Italian Founders Fund Commits €50 Million to Back Global-Minded Entrepreneurs: VC Firm Taps into the Country’s Growing Startup Ecosystem to Identify Ambitious Innovators
A new €50 million venture capital fund has launched in Italy with the goal of backing promising entrepreneurs with big plans to take their businesses global. The Italian Founders Fund, based in Milan, will invest in early-stage tech startups showing strong potential to scale rapidly internationally.
Led by managing partners Antonio Acunzo and Roberto Nickson, the fund aims to provide capital and expertise to help Italian founders achieve their expansion goals. “We want to support companies that have a truly global vision from the start,” says Acunzo. “There is lots of innovation happening here but too often founders keep their sights domestically. We will invest in those targeting worldwide markets.”
The Founders Fund has earmarked €50 million for initial investments over the next three years. They plan to make 10-15 investments of between €500,000 to €2 million each during that period. Priority will be given to startups in sectors like AI, fintech, SaaS and digital health with strong tech platforms applicable worldwide.
“Our goal is to help the best of Italy’s startups compete on a global level,” adds Nickson. “We believe with the right international strategy and partnership these founders can achieve tremendous scale far beyond national borders. That’s the type of ambitious venture we want to back.”
The Italian tech ecosystem has made progress in recent years but still lags major hubs in venture funding. The Founders Fund believes italian startups now have untapped potential if given support to take their products and services global from inception. Time will tell if their worldwide vision helps ignite further success for Italian entrepreneurs on an international stage.
