Insider Brief
- Invivo Partners announced the launch of Invivo Ventures AI, a €100M fund dedicated to early-stage companies applying AI to life sciences and deeptech, marking Spain’s first local fund focused exclusively on AI-driven science.
- The fund aims to position Spain and Europe as leaders in AI-enabled innovation, leveraging Barcelona’s status as a top European science and technology hub to help startups scale globally.
- Invivo also appointed Pep Martorell as Partner, bringing deep expertise from the Barcelona Supercomputing Center and a career in technology transfer, entrepreneurship, and innovation leadership.
PRESS RELEASE — Invivo Partners, a leading Spanish venture capital firm dedicated to investing in early-stage life sciences and deeptech companies, today announced the upcoming launch of Invivo Ventures AI, a €100 million vertical fund fully dedicated to accelerating innovation at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and science. The firm also announced the incorporation of Pep Martorell as Partner, bringing extensive expertise in technology transfer, AI, and entrepreneurship.
This will be the first local fund in Spain focused exclusively on AI-driven science, positioning the country as a global leader in this transformative field.
AI as a new backbone for deeptech
Invivo Ventures AI will target early-stage companies applying AI to advance biotechnology and other science-driven domains. The fund is designed to capitalize on the surging momentum in AI, with deal flow increasing, investment rounds growing in size, and significant M&A activity reshaping the landscape.
“Our bold thesis is simple: in the near future, no deeptech company will survive without integrating AI,” said Dr. Luis Pareras, Managing Partner at Invivo. “This fund will represent the next evolution of our strategy — backing science-driven companies with AI as a core enabler.”
Spain’s emerging AI ecosystem
Spain is experiencing the rapid rise of a new AI-driven innovation ecosystem, mirroring the trajectory of biotech growth in recent years. With Barcelona already ranked among Europe’s top five science and technology hubs, the region boasts a vibrant network of startups, research centers, and technology infrastructures, making it one of the continent’s most dynamic environments for innovation. The new fund will provide the capital and strategic support needed for AI-enabled companies across sectors to scale globally. By anchoring these efforts in Spain and expanding across Europe, the fund seeks to cultivate the emergence of a true European champion in AI-driven innovation.
A new Partner to strengthen the vision
Invivo also announced the appointment of Dr. Josep M. (Pep) Martorell as Partner, bringing a distinguished career at the crossroads of science, technology transfer, and entrepreneurship. Most recently, Pep Martorell served as Associate Director at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), where he spearheaded the institution’s innovation strategy, creating programs that led to the launch of 14 spin-offs, collectively raising more than €40 million and generating over 400 high-skilled jobs. At BSC, Pep Martorell also negotiated the landmark AI Factory initiative, securing €200 million in public funding to deploy a new supercomputing infrastructure dedicated to industry-led AI R&D. Prior to this, Pep Martorell founded and directed the Research and Technology Transfer Office at Universitat Ramon Llull and, as Director General for Research at the Catalan Government, led key innovation initiatives including the Industrial PhD scheme and the Knowledge Industry program. A physicist and PhD in computer science, Pep Martorell is also a long-standing angel investor and mentor in the deeptech space, having backed 15 startups since 2010, achieving several successful exits. He currently serves on the boards of non-for-profit foundations such as EADA, the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center, and Institut Guttmann, while advising national and international scientific and policy organizations. In parallel, Pep Martorell contributes to science-business integration as a Teaching Fellow at Esade Business School, co-teaching courses on digital transformation and the industrial impact of science alongside Invivo’s Managing Partner, Dr. Luís Pareras.
“Invivo has always been ahead of the curve in science-driven investment,” said Pep Martorell. “I am thrilled to join the team and help build the first fund in Spain dedicated to AI and science. With the right capital and vision, I believe our ecosystem has the potential to lead globally in this field.”
With his appointment, Invivo strengthens its position at the forefront of AI-driven deeptech in Spain and Europe.
About Invivo Partners
Invivo Partners is a venture capital firm specializing in early-stage life sciences companies. It is managed by Luis Pareras, Albert Ferrer, and Laura Rodríguez, with investments in 17 companies and three funds under management. Invivo has a majority of private investors with AuM (Assets under Management) over 150M with the support of a number of institutional investors such as the European Investment Fund (EIF), Fond-ICO, the Catalan Finance Institute and the Barcelona City Council.
