ICEX and SOSA Launch Desafía San Francisco to Accelerate Spanish Startups in Silicon Valley

The accelerator program brings high-growth Spanish tech startups to San Francisco to access investors, scale in the U.S. market, and expand across the Bay Area

Credit: Maarten van den Heuvel // San Francisco, United States.

MADRID, Sept. 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Following the success of two editions of Desafía New York in 2024, SOSA is proud to announce the launch of Desafía San Francisco, in partnership with ICEX and Red.es, a strategic program designed to support high growth Spanish startups as they enter the U.S. market through the San Francisco Bay Area.

Building on the Desafía initiative’s proven internationalization model, this program will bring 8–10 Spanish startups to the heart of Silicon Valley to engage with investors, validate their solutions in the market, and accelerate their expansion across the U.S. tech ecosystem.

Participating companies will begin with a launch event in Madrid in October, followed by an online bootcamp series of individual and group sessions, preparing them for a two week in market immersion in San Francisco, hosted by SOSA and its local partners. The program will include tailored workshops, one-on-one mentoring with U.S. market experts, and high value introductions to investors and corporate leaders.

During the San Francisco immersion, founders will gain practical insights on how to lead a U.S. market expansion, refine their go-to-market strategy, meet with local investors, and present their companies to a curated audience at a Demo Day event.

“Building on the success of Desafía New York, we’re thrilled to strengthen our partnership with ICEX and Red.es through the launch of Desafía San Francisco, expanding our startup acceleration programs to the West Coast,” said Uzi Scheffer, CEO of SOSA. “This new chapter in the Desafía series opens the door for Spanish startups to tap into the world’s largest tech and venture capital ecosystem, providing a clear pathway for U.S. market expansion.”

San Francisco provides significant access to capital, which has contributed to the development of more than 215 unicorns in the Silicon Valley region. The Bay Area hosts thousands of institutional funds, angel networks, and corporate venture capital firms, making it a common entry point for international startups pursuing U.S. expansion.

The Desafía San Francisco program reinforces the Spanish government's commitment to internationalization and innovation through entrepreneurship. It also aligns with SOSA’s mission of bridging global startups with the world’s leading tech ecosystems.

For more information about the program, please visit: https://sanfrancisco.desafia.gob.es/

ICEX
ICEX is a public business-oriented organization aimed at promoting the prosperity of the Spanish economy through internationalization. Its goals include enhancing the competitiveness of Spanish companies and their ecosystems in international markets; promoting Spain's image, its productive sectors, and companies abroad; attracting, promoting, and supporting foreign investments in Spain; and providing training in these areas. Its international network and close collaboration with chambers of commerce and sectoral associations are key to positioning Spain as a reference in global markets.

ICEX also promotes the international scalability of the technological and innovative entrepreneurship ecosystem through market intelligence activities, institutional support, and the promotion of our companies: startups, scaleups, investment funds, corporations, accelerators, incubators, etc. This is approached from a dual perspective of business development and investment attraction, as well as the creation of partnerships within the ecosystem.
https://www.icex.es/

Red.es
Red.es is the public corporate entity attached to the Ministry of Digital Transformation and The Civil Service. Red.es develops programs to boost the digital economy, innovation and entrepreneurship, in addition to offering training for young people and professionals and support for SMEs and startups through the promotion of efficient and intensive use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).
https://www.red.es/es

SOSA
SOSA is a global open innovation company that connects governments, corporations, and tech companies through a range of accelerator and market entry programs. From two day bootcamps to six month accelerators, SOSA delivers tailored initiatives that help companies navigate new markets and scale internationally. With offices in New York, São Paulo, and Tel Aviv, and partnerships across Europe, Asia, and North America, SOSA supports the global exchange of innovation.

For more information, visit sosa.co

For inquiries about Desafía San Francisco, please contact: Elan Fox, Senior Program Manager, elan.f@sosa.co

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/be99625d-e3f1-4128-a304-98ea06a3fe16

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