by connecting them with people who could help accelerate their growth.
New hires as Masia expands
Masia House will also serve as a meeting point for international investors visiting Barcelona and founders building companies in the city. A further project on the ground floor is planned for the first quarter of 2027, with the aim of engaging the wider local frontier technology ecosystem.
The firm’s team has grown to seven following the fund’s close and the opening of the new space.
Recent appointments include Gemma Torruella, who joins to lead operations. She brings more than 20 years of experience launching initiatives and implementing strategies across Spain’s financial and entrepreneurial sectors.
Cathy White has joined as fractional chief marketing officer. She has more than 15 years of experience across the European technology and venture capital ecosystem, including agency roles and work with Seedcamp.
Although Masia is focused on companies with links to Barcelona, its investment strategy is international in scope.
“We want Masia House to become a home for founders building international companies and investors looking to connect with them,” Trenchs said. “We aim to build one of Europe’s most connected communities, giving founders access to the talent, expertise, and capital they need to scale.”
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