The Money

• Inxpect, a startup developing radar-based safety systems for robots, raised €17m in a round led by FITEC and joined by 360cap and Generali's CVC arm 8A+.

• Armadioverde, a b-corp managing a second-hand fashion marketplace, 🇮🇹raised €2.6m in a round led by AImpact, a social impact investment fund, and by a syndicate of angels.

• EdilGo, a startup developing an e-procurement solution for the construction sector, raised €300k in a round led by CDP Venture Capital and LVenture Group.

• eShoppingAdvisor, an eCommerce platform, raised €500k in a round led by CDP Venture Capital and LVenture Group.

• Renoon, a sustainable-fashion shopping mobile application, 🇮🇹 raised €400k in an angel round facilitated by Doorway, a crowdfunding platform.

• Sequitur Capital, an investment fund focused on B2B and deep-tech startups, participated in the Series C round raised by Swift Navigation, a San Francisco-based company.

Venture builders are being built

• Cantieri Digitali MedTech, a medtech venture builder, 🇮🇹raised €600k from a syndicate of angels and private investors. The firm aims at building a decentralized hospital.

• FoolFarm, another venture builder focused on AI startups, 🇮🇹raised €2m (paywall) and opened its call for projects.

IPOs, SPACs, and other company news

• Philogen, an Italian-Swiss biotech company, set an indicative price range of €15-18 for its upcoming IPO, aiming to raise ~€60m valuing the company in the range €609-731m.

• SPACs (Special-Purpose Acquisition Companies) have been all the rage in the USA since 2020, with Europe largely missing out on the phenomenon.🇮🇹 But some Italian firms and investors have set up a few US-based SPACs and raised almost $1Bn.

• Vevo, a music video platform, launched Moods, an advertising product targeting users based on their mood. The intelligence behind the product has been developed by Musixmatch, a Bologna-based music data&lyrics company.

A2A's approach to corporate innovation

A2A, a utility company, has developed a sophisticated innovation program. It includes open innovation challenges and corporate venture capital efforts, involving direct investments in startups operating in sectors aligned to A2A's strategy, and collaborations with universities and TTOs (such as the PoliMi).

The company has recently published its corporate innovation program guidelines, which feature a "startup kit" with the promise to move fast, with a full-digital process, and with pre-defined and clear payment terms. There are currently two open challenges on the platform.

I wish more Italian corporates followed suit.

Impact investments in Italy

EconomyUp 🇮🇹 published an article about impact investments in Italy, including a comparison with other European countries. Long story short: we have a long way to go. The good news is that EneaTech, the newly-created foundation with half a billion under management, launched a dedicated investment track on green and circular economy startups. Their call for startups is open.

FoodTech500

Forward Fooding published the 2020 FoodTech 500, a list of food tech startups from >50 countries, ranked on "their business size, digital footprint, and sustainability practices."

Ending notes

Next Tuesday (23/2, from 14:30 to 16:00) I will be taking part in the presentation of the EY Venture Capital Barometer - Italy 2020. Feel free to sign up for the online event to know more about the "2020 in Italian Venture Capital" 😊.

Stay safe, and have a great week.

N.