Spain leads Europe with regard to gender diversity in business creation, according to the 6th SISTA x Boston Consulting Group barometer on gender parity in the creation and funding of startups. All-female teams account for 12% of startups established, and 7% of fundraisings. In the AI sector, they account for 10% of companies and 6% of capital raised. Mixed teams also rank first in terms of both the number and the percentage of funds raised.

Focusing on AI, the Gender Parity study in startups: a persistent European challenge analyses five European countries: Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Sweden. Overall, women remain under-represented in all of them, with an even wider gap in AI. In Spain, the percentage of companies founded by women has grown from 10% in 2022 to 12% in 2025.

Fundraising
The absolute number of startups founded by women in the five countries analysed has grown by 13% since 2022, but their relative proportion remains stable, with 10% having a female founder and 9% being created by mixed teams (12% in 2022). In AI, the proportions are even lower, with 6% all-female and 10% mixed teams.

Among the teams made up exclusively of women, there is also a gap in fundraising. On average, they gain access to 7% of funding rounds and raise 2% of the funds, whereas in the AI sector they only gain access to 5% of funding rounds and secure 1% of the total. Despite the fact that there is at least one female founder in 25% of the companies that raise funds, these companies secure only 15% of the amounts invested.

Sectors with limited appeal for AI
The report explains that women raise far less capital than men, partly because they tend to found startups in sectors that attract little investment in AI. The fact is that their companies are excluded from major funding deals.

The solution to integrate women as entrepreneurs in the AI sector seems to lie in their participation in mixed-gender teams. The study has found that these raise virtually the same amount as those made up exclusively of men, and fifteen times more than those made up exclusively of women. This perhaps explains why 60% of women founders in AI startups are part of mixed teams, compared with 47% of companies in general.

A critical risk
In addition to measuring the funding secured by startups founded by women and by mixed teams, the 2025 edition focuses specifically on the role of women in AI. And it does not refer exclusively to gender parity as an objective, but rather as a necessary means of strengthening innovation, economic resilience and Europe’s capacity to build a future that reflects all its talent.

The report considers that the influence of AI across all sectors means that the European technology ecosystem is at a pivotal moment, and in which women continue to be virtually absent, whether as founders, as leaders of AI-driven companies or as contributors to the technologies that will shape the continent’s future. According to the report, this underrepresentation, poses a critical risk.

Inclusion policy
Overall, AI companies in 2025 have attracted the fastest and highest-valued funding rounds compared with other sectors. According to the conclusion of the report, this surge may widen the gender gap, due to the lower presence of women in technology and AI roles. In Spain, in particular, there has been high venture capital activity this year, with fewer, larger funding rounds. Greater female representation is supported by policies of systematic inclusion in investor panels and events.

The funding gap remains, as five years have passed since the signing of the SISTA charter, which was signed by more than one hundred investment funds to ensure that women would represent 25% of their portfolios by 2025, 30% by 2030 and 50% by 2050.

^{Photo: Boston Consulting Group}