The venture capital (VC) industry in Italy has seen an increase in interest over the last 5 years. This is great news since it means these entrepreneurs are also putting their money where their mouth is and investing in new companies.
This article is part of a series where we present you the best Venture Capital firms across different cities and countries. Here you can view the rankings for Rome and Milan.
Top Venture Capital Firms in Italy
‍
1. LVenture Group
‍
LVenture Group SpA is a holding company listed on the Italian Stock Exchange (MTA), operating in the field of Venture Capital. It owns the Startup Accelerator LUISS EnLabs, born from a joint venture with Luiss University, which has grown into a point of reference in Italian innovation ecosystem. We provide a 9,000 sqm Hub in Rome’s Termini Station, in addition to a dedicated office space in Milan, at the Milan LUISS Hub. Today our investment portfolio includes 90+ startups, characterized by high digital innovation and scalability. Our business model is based mainly on capital gains from the exits of our startups.
‍
Website: www.lventuregroup.com
Founded: 2012
LVenture Group's most notable exits include VOIS, AppsBuilder, and Lybra.tech | Intelligent Revenue Assistant.
‍
2. P101
‍
P101 is a venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments in the digital sector. They aim to provide new entrepreneurs with capital, expertise, and resources to sustain and accelerate the growth of their companies.
P101 has been launched by Andrea Di Camillo, who has over 20 years of experience as a venture capital investor and is among the founders of Banzai and Vitaminic. The investment company is named after the first personal computer sold on a large scale. Programma 101 was designed and manufactured by Olivetti during the 60s, and was an example of Italian innovation that has left a mark on the history of modern digital technology.
‍
Website: www.p101.it
Founded: 2013
Total fund size: €209.2M
P101's most notable exits include Musixmatch, Bipi, and Keyless.
‍
3. Innogest Capital
‍
Innogest is a venture capital firm founded in 2006 with offices in Turin, Milan, Geneva and San Francisco. It manages investment funds for a total value of about €200 million and it invests in startups mainly in the healthcare and digital sectors mainly in early stage phase. Innogest partners with main local and international research centers and technology transfer offices. In the healthcare field, Innogest invests with a focus on medical devices, diagnostics and digital health and with particular attention to therapeutic areas such as cardiovascular, neurology, and oncology. In the digital field, Innogest invests with a focus on foodtech, fintech, fashion-tech and lifestyle verticals
‍
Website: www.innogestcapital.com
Founded: 2006
Total fund size: €165M
Innogest Capital's most notable exits include Renovacor, CornerJob, and Affera, Inc..
‍
4. CDP Venture Capital
‍
CDP Venture Capital Sgr - National Innovation Fund aims to make venture capital a cornerstone of the country's economic development and innovation, creating the conditions for an overall and sustainable growth of the venture capital ecosystem.
‍
Website: www.cdpventurecapital.it
Total fund size: €181.7M
‍
5. United Ventures
‍
We invest in people and technology. Our mission is to support extraordinary founders in their journey to build great companies, from early to growth stage.
United Ventures is an independent Italian venture capital firm investing in digital technologies. Since 2013, it has partnered with over twenty-five technology startups, supporting their growt hand international expansion process. United Ventures has €190M in assets under management on two early-stage funds, and it is currently raising the first Italy-based VC fund focused on growth equity investments to broaden the firm’s strategy of investing in the best technology entrepreneurs.
The firm’s portfolio includes to date sixteen companies across Italy, UK, Switzerland, Israel, and USA: UV1 - Cloud4Wi, Datrix, Faceit, Loop AI Labs, Mainstreaming, Moneyfarm, Musixmatch UV2 - BOOM, brumbrum, Credimi, Equalum, Exein, Fiscozen, InSilicoTrials, MishiPay, xFarm
‍
Website: www.unitedventures.com
Founded: 2013
Total fund size: $250.3M
United Ventures's most notable exits include Musixmatch, FaceIT, and brumbrum.
6. Vertis SGR S.p.A.
‍
Vertis is a dynamic and independent investment management company authorised by Bank of Italy. It manages five closed-end funds for qualified investors by participating in research projects, spin-offs, startups and PMI and deals with the investments of the innovative Made in Italy.
‍
Website: www.vertis.it
Founded: 2007
Total fund size: $126.5M
Vertis SGR S.p.A.'s most notable exits include AppsBuilder, Vivocha, and Paperlit.
‍
7. Primo Ventures
‍
Primo Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on seed and early stage startups. The firm manages two funds focused on the digital sector and one fund specializing in the new space economy.
‍
Website: www.primo.vc
Founded: 2016
Total fund size: €191M
Primo Ventures's most notable exits include Keyless and Mindesk.
‍
8. Milano Investment Partners
‍
MIP SGR is a global investment platform specialized in Venture Capital with multiple alternative and reserved funds, differentiated by growth stages of the portfolio companies and geographical scope, giving privileged access to growing markets. Established in Milan in 2017, MIP SGR is an Alternative Investment Fund Management Company focused mainly but not exclusively on Tech, Consumer & Lifestyle investments, managing several investment funds. After the success of MIP I fund, in 2021 Milano Investment Partners SGR launched U-Start Ventures, a Multi-compartment fund dedicated to Club Deals in the U.S and Northern Europe, and Cliffs, a new alternative and reserved fund for early-stage, deep-tech focused investments across U.S. Venture Capital landscape and other international hubs. MIP invests in the new class of excellence-driven entrepreneurs across the globe and supports founders and portfolio companies in their quest to go from solid businesses to global champions, combining decades of investing and operational/entrepreneurial experience with a truly global network to help our portfolio companies grow, faster and stronger.
‍
Website: www.milanoinvestment.com
Founded: 2017
Total fund size: $114.3M
‍
9. Synergo Capital
‍
Synergo Capital is an asset manager specialized in investments in Italian startups and SMEs established and managed by entrepreneurs who wish to access financial and strategic support with the aim of sustainably increasing value by taking advantage of opportunities on international markets. Synergo Capital provides active involvement through operational experience, strategic guidance, and extensive domestic and international network.
In 2020, Synergo Capital established the first Italian private equity fund, Sinergia III, focusing on the foreign direct investment of Italian SMEs in the U.S. and the first Italian venture capital fund, Sinergia Venture Fund, dedicated to innovative Italian startups and SMEs.
‍
Website: www.synergo.capital
Founded: 2004
Total fund size: $1.3B
Synergo Capital's most notable exits include IPC, Giovanni Bozzetto, and Fintyre.
