After a gradual begin relative to its European friends, Italian tech has began taking part in catch up.
In 2021, there was a noticeable uptick in VC funding into the nation’s startups: it reached an all-time excessive of $1.4bn, greater than double the earlier yr, in line with Dealroom.
For context, that’s nonetheless lower than 10% of the money that went into France or Germany. However simply over midway via 2022, Italy’s already racked up $1bn of funding.
Worldwide traders inform Sifted they’ve been visiting Milan on the prowl for the nation’s hottest startups, and the financial capital may also play host to the Tech Chill convention in September for the primary time.
The surest signal of all? Italy lastly banked its first unicorn firm because the dotcom increase when purchase now, pay later fintech Scalapay reached a $1bn valuation in February. Now, there’s a rising membership of scaling startups gaining worldwide investor consideration and edging nearer to ten-digit worth tags.
We’ve used information from Sifted’s intelligence staff and Dealroom to compile a listing of Italian startups who may very well be the nation’s subsequent breakout stars. Every firm was based in 2010 or later, has raised their most up-to-date rounds because the begin of 2020 and has a valuation of €100m or extra.
So, who’re the rising Italian tech startups? And who may very well be subsequent to hit a $1bn valuation?
Casavo
What: A proptech that buys properties and renovates them to promote on at a revenueHQ: MilanFunding up to now: $241mNewest valuation: $500m (Sifted estimate primarily based on founder interview)
Based in 2018, Casavo has seen accelerated development within the final couple of years. It’s been gaining huge traction in southern Europe — notably Italy and Spain — the place there are giant swimming pools of properties that haven’t modified fingers in years and sometimes require refurbishment.
That is Casavo’s core focus: it operates on a quite uncommon mannequin that sees it provide free value determinations for property homeowners seeking to promote, utilizing its tech to generate a proposal inside two days, then shopping for it and renovating it to promote on at a revenue.
The corporate grew its consumer base threefold in 2021 and expects “triple-digit development” in 2022. Thus far it’s bought round 3,200 properties and executed €1bn price of transactions.
It raised a €400m Sequence D funding spherical, comprised of €100m fairness and €300m in debt, final month to increase throughout Europe, beginning with France. Maintain tight for an imminent valuation enhance that would see its valuation edge nearer to $1bn — CEO Giorgio Tinacci tells Sifted the spherical was so over-subscribed that he’s already plotting an extension within the coming months. No imply feat within the 2022 fundraising surroundings.
Everli
What: Grocery supply startupHQ: MilanFunding up to now: $149mNewest valuation: $469m (Dealroom estimate)
A barely older member of this checklist, on-line grocery platform Everli was based in 2014 — however the pandemic was an inflection level for the startup’s development.
CEO Federico Sargenti beforehand informed Sifted: “The pandemic was an actual tsunami. The variety of calls for doubled every day, and we needed to act with huge velocity throughout a variety of frontiers, from know-how to logistics.”
Everli permits customers to put direct house supply orders from supermarkets like Carrefour, Lidl and Conad in 135 cities in Italy, France, Poland and the Czech Republic, through a community of freelance “private buyers”. It’s been tipped as a “one to observe” by traders in Sifted’s pages a couple of occasions, and just lately introduced a €22m extension to its Sequence C funding spherical from Italian VC United Ventures.
It’ll use this contemporary money to speed up its worldwide growth plans, with Germany and Romania on the playing cards first.
Prima
What: An insurance coverage middleman promoting automotive insurance coverage on-lineHQ: MilanFunding up to now: $110mNewest valuation: $330m (Dealroom estimate)
Prima has constructed its personal tech stack and information analytics instruments in order that it will possibly underwrite client automotive insurance coverage digitally. It bought its first coverage in 2015 and has since gained 2.2m clients.
It’s been rising quick, too. Its main market is Italy but it surely’s additionally expanded in Europe and has workplaces within the UK and Spain. In accordance with LinkedIn information, its worker headcount throughout these areas stands at 698, having grown a sizeable 57% within the final yr.
