93% of the funds invested in technology startups go to companies created by men

93% of the funds invested in technology startups go to companies created by men

Spain is positioned as the third destination for technological talent in Europe, after the United Kingdom and Germany

   The technology sector grows five times more than the rest of the European economy but has a problem, diversity and inclusion . 93% of the funds invested in technology startups were allocated to those whose founding teams are made up only of men . The data is clear from a report by Atomico and Slush on the situation of the European technology sector .

The study points to the strong growth of investment in technology, which again breaks records in 2018, which has turned this sector into the engine of the lagging European economy. "The importance of technology for the economy as a whole will only increase," say the authors of the document.

   According to the data collected, the Spanish technology-based startups will double this year the investment received compared to 2017. It is estimated that in 2018 these companies will receive 1,800 million dollars (1,590 million euros) compared to 938 million dollars in 2017. No However, the figure obtained is far from those obtained by Germany or the United Kingdom, which will capture more than 4,000 million and 7,400 million, respectively, according to the same report.

Investments in this sector in Europe have reached the record high of 23,000 million dollars (about 20,200 million euros) so far this year, 21% more than in 2017. Growth draws attention if compared to capital Invested in European technology companies only five years ago, when the figure barely reached 5 billion dollars (4,300 million euros).

According to Atomico, in 2018 a total of 17 European technology companies exceeded the threshold of one billion dollars of market value.

This same year, four European companies - Spotify, Farfetch, Adyen and Elastic - went public and managed to surpass the 5,000 million dollars (4,400 million euros) of stock market capitalization on their first trading day.

Regarding the workforce, Atomico points out that the technology sector is attracting a growing number of professionals, both young developers and experienced executives from other industries.

Spain and startups
Spain has positioned itself as the third destination for technological talent in Europe, after the United Kingdom and Germany; Madrid and Barcelona are already among the 10 most important technological communities in Europe (fifth and sixth, respectively), and the Spanish developer community grew faster than any other in Western Europe. This community now has 308,500 members compared to 268,000 in 2017.