Madrid’s startups raised 1.2 billion euros in 2025, a 97% increase over the previous year and the third-highest total in the city’s history, according to the madri+d Foundation’s Startup Radar 2026 report. That kind of development does not happen by accident. It means that both local and international investors are betting heavily on the companies being built here.
Where Madrid stands in Europe
Madrid now ranks first in Spain and ninth in Europe for startup investment, with a tech ecosystem worth 48.1 billion euros and enterprise value growth outpacing nearly every other European hub since 2017. In 2025, the sectors that attracted the most capital were transportation, travel, enterprise software, education, fintech, and job recruitment. The three biggest rounds of the year were all led by Madrid-based companies: Auro Travel (180 million euros), Lingokids (120 million euros), and Job & Talent (103 million euros). AI and deep tech are also picking up fast, with dozens of companies in both spaces closing rounds last year.
What it means for students
So, what does it actually mean if you are a student? It means that Madrid is a city where you can find internship opportunities at growing companies, network with real entrepreneurs and investors working on real-world projects, and study industries that are making headlines. The path from business school to the job market is much shorter when the market is right outside your door.
Studying at the center of it
The SBS Swiss Business School Madrid learning hub is at the heart of all of this. The companies our students read about in case studies are a metro ride away, the founders and investors behind them are part of the same city, and that kind of proximity has a way of opening doors that a good program alone cannot.
Ready to be part of it?
Madrid has just had its third-best startup investment year on record. If you are thinking about where to study international business, that’s a hard case to argue with. Explore our bachelor’s and master’s programs and see what studying here could look like for you.
The data in this article comes from the Startup Radar madri+d Investment Report 2026, published by the Fundación para el Conocimiento madri+d in partnership with Dealroom.co, and from the Spanish Tech Ecosystem Report 2026 via GoHub Ventures.
