Maia Ventures, an early-stage Milan-based AgriFoodTech fund, today announced the launch of its first fund at €55 million to back 20 to 25 companies, with initial ticket sizes ranging from €0.5 to 1.5 million.
The Limited Partner base brings together institutional investors, such as the European Investment Fund (EIF) and CDP Venture Capital Sgr, alongside private investors, which include leading Italian food corporates and their family offices, such as Teseo Capital sicav-sif, Cereal Docks (through its CVC Grey Silo Ventures), Andriani, among others.
“What excites us is the calibre of science and operator talent now converging on topics such as food-as-medicine, innovative ingredients, and resilient supply chains. As an early-stage partner, we aim to be among the first institutional believers, helping Founders connect with industry leaders and lay the foundations for scale”, said David Bassani, Founding Partner at Maia Ventures.
The launch of Maia Ventures’ first fund comes amid an active yet varied European AgriFoodTech landscape in 2025. Recent rounds have included Proba (Netherlands, €1 million) for agri-food decarbonisation, ODOS (Spain, €680k) for data-driven sustainability, and KOA Biotech (Spain, €2 million) for aquaculture biosensors.
Larger rounds have also appeared, including yesterday’s Ecorobotix (Switzerland, €90 million Series D) in precision farming, feld.energy (Germany, over €10 million) in agri-PV, and Fungu’it (France, €4 million) in fermentation-based ingredients.
Earlier this year, Nordic Foodtech VC announced a €40 million first close for its second fund – slightly smaller in scale than Maia Ventures’ €55 million launch, but similarly focused on early-stage innovations transforming the food and agriculture value chain.
By connecting Italy’s established food industry with early-stage innovation at the intersection of food, health and sustainability, Maia may help stimulate further venture activity within Italy’s ecosystem.
“By combining deep industry know-how with a strong industrial network, Maia is best positioned to identify and invest in solutions to problems that matter, instead of in solutions in search of a problem. This, we believe, is the key to tangibly accelerate the much-needed evolution of our industry,” said Andrea Galassi, Founding Partner at Maia Ventures.
Founded in 2024 by Andrea Galassi and David Bassani, Maia Ventures is active in supporting alternative investment funds in the AgriFoodTech space. As the exclusive advisor to Maia Ventures, the firm supports Praesidium S.A. in sourcing, structuring, monitoring, and enhancing the investment opportunities.
The fund is currently fully operational with six investments to date and is targeting a final closing in the coming months.
The team behind Maia Ventures is made up of former Founders, investors, industry operators and scientists, and is supported by a technical advisory group that includes representatives of some of the leading AgriFood universities and corporates.
“We invested in Maia Ventures because it connects Italy’s world-class food industry with breakthrough AgriFoodTech innovation. The team’s deep expertise and robust network enable them to identify high-impact DeepTech solutions at the intersection of nutraceutical, food and health, where long-term value and systemic resilience are established,” said Claudia Pingue, Head of Tech Transfer Fund of CDP Venture Capital.
Maia aims to pursue both financial and impact objectives by building a healthier, more efficient, and more resilient food system for all. The Italian VC is positioned as a value‑add partner, bridging Italy’s well established food industry with the most promising startups emerging from leading accelerators, universities and the broader AgriFoodTech ecosystem.
Maia believes that the current downturn in AgriFoodTech funding is generating a unique window of opportunity for investors who focus on structural global shifts in the space, tackling the most pressing industry challenges.
Within this opportunity, Maia places particular emphasis on the convergence of food, health and sustainability, supporting innovations that deliver both individual well-being and systemic resilience.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2025/10/presenting-maia-ventures-and-their-e55-million-fund-looking-to-connect-italys-world-class-food-industry-with-innovation/
