Wayra
Quick facts
- Headquarters
- Madrid, Spain (teams in 9 countries incl. Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Peru)
- Founded
- 2011
- Model
- Corporate venture-client + investment
- Duration
- Varies by program
About
Telefónica's startup accelerator, reshaped in 2018 into a corporate venture-client model: startups get funding plus access to Telefónica's 380-million-customer base and business units. Wayra has invested in 100+ Latin American startups across AI, IoT and cybersecurity.
Before you apply anywhere
Profiling Wayra here is informational, not an endorsement or a guarantee of acceptance. Every program has its own selection bar, terms and fine print — verify current details on the program's own site before applying.
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A corporate venture-client model, not just an investor
When a telecoms group runs an accelerator, the most valuable thing on offer is often not the cheque but the possibility of becoming a supplier to the parent company. A signed pilot with a large corporate is worth more than the investment to most early startups — and it also creates concentration risk, because a single customer can dominate revenue for years.
Who it suits
B2B startups whose product a large telecoms or infrastructure operator could plausibly buy, and whose founders can survive a long corporate procurement cycle without running out of cash.