TWIS #173

Exciting week: we had many rounds announced (SoulK, BonusX, Zakeke, ViteSicure, INTA systems, and more), M&A news (Healthware Group), and €40m of new funding available to startups from Lombardy.

Hello,

Welcome back to The Week in Italian Startups. This is Niccolò from Primo Ventures: every week, I publish my curated list of the latest news from the Italian startup ecosystem.

The Money

• Soul-K, a food-tech startup, 🇮🇹raised €20,5m in equity (€13m) and debt (€7.5m) from CDP Venture Capital, LIFTT, Azimut, Simest and existing investors (Innogest, Tan food, Levante Capital SIS). BancaTer acted as the debt provider.

• BonusX, a startup helping customers receive tax and other bonuses, 🇮🇹raised €3.2m from Giant Ventures, Exceptional Ventures, 2100 Ventures, and business angels.

• Zakeke, a Visual AI commerce startup, 🇮🇹raised €2m in a SAFE round led by Berrier Capital.

• ViteSicure, an insuretech startup, 🇮🇹raised €2m in a bridge round from existing investors (CDP VC, Reale Mutua, Apside).

• Inta Systems, a lab-on-chip startup, 🇮🇹raised €2m from Eureka! Venture, LIFTT, and Deep Ocean Capital.

• Hoopygang, an influencer marketing startup, 🇮🇹raised €1.25m from CDP VC and Nana Bianca.

• Bug’s Life, a startup producing insect-based proteins, 🇮🇹raised €552k from Sici and Business Angels.

• Gevi, a clean energy startup, raised €400k in a pre-seed round participated by 360CP and CDP.

• Data Masters, an AI-focused edutech startup, raised an additional €200k in its seed round from Primo Ventures, for a total raise of €950k to date.

• Banca Valsabbina 🇮🇹acquired a 15% stake in ID Defend. The amount invested is undisclosed.

• Barcelona-based Workfully raised €1.2m.

• P101 🇮🇹acquired a 24% stake in CityNews, in a secondary transaction.

New Funds

• 360CP, Indaco and United Ventures 🇮🇹raised €40m in aggregate from Lombardia Ventures, a fund-of-funds initiative from the Lombardia region.

M&A

• EVERSANA acquired Healthware Group for an undisclosed amount.

Reading this week

• A mapping of Italian deep-tech startups by 360cp.

• Intesa Sanpaolo 🇮🇹invested in SpaceX.

• Italy used to be a startup desert. Now there are signs of life.

• How Quickly Should You Grow to Key ARR Milestones? The Rule of 56789.

• 8 ways SaaS companies can use AI to get ahead.

• TrueScreen and Cylock 🇮🇹win the second edition of PowerUp! by Qonto.

• A list of top Italian VCs.

• A 🇮🇹profile of Angelini Ventures.

• The State of AI report.

🌟Jobs in Italian Startups🌟

If you want to have one or more job positions relevant to the Italian ecosystem listed, fill out this form. The position will remain visible for 30 days at this link.

Latest positions:

• No new positions this week. Remember, you can add positions from here to thousands of readers from Italy and beyond, very keen on the Italian ecosystem!

Startup Events in Italy🎪

Keep an eye on the upcoming events in the Italian ecosystem¹. Feel free to add an event through this form.

Newly added events:

• Call for Startups: Applications for Techstars Torino 2024

• Venture Capital: motore dell'innovazione

• Demetra Talk

Fundraising Tracker

Ending Notes

Giacomo Mollo and I comment weekly on the latest news: subscribe to our podcast on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcast, Amazon Music, and other platforms to get additional insights on what is happening in the Italian ecosystem.

Have a great week,

N.

1. The following events are welcome, but feel free to submit your entry!

• Demo days

• Calls for startups

• Startup fairs, events, happy hours…