The Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments fund (BDMI) has joined investors including Nauta Capital, Elaia and Wayra in participating in the Spanish startup Marfeel’s second round of financing. Together, the investors are providing two million USD for the continued growth of Marfeel.
Founded in Barcelona in 2011 by Xavi Beumala and Juan I. Margenat, the startup specializes in the automatic processing of publishers’ content for display on mobile devices. According to the company, the majority of Spanish media companies and publishing houses already use Marfeel technology. The content generated with it reaches more than four million readers and scores over 100 million page views. Marfeel’s customers include such well-known media as "Expansion,” "Cinco Dias,” "Vozpopuli,” "sport,” "publico.es,” "El Periodico" and "gala.fr".
“Marfeel technology delivers a new reading experience for users and an additional revenue stream for web publishers,” said Jan Borgstädt, Head of European Ventures at BDMI. "Together with our partners, we will support the Marfeel team in internationalizing their business, especially in Europe, South America and the U.S.” Xavi Beumala, co-founder and CEO of Marfeel, adds: "We are really excited with the quality of the international investor syndicate that have decided to support Marfeel in this financing round. They have a substantial knowledge of the digital publishing space across continents, and will be able to support the company as we face the opportunities provided by the global market under a massive expansion. "
The Marfeel team, which currently consists of nine staff members, has quickly made a name for itself in the Spanish startup scene. Marfeel was the winner of the VI. Seed Rocket campus, a prestigious competition for startups held in Madrid in December 2011. The company participated in the investor Wayra’s “Accelerator” program in Barcelona in March 2012; emerged victorious from a Tech Crunch meeting, also in Barcelona; and is one of 16 finalists in the TNW Startup Rally competition in Amsterdam.
