June 7, 2022 Statistics

Italian venture capital market: € 5 billion raised in 5 years. The 2021 statistics

According to the statistics produced by P101 and BeBeez, startups and scaleups based in Italy or founded by Italians (and based abroad) have raised more than € 5.1 billion in 5 years (2016-2021), of which approx. € 2.9 billion was raised by Italian-based companies and € 2.2 billion by Italian companies abroad.

In particular, in 2021, the total amount raised by Italian startups and scaleups was € 2.9 billion in 534 deals divided into 341 VC rounds, 171 equity crowdfunding campaigns and 23 fundraising rounds from other investment vehicles.

The 2020 and 2019 statistics are available here: 2020; 2019

Two-thirds of the capital raised in 2021 was invested in 20 companies (€ 2.05 billion). Many scaleups are companies founded by Italians and based abroad, particularly in the US or UK, with a global business model easily developed outside Italy.

Top 20 rounds in Italian startups and scaleups in 2021

CompanyActivityAmount
2021 Round
Total Capital Raised
Sysdig (USA)Software & ICT$ 538 m$ 744 m
True Layer (UK)Fintech$ 200 m$ 272 m
Heroes (UK)Internet & commerce$ 200 m$ 265 m
Soldo (UK)Fintech$ 180 m$ 264 m
Evidation Health (USA)Internet & commerce$ 153 m$ 259 m
ScalaPayFintech$ 203 m$ 203 m
CasavoReal Estate€ 50 m€ 150 m
Kong (USA)Fintech$ 100 m$ 170 m
Supply@MeCapital (UK)Fintech£ 67 m£ 109 m
MotorKSoftware & ICT€ 75 m€ 115 m
EverliRetail / Food$ 100 m€ 112 m
Newcleo (UK)Energy & utilities$ 118 m$ 118 m
Helbiz (USA)Transport, shipping, logistics$ 29.5 m$ 68 m
Genenta ScienceBiotech$ 36 m€ 66 m
Delimobil (Russia)Transport, shipping, logistics$ 75 m$ 75 m
D-OrbitSpace€ 36.6€ 62 m
Yapily (UK)Fintech$ 51 m$ 69 m
CortiliaRetail / Food€ 34 m€ 50 m
TannicoInternet & commerce€ 32 m€ 40 m
V-Nova (UK)Software & ICT€ 33 m€ 38 m
Source: P101 and Bebeez

Apart from the large rounds, there were 173 investments between € 1 and 20 million in 2021. A considerable number of rounds were equity crowdfunding campaigns. According to CrowdfundingBuzz, crowdfunding platforms raised a total of € 171.9 million last year, up from € 103 million in 2020 and up from € 65 million in 2019.

Statistics also include venture debt rounds, which are rapidly gaining ground, although still a minority. Banks and specialised funds provide capital in direct lending or convertible bonds. In 2020 and 2021, venture debt accounted for about 10% of total funding, € 75 million and € 296 million, respectively.

Statistics consider all venture capital operators, including funds and equity crowdfunding platforms and other investment vehicles, who have communicated in the press their investments.

2021 was the year in which an increasing number and variety of investors entered the VC market. Alongside specialised VC funds, investment holding companies, corporations (with or without corporate venture capital structures), business angels, crowds, incubators and accelerators also took an active part in the Italian market. Moreover, investment vehicles and funds open to private retail investors have grown more numerous.

The market’s internationalisation level increased in 2021: Italian startups and scaleups are growing in size and attracting international investors. At the same time, Italian venture capital firms are growing in size and investing in companies outside Italy. Moreover, corporates applying the open innovation approach without geographical limits are also increasing.

Top 9 rounds of Italian investors in foreign startups and scaleups in 2021

CompanyCountryActivityInvestors 2021 Round
WefoxGermanyFintechGlobal Tech Ventures, Victory Park Capital, Target Global, Yaron Valler, Speedinvest, Sound Ventures, Ashton Kutcher, Seedcamp, Reshma Sohoni, Salesforce Ventures, Alex Kayyal, Partners Group, OMERS Ventures, Henry Gladwyn, Mubadala Capital | Ventures Europe, Amer Alaily, Mountain Partners, other international funds
Archer AviationUSATransport, shipping & logisticsExor, Stellantis, Atlas Crest Investment Corp, Baron Capital Group, Federated Hermes Kaufmann Funds, Mubadala, Putnam Investments, Access Industries, United Arlines
ArgobioFranceFinancial servicesAngelini Pharma, Evotec, Institut Pasteur
AugmentaFranceIndustrial automationCNH and other investors
Bipi MobilitySpainTransport, shipping & logisticsP102, Italia 500, Adevinta Ventures, Toyota AI Ventures, AtresMedia, IDC Ventures, Maniv Mobility, TA Ventures
Cars24IndiaInternet & ecommerceAlpha Wave Global (ex Falcon Edge), DST Global, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Tencent, Alpha Wave Incubation, BloombergSen Investment Partners, Moore Strategic Ventures, Exor Seeds
Chipper CashUSAFintechGlobal Tech Ventures, Tribe Capital, SVB Capital, Tilli Kalisky- Bannett, Ribbit Capital, One Way Ventures, Deciens Capital, Daniel Kimerling, Brue2 Ventures, Bezos Expeditions, 500 Startups
CoinhakoSingaporeFintechDigital Asset Opportunity fund (Sygnum Bank, SBI, Azimut), Boost VC
DatafolioFranceFintechValerio Caracciolo, European investors in the insurance and tech industries
Source: P101 and Bebeez

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