Prima Assicurazioni, an Artificial Intelligence insurtech startup, raised 100 million of euros from Goldman Sachs Private Capital Investing and Blackstone Tactical Opportunities (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Alberto Genovese, ceo and founder of Prima and of car sales platform BrumBrum and fares comparator Facile.it, will keep a majority of the business togeter with co-founder Teodoro D’Ambrosio, who is also cofounder of TA Ventures. The new investors will appoint two board members. George Ottathycal, a former consultant of BCG, is one of Prima’s directors. The company will invest the proceeds of this investment round in its organic growth. Prima raised insurance policies for 65 million euro per year.
Davide Dattoli, ceo of Talent Garden, acquired back 9% of the company together with the other managers of the startup company which is the biggest co-working spaces network for the digital sector in Europe (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Digital Magics, the listed Italian incubator, sold its stake in Talent Garden for 3.6 million of euros and cashed in a capital gain of 3.2 million with an Irr of 80%. Digital Magics had invested in Talent Garden in 2014 and in 2015 raised its holding to above 30%. In November 2016, Talent Garden raised 12 million from a pool of investors which included San Francisco based incubator 500 Startups (Dave McClure director) and Endeavor Catalyst, a firm that Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn founder, sponsors. Several Italian multifamily offices invested in Talent Garden under to leadership of Tamburi Investment Partners, 25% shareholder in the company. The list of investors includes entrepreneurs’ families Angelini, Dompé, D’amico, Ferrero, Alfredo Cazzola, and the founders of Volagratis, MutuiOnLine, Alkemy, and Esprinet. Talent Garden has revenues of 8.9 million.
Techshare, a program of Euronext, selected 11 Italian scaleup companies to be part of a list of 135 European businesses that might soon think of an ipo or approaching financial investors (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Euronext appointed Giovanni Vecchio as Italy’s country manager for helping Italian scaleups and tech SMEs to list.
The following Italian companies will be part of Techshare program:
- BetaGlue Technology (FKA Seventeen) a provider of innovative therapies for cancer. In September 2016, the company raised 4.2 million of euros from Innogest and Panakés. Francesco Izzo, MD, a director of an oncology unit of Naples based Ospedale Pascale, is the company’s founder, while Massimo Romanelli, Lucio Fumi, and Laura Iris Ferro (founder and former ceo of Gentium) are BetaGlue’s coo, chairman, and independent board member.
- Buzzoole, a Naples-based digital marketing tool that Fabrizio Perrone, Gennaro Varriale, Luca Pignataro, and Luca Camillo founded and that last year raised 0.83 million of US Dollars through a convertible note that US venture capitalImpulse VC (it belongs to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich) and Swiss R301 Capital subscribed. Aim-listed Expert System also invested in Buzzoole in previous rounds. Buzzoole has revenues of 8 million of euros and is about to launch True Reach, a provider of metrics for influencer marketing campaigns, that the company developed withNielsen.
- Genenta Science, a biotech scaleup that Milan’s Ospedale San Raffaele, Pierluigi Paracchi (cofounder of Principia – fka Quantica – and ceo of Medixea Capital), scientists Luigi Naldini, and Bernhard Gentner. Investors from England, Switzerland, and Italy poured 20.4 million of US Dollars (17 million of euros) in the company through two previous investment rounds. Genenta will open a bureau in New York at Alexandria LaunchLabs, a startup platform based at the Alexandria Center for Life Science.
- GreenBone, a medical startup that Lorenzo Pradella cofounded in 2014. Helsinn Investment Fund sa (the corporate venture capital arm of the eponymous Swiss pharma company), Invitalia Ventures, Innogest, Italian Angels for Growth, ZernikeMeta Ventures, and private investors provided resources for above 11 million of euros through two investment rounds.
- Greenrail, an innovative producer of railways track components that Giovanni Maria De Lisi founded in 2012 with the help of Polihub, the Incubator of Milan Polytechnic University (Polimi). The company signed a 15-years agreement with SafePower1 that will generate revenues worth 26 million of euros that may increase to 75 million with the royalties on future sales. SafePower1 will distribute Greenrail’s products in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin.
- Mapendo, a provider of services for users acquisitions for IOS and Android apps that Lorenzo Viscanti and Marco Marchini, founded in 2014. Italian Angels for Growth (IAG), Primomiglio of Gianluca Dettori, and other investors provided resources for 0.72 million of euros.
- MotorK, a digital automotive company that aims to implement a digital transformation of the automotive sector that ceo Marco Marlia founded in 2010. European venture capital funds 83North and Zobito invested in the company. MotorK developed DriveK (an Italian marketplace for new cars), DealerK (a SaaS for the digital management of car dealers), and Internet Motors (a provider of events and training for the digital marketing field).
- Newlisi founded in 2010, the company owns a special patent for mud treatment for civil and industrial uses. Venture capital funds 360 Capital Partners, Indaco (FKA Atlante Ventures), Micheli Associati, and Chinese Beautiful Mind Capital invested in the company in different rounds
- Silk Biomaterials, a company that Antonio Alessandrino PhD founded in 2014 at the Como-based Parco Scientifico Tecnologico and of which Gabriele Grecchi is the ceo. In different rounds, Silk Biomaterials raised funds worth in the region of 7.5 million from Principia and Italian business angels.
- Supermercato24, an online shopping company that chairman Enrico Pandian founded in 2014 and of which Federico Sargenti is the ceo. Fondo Italiano d’Investimento (FII), Endeavor Catalyst, 360 Capital Partners, Innogest, and other investors provided resources worth in the region of 18 million of euros in different rounds.
- Xnext, an Italian provider of safety and monitoring tools for chemical substances that Bruno Garavelli founded in 2014 and that raised 0.462 million of euros in June 2016 through the platforms Equinvest and BacktoWork24.
