Kiara Ventures is a Valencia, Spain-based pre-seed and seed venture fund founded by Pedro Ramón López and David Cayuela Penalva, built to bridge European capital with Silicon Valley deal flow. The firm operates between Valencia and the Bay Area, with on-the-ground presence in Silicon Valley startup communities connected to Stanford, Berkeley, and Y Combinator.
Kiara backs pre-seed and seed stage technical founders building from Silicon Valley across AI, software infrastructure, fintech, and climate technology.
The firm targets founders before they open a round, writing first checks into companies connected to Stanford, Berkeley, YC, and the broader Silicon Valley ecosystem.
Kiara Ventures launched a $25M Fund I. LP composition is not publicly disclosed.
The fund plans to back 25–30 companies with initial checks of $320K–$550K.
Leadership
David Cayuela Penalva is Co-Founder and Managing Partner. He is CEO of Iflur, accelerated by Free Ventures and SkyDeck at UC Berkeley, with two years in VC in San Francisco and over seven years in the startup ecosystem. He holds scholarships from UC Berkeley, IESE, and Babson College.
Pedro Ramón López is Co-Founder and Managing Partner, a 15-year executive at BBVA across investment, private, and corporate banking, with operations exceeding $1B, and co-founder of two startups with $15M+ raised and $25M+ in revenue.
Investment Strategy
Kiara writes $320K–$550K first checks into technical founders before they open a formal round, targeting the pre-seed and seed stages within Silicon Valley's highest-conviction ecosystems.
The firm's model is built on direct access to deal flow that European funds have historically lacked, with the thesis that Silicon Valley founders increasingly seek European capital for speed and lower dilution.
info@kiaravc.com
decks@kiaravc.com
David Cayuela Penalva — Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Pedro Ramón López — Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Spain
