Angels Way, the first community-managed fund regulated by the CMVM, has closed four new investments, according to a media statement.
Lampsy, Intuitivo, Smashpro, and UpSpeech are the latest ventures backed by this collective of 436 small-scale investors, focused on supporting pre-seed, technology-based Portuguese startups.
There are now 15 startups backed by the community, bringing the fund to 75% of its initial goal of selecting 20 projects with strong growth potential.
The portfolio features new companies based on original AI solutions, designed from the start for international markets. Together, these startups are now valued at €79.5 million.
In 18 months, Angels Way has evaluated 124 startups and conducted 281 meetings for collective analysis, always held remotely and supported by proprietary technology built on a blockchain structure.
Launched by Olisipo Way and managed by OW Ventures, its goal is to identify and support the most promising startups in Portugal with fixed investments of €50,000, totaling €1 million.
Tocha, executive partner at Olisipo Way, says this path validates a model for democratizing investment and rethinks how we can identify and support innovation.
“In a year and a half, we have proven that it is possible to structure a regulated fund where 436 investors actively participate in the entire investment cycle. We have shown that early-stage investment can be fairer and more stimulating. More than just a fund, we are now a community committed to creating value for transformative ideas.”
Luís Filipe Gutman, managing partner at OW Ventures, added that their investment thesis is not limited to a specific sector.
“We look for patterns of excellence that cut across industries. Smashpro, Lampsy, Intuitivo, and UpSpeech are clear examples of this: Four startups, four markets, but all built on solid foundations of product, execution, and ambition for international scale.”
Lampsy
Lampsy has created a lamp with AI and computer vision that detects and records movements associated with epileptic seizures in real-time.
By doing so, the startup is addressing a gap in seizure monitoring, particularly at night, when seizures can go unnoticed. Research has found that 86% of sudden unexpected deaths in epilepsy were unwitnessed, while 69.3% occurred during sleep.
The system demonstrates 99% accuracy and records only one false alarm every 90 nights.
Born from a master’s project in Biomedical Engineering at Instituto Superior Técnico, the startup plans to extend the technology to other invisible conditions, such as sleep apnea and sudden infant death syndrome.
The solution reached patients through pilot projects with six public hospitals in Portugal and one in Germany, and it is now preparing for direct-to-consumer sales.
It has a waiting list of over 5,000 people (half in the UK) and is committed to maintaining affordable prices.
This summer, it received investment from the European Innovation Council’s pre-accelerator and is currently in clinical trials for Class II certification in Europe and FDA approval in the United States.
Read more: Lampsy Health prepares September rollout of epilepsy monitoring device with 5,000+ on waitlist
Intuitivo
Intuitivo automates administrative work and reduces the burden on teachers. Created in 2021 in Porto at a teacher’s request, it was developed with teaching groups.
The result is a comprehensive digital assessment platform that adapts to any subject or grade level to manage the whole assessment process, including AI-assisted exercise creation, compatibility with any device, automatic grading (including open-ended answers), and personalized feedback.
On average, the platform says it helps each teacher save more than two days of work per month and solves a structural problem:
According to the OECD, teaching accounts for about 43% of teachers’ working time. In Portugal, teachers spend 6.9 hours per week marking and correcting student work, compared to the OECD average of 4.6 hours.
This bureaucratic burden comes amid a teacher shortage. FENPROF estimates that around 40,000 students per week did not have at least one required teacher during the second term of the 2025/26 school year.
In 2024, Intuitivo won the PITCH competition at Web Summit. It now has over 60,000 registered teachers and surpassed 1 million assessments in the 2025/26 school year, accumulating an estimated 165,000 hours of saved work.
Smashpro
Padel has seen rapid growth in recent years, with the number of players, clubs, and courts continuing to increase across markets worldwide. Smashpro was launched in response to the sport’s growing popularity.
It is a next-generation, all-in-one platform for managing padel, tennis, and pickleball clubs. The solution helps sports facilities avoid high fees while maintaining full control over their operations.
Created by a 100% Portuguese team, the platform addresses a chronic industry issue. According to Smashpro, many sports facilities still rely on Excel spreadsheets and multiple software tools to manage their operations.
Smashpro resolves this technological fragmentation and avoids the marketplaces that charge booking fees of 15% to 20%.
Through a simple SaaS model, the software centralizes the entire calendar of bookings, classes, points of sale, inventory, and billing. It also natively integrates AI workflows for dynamic pricing, demand forecasting, and campaign automation, optimizing revenue.
UpSpeech
UpSpeech has developed a multimodal AI infrastructure that analyzes audio, facial movements, and clinical context to address a common challenge in speech therapy: adherence to home practice.
Recent research suggests that adherence to home exercise programs in speech-language therapy can be as low as 30% to 50%.
The startup has a team of 12 speech therapists. It has pilot projects underway in Portugal and Spain, with larger-scale testing planned for October. Their target markets include Portugal, Spain, and Brazil.
Their ongoing fundraising will finance the Class I medical device’s regulatory roadmap over 18–24 months and support international expansion.
Featured image: Courtesy of the featured companies
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