Wayra, the corporate venture capital unit of Telefónica, held a new edition of its Investors Day at the Espacio Fundación Telefónica, drawing roughly 250 guests, according to PressDigital. The gathering ran under the theme "Europe's Next Advantage" and centered on how the continent can strengthen its digital sovereignty.
The event coincided with the innovation platform's 15th anniversary. Discussions focused on turning Europe's innovation capacity into a durable competitive edge, with artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and advanced connectivity named as the technologies expected to reinforce resilience in a competitive global environment.
Why it matters
The framing of the day reflects a widening concern among European investors and corporations: the continent produces strong research and startups, yet often struggles to keep the value they generate. PressDigital reports that the agenda was built around converting innovative capability into a sustainable advantage rather than treating invention as an end in itself.
For Telefónica, the stakes are strategic as well as financial. The company positions itself as a primary route through which citizens and businesses reach digital technologies, and Wayra functions as one of its instruments for finding and backing the companies that will supply those technologies.
Collaboration framed as the route from innovation to business
In his opening remarks, Wayra chief executive Andrés Saborido reviewed the entity's 15 years of activity. He argued that cooperation between startups, investors and large corporations is among the most effective ways to convert innovation into business opportunities, according to PressDigital.
Saborido added that Wayra works to help technologies with the greatest potential find customers, use cases and paths to growth. That effort, he said, supports Telefónica's aim of being the best access route for people and companies to digital technologies.
The message places the venture unit less as a pure financial investor and more as a connector — matching young companies with the corporate customers and deployment channels they need to scale.
Financing, scaling and the space industry take the stage
A roundtable titled "Can Europe own its technology future?" examined the obstacles to financing and scaling technological capabilities. PressDigital reports the panel featured Carlos Moreira, founder of 33N; Guillaume d'Audiffret, general partner at Noteus Partners; Alberto Gómez, managing partner at Adara Ventures; and Paloma Castellano, Wayra's investment director.
A separate panel put the space sector under the spotlight. Moderated by Agustín Moro, Wayra's director of alliances and innovation services, it brought together Jaume Sanpera, chief executive of Sateliot, and Francisco Boira, co-founder of Kreios Space. The two discussed why the space industry matters for technological sovereignty.
The inclusion of space alongside AI and cybersecurity signals how the sovereignty debate has broadened. Satellite communications and Earth-focused space services are increasingly treated as infrastructure questions rather than niche industrial ones, which is why they sit alongside connectivity in the same conversation.
The programme also featured presentations from five companies: Whalebone, Quantum Bridge, Omniloy, telli and Red Sift. According to PressDigital, they showcased solutions spanning cybersecurity, quantum cryptography, and artificial intelligence applied to health and customer service.
Those demonstrations gave the event a practical dimension beyond panel discussion, offering investors and corporate attendees a look at specific products in areas that map directly onto the sovereignty theme.
What to watch next: whether Wayra's 15th-anniversary push translates into fresh backing and commercial deals for the startups presented, and how far European investors follow the sovereignty argument into actual capital commitments.
