Milan-based VC firm United Ventures has announced the first close of a new fund at €65m, with a target size of €150m.
Over the next five years, United Ventures plans to back 15 to 18 early-stage European tech companies across a number of sectors. United Ventures will invest in companies across Europe, but with a particular focus on the Italian ecosystem.
It will write initial cheques ranging from €1m-8m, backing companies making tech solutions for “as-of-yet undigitised sectors”. United Ventures gives examples of its Italian portfolio companies xFarm Technologies, focused on digitising agriculture, and InSilicoTrials, specialising in simulation for new drug development, as companies that fit this thesis.
A number of Italian and institutional investors backed the fund, including CDP Venture Capital, Banca Popolare di Milano, UniCredit, Sella and Fondazione Carilucca.
The new fund, named United Ventures III, is the firm’s fourth venture fund. It already manages two early-stage funds and one growth fund; if the new fund closes on target, the firm will manage €500m in total.
The firm plans to split the fund 50/50 between initial and follow-on investments.
United Ventures was founded 10 years ago and has backed a total of 35 startups, including Italian wealthtech Moneyfarm, Italian online grocery platform Everli and Italian crypto exchange Young Platform. Approximately 70% of United’s current portfolio companies are Italian, which it believes is an overlooked market.
Last year saw two of its portfolio companies from the country, esports platform FACEIT and music data platform Musixmatch, exit — and the firm says it made over a 10x return on both.
Alongside the announcement of the new fund, United Ventures has also promoted Sara Lovato and Giulia Giovannini to investment partners, managing the new fund.
The firm has also appointed Jacopo Drudi as an operating partner to support portfolio companies’ growth, and AI expert Mariarosaria Taddeo as the firm’s second independent member of its board of directors.
The news comes as more and more international investors say they’re eyeing up early-stage companies in Italy, in particular in the deeptech and fintech sectors. Italy’s startups raised a record-breaking amount of funding in 2022 — €1.7bn — and two became unicorns: Scalapay and Satispay. Funding has since slowed, but local investors say there’s a number of promising startups still emerging in the country.
