16 Top Portugal Startups to Watch in 2024

Every year, new startups pull to the forefront of their industry through exciting innovation, tech, and industry-disrupting business models. We’ve rounded up the most exciting Portugal startups of 2024 that startup lovers, investors, and aspiring entrepreneurs should follow. 

Disclaimer: With so many exciting Portuguese startups launching and growing, we aren’t able to cover them all. Furthermore, the startups that are listed below are not officially ranked and are listed in no particular order.

• Industry: Blockchain, Web3
• Founders: Artur Goulão, Olivier Bureau, Pierre Guigourese, Romain Girbal, Thibault Launay
• Founded In: 2021
• Funding: Venture, $7.6 Million
• Investors Include: APEX Capital, Dan Holzmann

Exclusible is a web3 marketplace for luxury brands to build in the metaverse. From non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to virtual reality projects, Exclusible has partnered with major luxury brands such as Vogue and Hugo Boss to bring their powerhouse brands into the digital world. 

• Industry: Sports Tech 
• Founders: Mike McCarley, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods
• Founded In: 2021
• Funding: Venture, $14.7 Million
• Investors Include: Stephen Curry, Alex Lieberman

Founded by golf stars Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and NBC Sports Executive Mike McCarley, TMRW Sports is a sports technology company innovating media and events surrounding sports today. From stadium events to golf leagues, TMRW Sports is dedicated to building an even stronger community around sports. 

• Industry: Real Estate Tech
• Founders: Dmitry Moskalchuk, Mila Suharev, Nils Henning
• Founded In: 2019
• Funding: Private Equity, $135 Million
• Investors Include: Prudence, FJ Labs 

CASAFARI is a real estate software company with a suite of features, including an online property valuation tool, real estate CRM, and resources to grow your real estate portfolio on the platform. With over 320 million property listings, CASAFARI offers an extensive collection of real estate data that provides agents with the tools they need to succeed. 

• Industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Founders: Antonio Rocha, Gilberto Loureiro, Paulo Ribeiro
• Founded In: 2018
• Funding: Series A, $27.6 Million
• Investors Include: HAX, Fashion For Good 

Smartex.ai uses artificial intelligence to detect defects in textiles to reduce the impact of imperfections later on in the supply chain. All data is captured and organized to increase the traceability of defects and improve the production process end-to-end. 

• Industry: Sustainability, Clean Energy
• Founders: J Basilio Simões, James McDougall, Jorge Landeck, Luisa Matos, Michael Pinto
• Founded In: 2020
• Funding: Series A, $17.1 Million
• Investors Include: Verdane

Cleanwatts is a clean energy startup using climate tech to ‘decentralize clean energy’ and provide renewable energy resources for a greater part of the population. Partnered with Leaders for Climate Action and the World Energy Council, Cleanwatts is on a mission to improve energy efficiency for the world. 

• Industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI) 
• Founders: David Joao Vieira Carvaho, Monica Oravcova
• Founded In: 2020
• Funding: Venture, $11.5 Million
• Investors Include: The Holt Xchange, Draper Associates

NAORIS leverages artificial intelligence, distributed ledger technology (DLT), and machine learning to improve cybersecurity for businesses of every size, from startups to large corporations as well as government agencies and the military. 

• Industry: Software 
• Founders: Felipe Ávila da Costa, Luís Martins
• Founded In: 2015
• Funding: Series A, $25 Million
  
• Investors Include: 500 Global, Bright Pixel 

Infraspeak is a facility management software that improves logistics for businesses of all sizes with innovative technology. Used by SIEMENS and Mitsubishi Electric, Infraspeak’s software platform offers solutions for team management, compliance, and data processing. 

• Industry: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Clean Energy 
• Founders: Carlos Pina Teixeira
• Founded In: 2018
• Funding: Series A, $6 Million
• Investors Include: 200M, Korys  

Enedia leverages the power of AI and smart sensors to develop a low-voltage power grid called Deep Grid. The mission behind the company is to provide a cleaner energy management solution for electric companies. 

