Italian Founders Fund launch debut €50M fund

Italian Venture Capital fund Italian Founders Fund (IFF) has raised its debut €50M fund, which launches today. Its strategy is to home in on founders at the the pre-seed and seed stage both operating in Italy and abroad. 

Founding partner Lorenzo Franzi commented: “A new chapter has begun for the Italian Venture Capital ecosystem. We’ve brought over 100 founders onboard, including key figures from Italy’s entrepreneurial and innovation sector, and we also have representatives from the firmly established business owner/investor community.

“This positions us to set up a truly integrated system that can promote and support Italy’s promising ecosystem both at home and on the global map. We are convinced that by unifying the country’s ambitions and talents, we’ll help shape our future economy for the better.”

IFF aims to complete 25 transactions over its investment period, with initial investments ranging from €500,000 to €1.5 million and the possibility of accessing an additional €2.5 million in subsequent rounds.

The first announced investment is in Jet HR, a tech company focused on removing the pain of HR management bureaucracy. This investment marked the largest pre-seed round in Italy, with IFF co-investing alongside Exor Ventures. IFF’s second investment has been made in Glaut, aiming to improve the market research and surveys sector using artificial intelligence. Glaut’s round involved the participation of various international funds and angels. Three new transactions are currently in the finalization stage.

Marco Morgese, CEO of the management company KOINOS Capital SGR commented: “This type of founder-led fund is already prevalent in markets where innovation is at the forefront of industrial development policies. We see them in the USA with Founders Fund, which has been around for almost 20 years, as well as in Europe where 10x founders operates in Germany, Galion.exe in France, ByFounders in Scandinavia, and Dutch Founders Fund in the Netherlands.

Given the crucial role of innovation in the country’s industrial development, the IFF project represents the natural evolution of Koinos. We have been transitioningfrom a private equity fund supporting small and medium-sized Italian businesses to a multi-asset platform encompassing both private equity and venture capital, all while maintaining a strong entrepreneurial spirit.”