Wayra UK
Wayra UK is the UK arm of Telefónica's corporate venture capital firm, investing in startups and running open innovation programs that connect portfolio companies with Telefónica's business units across Spain, Germany, the UK, and Brazil.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Wayra UK does
Wayra UK is the United Kingdom arm of Wayra, the corporate venture capital firm wholly owned by Telefónica through Telefónica Open Innovation, S.L.U. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in London, Wayra UK operates a venture-client model: it invests in early-stage startups with potential strategic impact within Telefónica and facilitates commercial collaboration between those startups and Telefónica business units, providing portfolio companies with access to global markets and one of the world's largest telecom customer bases spanning Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Brazil.
Wayra UK runs a platform-plus-services model. The core offerings are investment services (equity capital plus commercial matchmaking) and bespoke open innovation programs designed and delivered for Telefónica and other corporations. Supporting infrastructure includes the Activation Programme (acceleration initiatives), the Perks Platform (portfolio benefits), and sector-specific accelerators such as TUI Futureshapers (travel-tech, with TUI Care Foundation and Target 8.9) and ACCIÓN (digital health, with AstraZeneca España and Kunsen). Revenue mechanics are twofold: equity-driven venture capital returns and professional services fees for open innovation program delivery.
The firm employs between 11 and 50 people and targets two distinct customer bases: high-impact startups seeking enterprise customers and global scale, and corporate enterprises seeking innovation pipelines. Its strategic value is structurally tied to its parent: distribution through Telefónica's business units, credibility from the Telefónica brand, and access to cross-country portfolio networks are the foundations of its competitive position.
Wayra UK firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Wayra UK
- Legal name
- Telefónica Open Innovation, S.L.U.
- Website
- https://wayra.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Wayra UK is the UK arm of Telefónica's corporate venture capital firm, investing in startups and running open innovation programs that connect portfolio companies with Telefónica's business units across Spain, Germany, the UK, and Brazil.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Wayra UK industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Corporate Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Strategy & IT Advisory (BPAEAAAA)
Keywords
Where Wayra UK is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Wayra UK business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Venture Capital Investment Returns: Wayra generates returns through equity investments in startups with potential to generate impact within Telefónica. They invest in startups and help them scale through commercial collaboration.
- Open Innovation Services: Design and deliver open innovation and corporate venture programmes for Telefónica and other corporations, either directly or through open innovation platforms.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
Wayra UK product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Wayra UK is Telefónica's Corporate Venture Capital arm, investing equity in startups with potential impact within Telefónica and helping them scale through a venture-client model that connects them with Telefónica's global business units. It also designs and delivers open innovation and corporate venture programmes for Telefónica and other corporations, supported by acceleration programs such as the Activation Programme, the Perks Platform, and sector-specific accelerators including TUI Futureshapers and ACCIÓN.
Product overview
Wayra is Telefónica's Corporate Venture Capital firm operating a platform-plus-services model. The core offering consists of investment services that connect startups with Telefónica's business units through a venture-client model, alongside open innovation programs designed for Telefónica and other corporations. Supporting programs include the Activation Programme for acceleration initiatives, the Perks Platform for portfolio benefits, plus sector-specific accelerators like TUI Futureshapers for travel-tech and ACCIÓN for digital health.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Wayra Investment Services
Quantifiable outcome
- 1M€ total investment deployed across portfolio
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Wayra UK
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Wayra UK technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Wayra UK partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- AstraZenecacoreAstraZeneca España collaborated with Wayra and Kunsen to celebrate a Pitch Day for startups and healthcare professionals under ACCIÓN accelerator, focused on driving transformative digital health solutions for Spain's healthcare system.
- TUI Care FoundationcoreTUI Care Foundation, Wayra, and Target 8.9 launched TUI Futureshapers in Spain to accelerate travel-tech solutions towards sustainable tourism, organizing a hackathon for university talent and young innovators.
- KunsencoreKunsen partnered with AstraZeneca and Wayra to select innovative projects for the ACCIÓN accelerator programme aimed at advancing digital health solutions in Spain.
