The week in Italian startups - Issue #28
The Money
Coreview [cb], a Milan-based provider of SaaS management services for Microsoft 365 and other products, raised $10M in a Series B round led by Insight Partners [cb], already an investor in the company. Coreview is currently managing 5M users on its platform.
MMI SpA [cb], a company developing robotic solutions for patients undergoing microsurgery, received a €15M financing round by the European Investment Bank, under the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) scheme.
Phononic Vibes [cb], a Politecnico of Milan spin-of developing innovative materials for noise and vibration reduction, raised €2.3M in a round led by Eureka! Venture [cb] alongside existing investors 360 Capital Partners [cb] and Pantecnica SpA.
EpiCura [cb], a "digital health center", 🇮🇹received €2M in debt financing by a group of banks and Finpiemonte, the financial arm of the Piemonte region, in north-west Italy.
Lokky [cb], a digital broker offering insurance products to micro and small enterprises, 🇮🇹raised €1M from private investors.
Design Italy, an e-commerce platform focused on Italian design, raised €500K in a crowdfunding campaign on 200crowd [cb]. Gellify [cb] joined private investors in the round.
Banca Sella launches a new Fund-of-Fund initiative
🇮🇹 Banca Sella Group just announced a new fund-of-fund initiative aimed at investing in international VC funds. The f-o-f has an initial allocation of €30M and aims at raising a total of €100M, to be deployed in 20 funds.
The group is one of the most innovative private financial institutions in Italy: it is a direct investor in several VC funds and it also invests heavily in innovation (remember the recent JV with Illimity?).
Fintech & COVID-19
Credimi [cb], a Milan-based fintech company offering digital factoring and credit facilities to SMEs, 🇮🇹announced to have offered €1.2Bn of credit since its inception in 2017, of which €450M in 2020 alone.
M&A
After months of rumors and speculations, Nexi [NEXI.MI] and SIA agreed on a merger that will create one of the biggest European payment providers.
According to the press release, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (the parent of CDP Venture Capital, one of the main guests on this newsletter) will be the single biggest shareholder of the combined entity, with a 25% stake.
Following the news, 🇮🇹Mercury Uk Holco announced it will sell 13.4% of its participation in Nexi.
Since we are talking about CDP, the other big M&A news is the acquisition of Borsa Italiana Group by Euronext. Borsa Italiana's previous owner, LSE, will pocket €4.325 Billion. According to the article, the resulting entity would control a quarter of the equity exchange volume in Europe. CDP and Intesa San Paolo are bidding alongside Euronext (and will acquire a stake in the latter).
Reading this week
I enjoy reading articles about the history and evolution of markets. This one in particular strikes a chord because it tells the story of the Nintendo marketing efforts in Italy between the 1980s and the 1990s. In the article, you will find some interesting lessons about product positioning, segmentation, and communication. And, why not, a bit of company drama.
If you are into professional software engineering, you might find a lot of interesting content in Luca Rossi's newsletter Refactoring. Luca is a former startup founder and CTO, with experience in raising venture capital and scaling technical teams - with all the troubles attached 😉.
Ending Notes
A few weeks ago, I joked about CDP Venture Capital taking over the news... This week, instead, its parent company made the headlines with two different operations that will have international resonance in the coming months. This news confirms CDP as one of the most powerful engines in both the startup and corporate ecosystems, in Italy and Europe.
Thank you for reading this far, have a great week, and stay safe!
Nico
