Why We Invested in AdCities
From analog billboards to data-driven infrastructure: why we believe in AdCities.
In early-stage investing, the story always starts with the founders. Product matters, timing matters, market matters, but the people building the company are the real thesis.
That’s exactly how our relationship with AdCities began.
The First Meeting
Enrique met Manu Ferreira, CEO of AdCities, just before the summer of 2024. Within minutes, it was clear Manu had something rare. Sharp. Fast. Charismatic. A natural builder who can open any door, sell a complex idea with clarity, and still stay grounded in reality.
We kept talking. And as the vision became clearer — a plan to turn outdoor advertising into a measurable, data-driven channel — we saw the ambition behind it. The market was messy, fragmented, and misunderstood. Exactly the kind of environment where the right founders can create something big.
Then we met Jacobo Lumbreas, CPO. He brought from the U.S., the technical depth and engineering discipline that perfectly complements Manu’s commercial instinct. Together they had the chemistry that’s impossible to fake: ambition paired with precision.
We knew we wanted to invest early. But there was one catch.
At that moment, Plus Partners was still waiting for CNMV approval of our management company. Legally, we couldn’t participate yet. So we did the only thing you can do in these situations: stay close.
And then fate did its thing.
Building Next to Us
A few months later, AdCities moved into the same office building where Plus Partners is based. From that moment on, we weren’t just talking to the team — we were watching them build. Week after week, new faces walked through the door. The energy of the company became palpable even before the founders arrived each morning. They were shipping fast, learning faster, and executing with discipline.
It was the kind of environment that reminds you why early stage is special. And it reinforced what we already felt: this team is different.
Understanding the Market
Outdoor advertising (OOH) is enormous — more than €10B in Europe alone — yet still operates with a surprising degree of analog inefficiency. For decades, the channel has suffered from three structural gaps:
No reliable measurement of what happens after a billboard goes up
Deeply fragmented inventory across hundreds of owners
Manual workflows that force agencies to coordinate with dozens of independent operators
In Spain, outdoor advertising is everywhere, in streets, transport, shops and public spaces — yet it still captures only around 7% of total ad spend.
Not because the channel lacks reach or impact — but because, until now, marketers couldn’t prove performance. As Manu says:
“Measuring OOH used to be almost an act of faith.”
OOH lived on a lonely island — powerful in attention, but disconnected from the measurement, attribution, and automation that define modern digital marketing.
Meanwhile, global dynamics were shifting. Digital channels were saturating, CPMs were rising, attention was collapsing, and trust was eroding. Brands were looking for alternatives beyond Google, Meta, and TikTok — channels that could deliver real impact without the noise of digital fatigue. At the same time, OOH was growing at double-digit rates globally, with cities expanding their network of digital screens and urban mobility data becoming increasingly rich.
The ingredients for a transformation were all on the table.
The AdCities Solution
AdCities is building the measurement engine for the physical world — the missing infrastructure that allows outdoor advertising to work with the precision and agility of digital.
Their proprietary technology, OMI (Outdoor Media Intelligence), does something that previously did not exist in the OOH industry:
Understands audiences through geocontextual intelligence
Combines first-party and third-party data at scale
Scores every physical space by real mobility and behavior patterns
Activates campaigns instantly across any type of support
Provides real-time impressions and attribution
In one line: OMI brings digital logic to physical environments.
The business model is equally compelling. AdCities sits at the intersection of:
Brands and agencies, who want OOH to be measurable, automatable, and compatible with digital planning tools
Media owners, who want access to digital budgets and operational efficiency
OMI becomes the bridge between both sides — allocating budgets to the most effective supports in the right place, at the right moment.
Proof They Execute
Between 2024 and 2025, AdCities didn’t just validate its technology — it validated its execution.
Campaigns with 25+ major brands including Telefónica, Decathlon, Mapfre, Donuts, and Iberdrola
More than 7 million measurable impressions delivered in Madrid
A rapidly expanding inventory network across multiple formats (screens, marquesinas, vehicles, retail points)
A growing team with senior advisors from Iberdrola, Havas Media, and Meta
A commercial trajectory that confirmed both demand and product-market-fit
When we sat down with Manu and Jacobo again in May 2025, it was crystal clear:
everything they promised in the pre-seed stage had been delivered — and delivered fast. This is really impressive for any early stage start-up.
The Decision
This time there were no blockers — and no doubts.
We invested because Manu and Jacobo embody the traits we believe define the next generation of Southern European founders:
Speed in execution
Clarity in decision-making
Ambition with discipline
Humility to keep learning
We invested because the market is ready, the timing is right, and the product solves a real, structural problem. But above all, we invested because this is the kind of team that builds.
Looking Ahead
AdCities is not simply digitizing outdoor advertising.
They are accelerating a global shift.
With OOH growing faster than any other traditional channel, with cities adding more digital supports every year, and with brands demanding alternatives to saturated digital ecosystems, the opportunity ahead is enormous.
International expansion is already underway — starting with Mexico as the gateway to Latin America and soon additional European markets. With OMI at its core, AdCities is positioned to become the operating system for measurable outdoor media.
We’re proud to be actively supporting their vision.
And we’re just getting started.
Congratulations Manu, Jacobo and the Adcities team. We are proud to join you on this journey!