- Target 8.9corePartnered with TUI Care Foundation and Wayra to launch TUI Futureshapers programme in Spain, focused on solving real challenges in the travel-tech sector through hackathons.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Wayra UK competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- SAP.iO: SAP.iO is SAP's corporate venture and open innovation arm, investing in enterprise software startups and operating accelerator programmes that connect portfolio companies to SAP's customer base. It mirrors Wayra's combination of equity investment, accelerator programmes, and corporate customer introductions.
- Plug and Play Tech Center: Plug and Play operates a global innovation platform with corporate partnerships, running accelerator programmes and connecting startups to enterprise customers across multiple verticals — closely paralleling Wayra's open innovation platform model and corporate venture programme design.
- Samsung NEXT: Samsung NEXT is Samsung's CVC arm investing in software and services startups with strategic relevance to Samsung's hardware ecosystem. It shares Wayra's venture-client DNA of coupling capital with corporate customer and partnership access.
- Orange Ventures: Orange Ventures is the corporate venture capital arm of Orange (formerly France Télécom), a major European telecom operator. Like Wayra, it invests in early-stage startups with strategic relevance to its telecom parent, offering both capital and commercial collaboration with Orange's business units — a near-perfect CVC analog.
- Startupbootcamp: Startupbootcamp is a global network of industry-focused accelerators offering mentorship, office space, and corporate introductions to early-stage startups in partnership with large enterprises — overlapping with Wayra's accelerator programmes (ACCIÓN, TUI Futureshapers) and open innovation service offering.
- Microsoft for Startups: Microsoft for Startups is the corporate innovation and investment arm of Microsoft, providing capital, cloud credits, and commercial access to Microsoft's enterprise sales channels — directly analogous to Wayra's venture-client model with Telefónica's business units.
- Google Ventures (GV): GV is Alphabet's venture capital arm, operating a corporate-backed model investing across sectors with substantial cheque sizes. It is the benchmark large-tech CVC against which all telecom and corporate venture arms (including Wayra) are compared for deal flow and founder mindshare.
- BBVA Spark: BBVA Spark is the corporate venture arm of BBVA, a major Spanish bank, investing in fintech and adjacent startups with commercial collaboration opportunities into BBVA. As a fellow Spain-headquartered CVC with a large parent, it directly competes for Iberian and European startup deals against Wayra.
Emerging players
- Antler: Antler is a global early-stage venture capital firm and accelerator operating across multiple continents including Europe. While not a CVC, it overlaps with Wayra's startup investment and accelerator activity at the seed stage, competing for founder mindshare in the same geographies.
Broad incumbents
- Intel Capital: Intel Capital is one of the largest and longest-running corporate venture arms, deploying billions in tech and deep tech startups globally. As a broad incumbent in CVC, it competes for founder mindshare and demonstrates the scale upper bound against which smaller CVCs like Wayra are benchmarked.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Wayra UK social profiles
Digital presenceWayra UK financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Wayra UK leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Wayra UK funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Wayra UK M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments117 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Wayra UK
What does Wayra UK do?
Wayra UK is Telefónica's Corporate Venture Capital arm, investing equity in startups with potential impact within Telefónica and helping them scale through a venture-client model that connects them with Telefónica's global business units. It also designs and delivers open innovation and corporate venture programmes for Telefónica and other corporations, supported by acceleration programs such as the Activation Programme, the Perks Platform, and sector-specific accelerators including TUI Futureshapers and ACCIÓN.
Is Wayra UK a public or private company?
Wayra UK is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Wayra UK founded?
Wayra UK was founded in 2012. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Wayra UK based?
Wayra UK is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Wayra UK make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Venture Capital Investment Returns are the primary driver. The others are open Innovation Services.
Who are Wayra UK's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are SAP.iO, Plug and Play Tech Center, Samsung NEXT, Orange Ventures, Startupbootcamp, Microsoft for Startups, Google Ventures (GV) and BBVA Spark. Antler is listed as an emerging player. Intel Capital is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Wayra UK have an API?
No public API is recorded for Wayra UK.
What industry is Wayra UK in?
Wayra UK's product category is Corporate Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAEAAAA, Strategy & IT Advisory. Its NAICS code is 54169 and its SIC code is 8742.