• Industry: Fintech, Cryptocurrency
• Founders: Artur Goulão, Filipe Castro, Nuno Correia, Roberto Machado
• Founded In: 2017
• Funding: Seed, $21 Million
• Investors Include: Alchemist Accelerator

xMoney (formerly Utrust), acquired by Elrond in 2020, is a web3 payments platform that allows users to buy and sell goods using digital currencies. Using the platform’s API or plugins for ecommerce marketplaces, online businesses and consumers can utilize cryptocurrency with ease. 

• Industry: Healthtech 
• Founders: Luis Magalhaes
• Founded In: 2018
• Funding: Non-Equity Assistance, $4.6 Million
  
• Investors Include: PharmStars, Pathena 

Promptly collaborates with healthcare institutions to streamline systems for patients by leveraging organized, analyzed data. The goal of this startup is to use health data analytics to allow patients to cut health expenses, track treatment outcomes, and improve the healthcare sector as a whole. 

• Industry: Enterprise Software
• Founders: Rui Gouveia
• Founded In: 2013
• Funding: Pre-Seed, $55,000
• Investors Include: Build Up Labs

Tap My Back is an employee recognition software to help businesses implement feedback culture and improve employee engagement. Using Tap My Back, managers are better able to improve workplace motivation through the mobile app that allows users to reward and recognize team members' effort and success.

• Industry: Software
• Founders: Jorn Spiertz, Mark Bastiaanssen
• Founded In: 2017
• Funding: Seed, $1.1 Million
• Investors Include: Portugal Ventures, Best Horizon

Shiptimize is a digital delivery management solution for ecommerce businesses in Spain, Portugal, and The Netherlands. The platform serves as a seamless storewide solution for ecommerce companies and online services to manage, automate, and scale every aspect of the supply chain and shipping process.

• Industry: Healthcare, Artificial Intelligence
• Founders: Gonçalo Caeiro, João Fernandes
• Founded In: 2017
• Funding: Seed, $1.3 Million
• Investors Include: Bewater Funds, Joyn Ventures

DocDigitizer is a cognitive data capture SaaS platform powered by artificial intelligence. Their document processing platform takes various documents and compiles and structures all business data for you. All data is accessible in a secure platform with the startup's Human-in-the-Loop features, ensuring the extraction of the highest quality data possible.

• Industry: Food Tech
• Founders: Orlando Lopes, Rui Rocha Costa
• Founded In: 2017
• Funding: Seed, $2.3 Million
• Investors Include: Shilling, Olisipo Way, Portugal Ventures

EatTasty is a food tech startup innovating the meal delivery industry by leveraging under-utilized kitchen space to provide local meal deliveries. The company partners with a local restaurant network to offer six menu items everyday, instead of the traditional, extensive list of menu items, then delivers freshly prepared food to customers.

• Industry: Edtech
• Founders: Paulo Silva, Luís Miguel Sousa
• Founded In: 2021
• Funding: Seed, $1.6 Million
• Investors Include: Armilar Venture Partners

Miles in the Sky is an edtech startup built to increase learner engagement and help students develop important skills. Through their innovative learning platform, students are motivated through goal-setting and one- to two-week “missions” that help them to solve real-world problems while engaging with peers through digital live sessions.

• Industry: Cybersecurity
• Founders: Alain Fiocco, Alysson Bessani, Bruno Santos Amaro, Ricardo Mendes, Tiago Oliveira
• Founded In: 2018
• Funding: Seed, $903,000
• Investors Include: Armilar Venture Partners, Shilling

Vawlt is a cybersecurity startup offering a security-centric, dynamic storage platform for company data. Through the use of several cloud providers, Vawlt is able to better prepare for ransomware attacks, protecting business data and meeting important compliance requirements all on one platform.

Recommended: Check out our full list of the top startups to watch!

Portugal, particularly its vibrant capital, Lisbon, has emerged as an attractive destination for startups. Not only are there government initiatives built to support startups and their founders to innovate and build premium technology, but the cost of doing business is lower in Portugal than many other startup hubs.

This means whether you're bootstrapping or seeking your first seed funding round, Portugal is fertile ground for innovation and emerging businesses to plant roots. These startups to watch, from computer software to employee engagement software, are shaping the entrepreneurial landscape of Portugal.