Gradiant launches TRL13, a pioneering deep tech investiment fund in Europe

It is the first European investment fund promotes by a spanish Research & Technology Organization with its own capital, combining three pillars: deep tech, tech transfer and ICTs

The model is based on reinvesting the resources generated by Gradiant’s first three spin-offs, creating a virtuous circle to continue multiplying the knowledge, impact and wealth generated

Gradiant, a leading Research & Technology Organization has created TRL13, an investiment fund specialising in deep tech, which aims to become a strategic catalyst for the future of innovation in Europe. With this iniciative, Gradiant takes another step in its goal of generating wealth through knowledge, putting its own capital and experience at the service of new third-party projects to multiply the economic, technological, and social impact it has achieved so far.

The origin of TRL13 lies in Gradiant Investments, a company created in 2016 and wholly owned by Gradiant, which has served as an investment vehicle for start-ups incubated within the Research & Technology Organization. This has led to the creation of three spin-offs valued at more than €40 million and employing more than 60 highly qualified professionals. The first was Alice Biometrics, which was founded in 2019 and sold in 2024; the second was Antexia Technologies, which was launched on the market in 2023 and was also acquired shortly afterwards by a multinational listed on the IBEX35. Just one year later, in 2024, Sense Aeronautics was created. Gradiant is currently incubating two new spin-offs based on artificial intelligence, Kiur and Dokken.

Furthermore, Gradiant has attracted and managed more than €96 million  (€13 million from the European Union, €29 million from national and Galician entities, and more than €53 million from companies) through 2024, multiplying its return in economic wealth, quality employment, and social impact.

“In recent years, we have demonstrated not only technological mastery in developing deep tech, but also the ability to successfully transfer that technology to the market, creating companies, growing them and achieving successful sales. Now, we want to go one step further and put that technical knowledge and market vision at the service of third parties and reinvest the resources we have generated in other initiatives that share our technological DNA”, explains Fernando Jiménez, Gradiant’s general manager.

Gradiant’s new investment fund also aims to obtain European funding to multiply its impact through the INNVIERTE DT-TT call for proposals from the Centre for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI) and the European Investment Fund (EIF), which has €353 million available for venture capital funds specialising in deep tech and technology transfer.

“With this new role as investors, we aim to create a virtuous circle of wealth generation through knowledge: we make our own resources available to these projects, precisely because we transfer high technology, multiplying the impact, hence the name TRL13; TRLs, which measure levels of technological maturity, go up to 9, but we want to go much further”, says Luis Pérez Freire, Gradiant’s excutive director, adding that the project has the support of renowned figures in the field of technology investment with a successful track record.

A strategic and distinctive initiative for Europe

TRL13 is the first European fund promoted by a Spanish technology centre that combines deep tech, technology transfer and ICT. Its launch is particularly significant in a context where less than 5% of European private investment goes to deep tech projects. TRL13 is firmly committed to strategic technologies such as quantum, photonics, artificial intelligence, robotics and cybersecurity, with a view to having a real impact on industrial competitiveness.

The initiative also addresses another major gap: barely 1% of private investment is currently allocated to technology transfer. TRL13 breaks this dynamic by reinvesting the resources generated by Gradiant spin-offs and combining them with public and private capital, ensuring that science is turned into business and generates sustainable returns.

It also addresses a third paradox in the European landscape. Although 30% of investment is labelled as ICT, up to 40% of these projects do not incorporate competitive technological advantages. TRL13 is aligned with the EU strategy that gives ICT an essential role, not only as enabling technologies, but also as a determining factor for Europe’s economic autonomy.