Prima has executed all this with out fundraising for 4 years. Its final enterprise enhance got here in 2018 when it raised €100m from Goldman Sachs and Blackstone. So one other elevate might quickly be on the playing cards …
Satispay
What: Cellular funds for shoppers and companiesHQ: MilanFunding up to now: $171mNewest valuation: $248m (as of November 2020)
One other comparatively outdated member of this checklist, Satispay was based in 2013 and launched its funds programs in 2015. It’s grown to be Italy’s largest cellular funds supplier, utilized by greater than 160k retailers together with Esselunga, Carrefour, Boggi, Eataly and Benetton. Its HQ is in Milan and it’s expanded throughout Europe with workplaces in Luxembourg and Berlin to this point.
Relatively than utilizing debit and bank card networks, Satispay is a financial institution account-enabled platform that provides in-store and on-line funds in addition to peer-to-peer funds, financial savings and, because of a latest partnership with Italian rising star Younger Platform, cryptocurrency buying and selling.
Its final fundraise was in November 2020: a €93m Sequence C spherical that included participation from Jack Dorsey’s funds firm Block (on the time referred to as Sq.), in addition to China’s Tencent Holdings. In different phrases, that was a while in the past — we’ll have our eyes peeled for a elevate within the close to future.
Aidexa
What: Challenger financial institutionHQ: MilanFunding up to now: $49.5mNewest valuation: $198m to $297m (Dealroom estimates)
Banca Aidexa is an Italian neobank, based in 2020, that focuses on sole merchants and firms as much as €5m — the spine of the Italian economic system. It has a full ECB banking licence and was based by finance heavyweights Roberto Nicastro (additionally senior adviser for Cerberus Capital) and Federico Sforza (beforehand an govt at Nexi and ING). It additionally boasts a uncommon feminine cofounder, COO Elena Adorno.
Aidexa gives quick loans to SMEs inside 48 hours utilizing open banking. Based through the pandemic when many SMEs have been compelled to shut, it distributed over €80m in loans in 2021 and picked up €60m in deposits, in line with its newest outcomes. It now has over 2,000 Italian SMEs on its mortgage e-book, and is planning on doubling its headcount from 50 to 100 by the top of 2022.
Cortilia
What: Grocery supplyHQ: TurinFunding up to now: $77.5mNewest valuation: $187m (Dealroom estimates)
Cortilia gives house grocery deliveries however with a give attention to native, eco-friendly suppliers. It beforehand operated within the northern Italian areas of Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont, Veneto and Liguria — however plans to increase additional south into Rome utilizing a contemporary €20m Sequence C extension.
It raised the funds in June from 5 Seasons Ventures, Purple Circle Investments, Indaco Enterprise Companions and Primo Ventures.
CEO Marco Porcaro beforehand informed Sifted that the corporate’s enterprise exploded through the pandemic, thanks partly to the advantages it dropped at struggling companies and quarantined shoppers.
Cortilia constructed its personal AI-driven algorithm that tailors deliveries to consumer preferences’ and supply occasions, which helps stop meals waste and in addition helps distributors that promote on the platform to maintain higher observe of provides.
Over 250 small and medium-sized producers promote their meals on Cortilia, and the corporate has 70 workers.
Vedrai
What: AI-powered enterprise forecastingHQ: MilanFunding up to now: $49.5mNewest valuation: $176m-$264m (Dealroom estimates)
Vedrai has developed AI-powered software program that delivers enterprise forecasts to SMEs by analysing tens of millions of market variables alongside their firm information — a great tool for CFOs proper now.
Based in 2020, Vedrai raised €40m in its second funding spherical in April from Italian asset supervisor Azimut, which it plans to make use of to develop its know-how and increase additional into Europe.
Vedrai at the moment has simply over 80 workers — virtually half of which have been employed within the final six months, in line with LinkedIn information.
Amy O’Brien is Sifted’s fintech reporter. She tweets from @Amy_EOBrien and writes our fintech publication — you’ll be able to enroll right here.
