VDS has announced the winners of the eighth edition of its International Startup Competition. The winning startups are Spacebackend in the Early Stage category and Zibra AI in the Growth Stage category.
This year, recognitions were also presented to the main contributors behind the initiatives Startup Valencia DANA Help and Adopta un Colegio : Daniel Perelló, Cristina Carrascosa, David Baratech, Pedro Trujillano, David Nieto, and Juan Luis Hortelano. Additionally, the award for the most innovative initiative for DANA recovery went to Marina de Empresas for the project Alçem-se.
The awards were announced during the VDS 2025 closing ceremony, attended by Diana Morant, Spain’s Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities; Pilar Bernabé, Government Delegate of Spain; Paula Llobet, Councillor for Tourism, Innovation, Employment, and Entrepreneurship at the Valencia City Council; Jerónimo Mora, Regional Secretary for Innovation; Felipe Carrasco, Regional Secretary for Industry, Trade and Consumer Affairs; Juan Luis Hortelano, President of Startup Valencia; and Nacho Mas, CEO of Startup Valencia.
Iñaki Berenguer, Co-founder of Coverwallet and Managing Partner at LifeX Ventures, was also recognized with the VDS Honorary Award. Berenguer is considered one of Spain’s most renowned tech entrepreneurs.
The Hackathon The Challenge awards were also presented during the ceremony. Organized by Startup Valencia, VDS and the City of Arts and Sciences, the winners were Alzar-se in the Climate Tech category, HP Bridge in Innovation, and Sentra AI in Cybersecurity.
This year, Espai Aero CV, the association of aerospace companies of the Valencian Community, was also recognized for its outstanding contribution to the promotion and development of the aerospace sector. The association received the Aerospace Startup Award, promoted by the Generalitat Valenciana.
VDS 2025 International Startup Competition
Spacebackend (Luxembourg): Winner of the Early Stage category. Its mission is to accelerate the integration of satellite payloads, enabling space companies to launch missions faster.
Zibra AI (Ukraine): Winner of the Growth Stage category. It applies artificial intelligence to generate visual effects and 3D content for video games, television, and film.
The two winning startups received several prizes, including an exhibition booth for VDS 2026, providing them with networking opportunities and visibility at one of Europe’s leading international tech events.
A prestigious international jury —comprising Sebastien Lefebvre (Partner at Elaia), Manal Belaouane (Principal at HV Capital), Ramzi Rock (Managing Director at Work in Progress Capital), Iryna Krepchuk (Investment Manager at Trind Ventures), and Javier Megias, Vice President of Investors at Startup Valencia— selected the winning startups.
Among the 10 finalists of the VDS 2025 International Startup Competition, there was a strong representation of European, particularly Spanish, projects, consolidating the national ecosystem’s role in innovation and technology.
In the Early Stage category, the finalists were: SPHERICAL (Rotterdam, Netherlands), which designs semiconductors for electronic systems in the aerospace industry; Latitudo 40 (Naples, Italy), which converts satellite imagery into geospatial information for better decision-making; Altum Sequencing (Madrid, Spain), a biotech company specializing in liquid biopsy and minimal residual disease assessment; Spacebackend (Belval, Luxembourg), which accelerates satellite payload integration; and CETO Innovation (Copenhagen, Denmark), which develops predictive technology for the efficient maintenance of district heating networks.
In the Growth Stage category, the finalists were: TaxDown (Madrid, Spain), which optimizes tax management for individuals and companies; Arkadia Space (Castellón, Spain), which develops propulsion systems using eco-friendly fuels; Kreios Space (Vigo, Spain), which has created an electric propulsion system for satellites; Spendbase (Lewes, USA), which offers a comprehensive corporate expense optimization platform; and Zibra AI (Kyiv, Ukraine), which applies artificial intelligence to generate 3D content and visual effects for games, TV, and film.
These innovative and technological companies were selected from an initial shortlist of 50 startups out of more than 1,200 applications from 84 countries.
Support from Major Corporations and Institutions
This year, VDS counts Banco Santander as main sponsor, Valencia Innovation Capital (Valencia City Council) as hosting partner, and e-Residency (Government of Estonia) as partner country. Numerous tech companies, startups, and organizations joined as strategic partners, contributing to the event’s global success and reach: Wayra Telefónica, EY, Fundación LAB, CaixaBank DayOne, PowerCo, Volkswagen Group Services, IBM, OVHcloud, Mobile World Capital, Bit2Me, Adigital, EsTech, Opentop (Valenciaport), and MAPFRE. Among the technology partners supporting the event are Microsoft, Amazon, Google for Startups, and HubSpot for Startups.
VDS 2025 also maintains the support of key institutions that consolidate it as an international benchmark in innovation and technology, including the Spanish Ministry of Industry and Tourism, the Generalitat Valenciana, the Valencian Institute of Finance (IVF), the City of Arts and Sciences, TechFabLab, University of Valencia (UV), Parc Científic de la Universitat de València (PCUV), Miguel Hernández University (UMH), Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), ENISA, CDTI, ICEX, Renfe, and the Autonomous City of Melilla.
All these institutions actively collaborate to strengthen Valencia’s position as a global innovation hub and a key meeting point for ideas, talent, and technological solutions.
