LUMO Labs fund receives €6 million from SETT to accelerate early validation and global scaling of transformative technologies

Barcelona, March 3, 2026 – Today at 4YFN it is announced that impact-driven venture capital fund LUMO Fund, managed by the Dutch firm LUMO Labs, receives €6 million from the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation (SETT), public entity of the Spanish Ministry for Digital Transformation and the Civil Service, to invest in startups from Spain and other European countries. LUMO Labs focusses on pre-seed and seed investments in scalable and financially sustainable operating systems, infrastructures, and platforms based on digital deeptech, such as Artificial Intelligence. 

With this investment, SETT aims to advance the necessary capital influx and critical entrepreneurial support for early-stage startups in Europe in general, and in Spain in particular. Start-ups and scale-ups developing Artificial Intelligence, digital security and IoT, stand out for their potential to generate economic development, social progress, resilience, and their contribution to the digital transition. 

"We are very grateful for this support from SETT, and excited to be able to deepen our commitment to backing Spanish startups at their earliest stages, closing the funding gap to accelerate early validation and helping them scale into global category leaders,” said Andy Lürling, Founding Partner at LUMO Labs, present at the 4YFN and Mobile World Congress. “First as entrepreneurs and in recent years as investors, we have been closely following early-stage innovation across Europe. Spain stands out for its strong tech focus and sectoral diversity, incredibly talented engineers, and the pace at which the ecosystem is maturing. This investment is a strong vote of confidence in our thesis that Spain is entering a defining moment for pre-seed and seed innovation."

Both parties are aligned to boost the development of highly scalable Spanish companies with international projection and strong growth potential, as well as to energize and provide liquidity to the technological market in a more competitive environment. The public–private co-investment model not only brings capital but also positions Spain as an attractive hub for transformative, high-impact entrepreneurship.

Roel Nieuwenkamp - Ambassador to Spain, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Madrid, also underlines the importance of connecting national ecosystems in Europe; "I am proud to celebrate this milestone in collaboration between the Netherlands and Spain — a shared commitment to driving innovation and empowering the startup ecosystems in both our countries."

With the start of their second fund in 2024, LUMO Labs’ Founding Partners Andy Lürling and Sven Bakkes had already appointed Jorge Blasco as Partner for Southern Europe who has already played a pivotal role in the realisation of this partnership between SETT and LUMO Labs. He will continue to scout and support purpose-driven LUMO portfolio ventures, working from the LUMO Labs office in the Norssken building in Barcelona. 

"We are deeply grateful for the trust that SETT, has placed in LUMO Labs. With this commitment, Spain is sending a clear signal that it is ready to lead in purpose-driven innovation and disruptive technologies. This investment validates our mission to combine impact with digital deeptech and strengthens our ability to support exceptional Spanish entrepreneurs who are building transformative companies.” 

Next Tech

SETT’s investment is channelled through the Next Tech fund, an initiative designed to stimulate private investment and improve access to financing in strategic sectors of Spain’s digital transformation. Next Tech is part of Spain’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and is financed by the European Union’s Next Generation EU program.

About LUMO Labs
LUMO Labs, founded in 2016 in Eindhoven (Netherlands) by former tech entrepreneurs Andy Lürling and Sven Bakkes, has established a strong track record as an early-stage impact investor. Through its first fund launched in 2020, LUMO Labs invested in 23 impact-driven technology start-ups, and it has since become one of the most active pre-seed investors in deep-tech artificial intelligence and related fields.

The new LUMO Fund is a €100 million multi-stage (Pre-Seed to Series A) impact-driven venture capital fund, with a proprietary startup coaching program for purpose-driven founders who seek to bring technological innovations to market to solve social and environmental challenges. It will invest in approximately 30 to 35 start-ups over the next four years.

The fund invests in scalable and financially sustainable operating systems, infrastructures, and platforms related to emerging and disruptive technologies. Its impact focus is best identified at the crossroads of the following UN SDGs: Health & Wellbeing, Quality Education, Sustainable Cities & Communities, and Climate Action. Its primary investment regions are Benelux and Germany, with secondary focus on the Nordics, Baltics, and the Iberian Peninsula.

Media Contact

LUMO Labs
 Andy Lurling, Founding Partner – andy@lumolabs.io
 For Spain: Jorge Blasco, Partner – jorge@lumolabs.io
 https://lumolabs.io/

About SETT

The Spanish Society for Technological Transformation (SETT), a state-owned enterprise under the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Administration, is a public entity dedicated to financing and promoting advanced and transformative technologies.

SETT’s investment is made through the Next Tech fund, aimed at encouraging private investment and improving access to financing in strategic Spanish sectors linked to digital transformation. The implementation of the Next Tech fund, part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, is among SETT’s responsibilities. Additionally, SETT manages two other financial instruments to boost the tech business ecosystem: PERTE Chip, dedicated to microelectronics and semiconductors, and Spain Audiovisual Hub, which promotes the digitalization of the audiovisual sector.

Photo caption:
From left to right: Jorge Blasco (Partner, LUMO Labs), Mariska Schaap (Policy Officer Trade and Economy), Andy Lürling (Co-founder and Partner, LUMO Labs), Javier Ponce, Iratxe Dominguez (Lawyer), and Sven Bakkes (Co-founder and Partner, LUMO Labs).