Caixa Capital Risc leads €5.5M Series A funding round for Zinklar

Caixa Capital Risc, Zinklar’s main VC shareholder, has supported the market research startup since 2017, participating in all investment rounds with total investment of over €2M

Funds will enable Zinklar to further enhance its analytical capabilities and AI-based automation platform as well as attract new talents to fuel its global expansion, particularly to the US

Barcelona, Spain, July 13, 2022 – Caixa Capital Risc, the venture capital arm of CriteriaCaixa, announces today that it has led Zinklar’s €5.5M ($5.7M) Series A funding round, alongside new investors including EASO Ventures, Full Global Investments and CDTI Innvierte. UK-based Beacon Capital also joined this round.

Founded in 2016 by Jordi Ferrer and Borja Ormaechea, Zinklar is a consumer research SaaS platform that connects brands to consumers. Zinklar’s insights automation platform provides critical information about consumer needs and preferences to improve businesses’ decision-making. Its intuitive interface taps into 140 million consumers in over 80 markets and offers in-depth understanding to develop meaningful segmentations, successfully launch new products and services, drive more effective advertising campaigns and grow brand value, among other uses.  

Caixa Capital Risc is the lead investor with a €1.7M ($1.8M) ticket, following on from its 2017 investment which helped Zinklar accelerate its expansion, strengthen its commercial strategy and transform its product into a robust, scalable platform. A significant amount of this ticket comes from Criteria Venture Tech, a new Caixa Capital Risc investment fund. Zinklar has previously raised a total of €2.1M ($2.2M) in pre-seed, seed and bridge pre-Series A funding from Caixa Capital Risc, Inveready and Sabadell VC.

The Criteria Venture Tech fund, managed by Caixa Capital Risc, aims to invest in the most disruptive technology companies on the B2B market to improve efficiency and business performance. With a focus on Spanish and Portuguese companies, it offers initial tickets of €500,000 to €2M ($523k – $2.1M), with the ability to follow-on up to €5M ($5.2M).

This funding will enable Zinklar to further enhance its software platform with more sophisticated analytical capabilities and automated solutions, grow the team and expand into key global markets, in particular the US. The company is targeting industries such as packaged goods, health, banking and telecoms. Major clients include Reckitt, Puig, Hershey’s, Panasonic, CaixaBank, The Body Shop, Bayer, Disney and AT&T.

“By leading this Series A funding, Caixa Capital Risc is thrilled to strengthen its four-year long relationship with Zinklar, with substantial investment from our new Criteria Venture Tech fund,” said Xavier Alvarez, managing director of tech investments at Caixa Capital Risc. “Zinklar is a valued disruptive company endorsed by multinational clients from very diverse sectors. We strongly believe in its unique market research platform and in the management team’s vision to build a global leader in the consumer insights industry.”

This investment in Zinklar is aligned with the goals of Caixa Capital Risc to act as a long-term VC partner, investing in and supporting, from an early stage, the most innovative tech companies in Europe, with a focus on Spain and Portugal. Backed by the largest Spanish holding company, CriteriaCaixa, since 2007 Caixa Capital Risc’s tech department has invested in tech startups with strong innovation capabilities in cutting-edge B2B, SaaS and deeptech markets, including cybersecurity, and in emerging technologies such as edge computing, artificial intelligence, big data and fintech. Its most recent investments include Barbara IoT, KIT-AR, Amelia and Build-38.

About Zinklar

Zinklar is the insights automation platform that allows brands to understand in-depth consumer preferences in a timely, easy-to-use and efficient manner. Zinklar’s intuitive interface enables access to over 140 million consumers in 80+ countries and gathers vital insights in as little as four hours. Supported by an expert market research team and with advanced quality controls powered by AI, businesses can conduct up to 15 times as many surveys as through other methods.

More than 300 leading brands in five continents have already used Zinklar to bring consumer understanding to the heart of their decision-making and accelerate their growth.

Created in 2016, Zinklar employs 60 staff and has raised €7.6M ($7.95M).

www.zinklar.com

About Caixa Capital Risc

Caixa Capital Risc, CriteriaCaixa’s venture capital manager, is one of the main venture capital investors in Spain, with more than fifteen years experience. It has already invested in more than 100 innovative companies with high growth potential and operates in the life sciences, digital technology and industrial technology sectors.

Caixa Capital Risc invests in early financing rounds and helps companies grow. The management company’s team of professionals focuses on identifying, analyzing, investing in and supporting innovative companies in Spain and in Europe.

Caixa Capital Risc is part of CriteriaCaixa, the holding company that works to preserve and grow the assets generated by the Fundación ‘la Caixa’ over more than a century, with the priority of providing the financial resources that allow its actions to continue and to contribute to the development of society.

www.caixacapitalrisc.es