While the September sun warmed everyone’s hearts, unfortunately, it couldn’t do anything to counter the slowdown in venture capital investments. Italian private equity and venture capital markets were marked in the first half of 2023 year by a significant absence of mega-deals, leading to a 71% drop in investments compared to last year, totaling 3.189 million euros. Shown in the findings, of the research analysis conducted by AIFI, in collaboration with PwC Italia.
It seems that the Italian VC sector is struggling, but this shouldn’t be too concerning, as it remains active. Despite the significantly lower capital invested due to only 3 mega-rounds compared to the eight rounds held in the previous year, the number of investments has grown by 2% compared to the first half of 2022, from 338 to 346. Among the regions, Lombardy is strongly driving the market, covering 51.4% of investments, with a primary focus on the ICT sector. The Italian innovative startup landscape continues to offer exciting opportunities, provided one knows where to look. Let’s take a close look at the September deals, with a particular focus on digital transformation.
BeDimensional
A deeptech company specializing in the production of graphene and two-dimensional crystals, has closed a new round of investments, with a capital increase of 5 million euros led by EUREKA! Venture SGR. The capital will enable the Genoa-based startup to accelerate industrial scale-up and commercially validate the use of 2D crystals as additives in innovative industrial products, such as longer-lasting batteries and high-strength polymers.
Cleafy
An Italian scale-up active in fighting online banking fraud, has closed a 10 million euro investment round from United Ventures through the UV T-Growth fund. The startup was founded and conceived by cybersecurity experts, data scientists, and software engineers. The new funds will be used to embark on an expansion journey, extending their platform to new markets and institutions worldwide.
The Yellow Train srl
The startup owner of nurseries and preschools, has launched a new capital increase of 10 million euros, of which 5 million have already been undersigned. Operating under the name Becoming Education, the company currently manages a network of 10 bilingual schools in the 0-13 age group in Milan, Monza, the province of Varese, and Modena. The new funds will be used to continue growth through new acquisitions in Italy, starting from the areas where it is already present.
Homepal
The leading digital real estate agency in the Italian market, facilitating direct interaction between demand and supply, has forged a strategic and commercial partnership with Intesa Sanpaolo and BPER Banca, with an investment of approximately 15 million euros. The aim is to transform the startup into a digital platform open to market operators. At the end of the transaction, Intesa Sanpaolo will own 49% of the new entity, BPER Banca 17%, with the remainder continuing to be held by Homepal’s shareholders.
Namirial S.p.A.
A leading company in digital trust services, and RGI, active in software solutions for the European insurance sector, have signed a partnership aimed at accelerating digital transformation in the insurance sector. RGI will be able to offer its customers Namirial’s suite of digital services, such as digital signatures and long-term archiving, while Namirial will expand its coverage in the public administration markets.
