Cuatrecasas Acelera, the innovation program through which the firm supports entrepreneurial projects in validating their legal and business strategy, has selected the seven startups that will participate in its eleventh edition. The program begins with the first of its two bootcamps, held in Barcelona.

From 121 applications, the evaluation committee, comprised of more than 75 professionals from Cuatrecasas and 18 from other firms, has selected seven startups—six Spanish and one Portuguese—that will receive guidance from the firm’s lawyers specializing in the respective areas related to each project. In this edition, the selected initiatives belong to the deeptech, energy, fintech, and health sectors.

In the participating startups, the evaluation committee has assessed criteria such as the degree of innovation and differentiation, their solidity and growth potential, the viability of their business model, the capacity of each project to generate value, the composition of the promoting team and their fit in the acceleration program.

This year saw a 15% increase in applications compared to the previous edition. Furthermore, 17% of the startups submitted were from Portugal, a figure that demonstrates the international reach that the Cuatrecasas Acelera program has achieved after more than a decade of operation.

This year, the evaluation committee included the input of leading lawyers from the firm, such as Alejandro Auset, Vasco Bivar de Azevedo, Gemma Colomer, Idoya Fernández, Juan Carlos Hernanz, Félix Plasencia, Sónia Queiróz Vaz, Miguel Sánchez Monjo, and Joana Silveira Botelho. It also incorporated the perspectives of renowned external experts, including: Laurent Arens van de Perre, Investment Director at BStartup Banco Sabadell; Jordi Bort, CEO of LLOPART Cava; Ester Cardús, sixth generation of LLOPART Cava; Grisha Domakowski, Director of Commercialization and Communication at Parc Científic de Barcelona; Albert Ferré, CEO of Global LegalTech Hub; Daniel Franco, Business Innovation Manager at Airbus Defence and Space; Nuria Manils, manager of Barcelona Finance Hub by Aticco; Mireia Mir, CEO of INDPULS; and Arantxa Quintana, Director of Innovation at Open Business, Unicaja. Carlos Solana, Innovation & Technology Transfer Director of Grupo Mediapro; and Jana Vives Ribera, Chief Marketing & Innovation Officer of Vallformosa.

“Innovative startups are increasingly facing regulatory, corporate, and business challenges that can hinder their growth. Our goal with Cuatrecasas Acelera is to help them anticipate these challenges from a strategic perspective, providing them with the legal and sector-specific knowledge of our professionals so they can grow with greater security and confidence,” said Francesc Muñoz, CIO of Cuatrecasas.

Over the next five months, the selected startups will participate in a personalized mentoring program that combines individualized legal support with two in-person bootcamps: the first, taking place today in Barcelona, and the second, scheduled for December 1st in Madrid. Each project will be supported by legal mentors from Cuatrecasas who will address their specific corporate needs and the regulatory challenges related to their technology to strengthen the development and growth of their business models. This year’s mentors are Alejandro Auset, Gemma Colomer, Íñigo Egea, Juan Carlos Hernanz, Sónia Queiróz Vaz, Cristina Romariz, Juan Antonio Ruiz, and Miguel Sánchez Monjo.

Furthermore, the projects will be able to connect with key players in the ecosystem, such as corporations and investment funds, to expand their network of institutional and strategic relationships. The program will also benefit from the collaboration of leading external professionals from the fields of innovation and complementary strategic sectors, who will provide practical insights into the main legal challenges associated with their business models.

Selected startups

• AGRIN’PULSE (Energy – Spain): develops AG-X, an electric and autonomous agricultural robot designed for high-value crops such as fruit trees, vineyards, olive groves, and nut orchards. The solution automates routine agricultural tasks using conventional implements and combines robotics, perception, autonomous navigation, and AI to reduce reliance on manual labor, operating costs, and the environmental impact of farms.
• AUTHENTIC TEAMZ (Deeptech – Portugal): helps companies understand how people work together. Through validated psychometric assessments and AI, it reveals each person’s work style, the roles they assume, and the degree of compatibility with colleagues. It then identifies points of friction, risks of burnout and turnover within teams, and proposes practical actions for leaders to improve collaboration, protect well-being, and retain talent.
• EONSEA (Deeptech – Spain): is a technology company specializing in the development of marine robotics and AI solutions for the inspection, monitoring, and management of submerged infrastructure and assets. It combines autonomous marine vehicles, data acquisition systems, and a computer vision-based software platform (leanis.io) to digitize underwater operations, reduce costs and risks, and transform the data obtained into useful information for decision-making.
• FIDEX (Fintech – Spain): Specializing in digital assets, FIDEX advises and manages high-net-worth individuals, entrepreneurs, and family offices using private banking standards. It designs liquid investment portfolios built on stable assets and decentralized finance strategies, focused on preserving wealth and generating recurring returns.
• GPTADVISOR (Fintech – Spain): A company specializing in generative AI for wealth and asset management. Its solutions help banks, asset managers, and investment firms optimize processes, improve customer service, and create new digital experiences, with a focus on security, traceability, and regulatory compliance. It currently operates in more than 25 financial institutions across Europe and Latin America.
• NOBRAC (Energy – Spain): applies Earth observation technologies, AI, and advanced analytics to remotely measure, monitor, and certify carbon credits and environmental projects. Its technology allows for the quantification of carbon and biomass, verification of deforestation processes, and monitoring of methane and CO₂ emissions, generating traceable evidence for regulatory and certification processes.
• POLAR NANOPHARMA (Health – Spain): develops next-generation oncology nanomedicines based on ultracompact polymeric nanocapsules. Its modular drug delivery platform allows for the encapsulation of various therapeutic actives to improve their stability, biodistribution, and delivery to the tumor, with the aim of increasing treatment efficacy and reducing systemic toxicity.