Swiss biotech company Nouscom raised 67.5 million euros from lead investors Andera Partners, Bpifrance and M Ventures which also appointed board members (see here a previous post by BeBeez). The firm also attracted the resources of Indaco Venture Partners, Panakès Partners, XGen Ventures, Revelation Partners, 5AM Ventures, Versant Ventures, and EQT Life Sciences. Nouscom was born in 2015 and since the it raised 121.5 million. Riccardo Cortese is one of the company’s co-founders.
Italian agritech Planetfarms raised 40 million US Dollars to invest in its expansion in the UK and completing a vertical farm in Italy (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Luca Travaglini and Daniele Benatoff founded the company in 2017 and since then raised raised 140 million in equity, debt and non-refundable grants for an enterprise value of 500 million.
Xnext, an Italian scaleup for x rays food inspections, attracted a venture debt facility of 20 million euros from The European Investment Bank (EIB)‘s programme Invest EU (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Ceo Bruno Garavelli and cto Pietro Pozzi founded Xnext in 2014. The company has sales of 3.1 million, an ebitda in the region of one million, a net financial debt of 3 million, and equity 37.1 million.
Nextsense, an Italian producer of LED sanification items, attracted three million euros from Angelini Investments, part of Italian pharmaceutical company Angelini Industries (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Nextense will invest such proceeds in its organic growth.
Agritech and foodtech accelerator FoodSeed, a programme with 15 million euros resources of CDP Venture Capital (12 million), Fondazione Cariverona, UniCredit, and Eatable Adventures, will support Foreverland, Regrowth, Soonapse, Agreen Biosolutions, Trusty, AgreeNET, and Hypesound (see here a previous post by BeBeez). The programme attracted 5% applications from Spain, France, Germany, the UK, and Switzerland. The selected companies will receive facilities of 0.170 million (increasable to 0.5 million) and a 6-months acceleration support.
- Foreverland is an importer of cocoa – free chocolate whose production is eco-friendly.
- Regrowth developed a tool for PLF (Precision Livestock Farming).
- Soonapse developed the first Decision Support System (DSS), an AI Dual system can interpret climate change for enabling farmers to optimize water use and beyond
- Agreen Biosolutions provides alternative pesticides.
- Trusty provides blockchain-based services for industrial tracking and ESG.
- AgreeNET developed a biomaterial for packaging.
- Hypesound developenìd So’Sweep a device that reproduces sound waves for advanced fermentation, which can accelerate the growth of microorganisms.
Amadori, Cattolica Business Unit di Generali Italia, Axxelera, and Veronafiere are the corporate partners of the programme while Università degli Studi di Verona provides scientific support. In the next three years, Foodseed will support up to 10 startups annually. The second call will take place in February 2024.
ReLearn, a provider of IoT-based waste management solutions, raised one million euros from Cdp Venture Capital, LA4G – Luiss Alumni 4 Growth, Club degli Investitori, LVenture Group, Feel Venture, and Sensible Capital (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Riccardo Leonardi, Giovanni Lucifora, Fabrizio Custorella, Federico Fedi, and Simone Cavariani founded ReLearn in 2021. The company will invest such proceeds in its organic growth and international expansion.
HOL, an Italian producer of pasta that requires less time for cooking, issued a seven-years 0.3 million euros convertible bond that Intesa Sanpaolo subscribed through its Convertibile Impresa programme that supports SMEs with 0.15 – 0.5 million tickets (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Omar Campise is the founder of HOL that will invest such proceeds in its organic growth.
French digital insurance broker +Simple, a portfolio company of KKR, is going to acquire Crea Assicurazioni, an Italian insurtech (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Feliciano Lombardi and Mike Galasso founded Crea in 2018. Fides Corporate Finance, Plusiders Studio Legale e Tributario, EY, and Studio Legale Candian assisted +Simple. Crea Assicurazioni retained Studio Legale Associato Ferrari-Pedeferri-Boni and Alfuor & Associati.
