The Week in Italian Startup

• The Open-Hardware Deal No One Expected; Cyberwave, Eoliann, Italian Pension Funds and VC? #181

  This episode dives into the week’s biggest startup, tech, and venture-capital stories: Cyberwave, Eoliann, Arduino’s Qualcomm deal, and Italy’s new pension-fund VC law.The hosts unpack how Cyberwave’s €7 million seed round shows the rise of digital-twin infrastructure for testing industrial robotics safely before real-world deployment.They then explore Eoliann’s €4.25 million raise, combining satellite data and climate-risk modeling for insurance and infrastructure investors—a sign that space-data startups are entering finance.Next, they analyze Qualcomm’s acquisition of Arduino, a historic shift that bridges the open-hardware movement with corporate edge-AI power, potentially letting makers build commercial-grade products faster.The discussion expands to robotics, AI hardware, and the new generation of founders with exits moving into deep tech.Finally, they break down Italy’s Decreto 95/2025, which lets pension funds invest up to 10 percent in VC by 2027 with tax exemptions.Niccolò's newsletter: ⁠http://dealflowit.niccolosanarico.com/⁠Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@giacomomolloListen to all episodes on audio:Spotify: ⁠https://spoti.fi/3fVynsQ⁠Google Podcast: ⁠https://bit.ly/3thf9RC⁠Apple Podcast: ⁠https://apple.co/3Elhykq⁠Amazon Music: ⁠https://shorturl.at/9Dtd9⁠Get in touch:Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/giacxxx⁠Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/giacomomollo⁠Email: [email protected]#venturecapital #italy #startup

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• Vertical AI wins: Lexroom. Also: Serenis, Lupa and State of Italian VC - Oct 7, 2025 #180

  The episode focuses on a number of Series A rounds, spotlighting Lexroom’s €16M for AI-assisted legal drafting, Serenis’ €12M amid explosive revenue growth, and Lupa’s €20M veterinary operating system. We argue vertical, domain-trained AI is winning where complexity is high, with “proof of love” (user delight) emerging as the decisive product metric. We highlight increasingly international syndicates and urge Italian founders to pitch EU and US investors from day zero to avoid later-stage bottlenecks. Roman-law commonalities make Lexroom’s expansion across continental Europe logical, while Lupa’s workflow unification underscores ROI-driven adoption. Serenis’ B2B wellness surge signals corporate readiness to fund mental-health infrastructure. Finally, we caution that bold “enterprise value” figures are mostly unrealized, so outcomes hinge on eventual distributions, not headlines.Niccolò's newsletter: ⁠http://dealflowit.niccolosanarico.com/⁠Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@giacomomolloListen to all episodes on audio:Spotify: ⁠https://spoti.fi/3fVynsQ⁠Google Podcast: ⁠https://bit.ly/3thf9RC⁠Apple Podcast: ⁠https://apple.co/3Elhykq⁠Amazon Music: ⁠https://shorturl.at/9Dtd9⁠#venturecapital #italy #startupGet in touch:Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/giacxxx⁠Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/giacomomollo⁠Email: [email protected]#venturecapital #italy #startup

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• Are European VCs Quietly Matching U.S. DPI? The New Data Says Yes - Sep 30, 2025 #179

  Highly syndicated rounds with more international investors backing Italian and European startups. We discuss TIP’s markup implying Bending Spoons’ €5B valuation and speculate on a potential IPO. The centerpiece is BlackRock + EIF’s TrackVC dashboard, giving Europe a rare, official benchmark for DPI, TVPI, and net IRR—albeit with a one-year lag and GP-reported, interim data. We stress the J-curve and argue that judging performance should focus on older vintages (2017–2019) rather than frothy 2021–2022. A key insight: while TVPI gaps look wide between U.S. and Europe, DPI outcomes appear to converge more than many assume. Another takeaway is structural: European funds show a tighter spread between median and 75th percentile, suggesting different risk posture or valuation dynamics. Niccolò's newsletter: ⁠http://dealflowit.niccolosanarico.com/⁠Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@giacomomolloListen to all episodes on audio:Spotify: ⁠https://spoti.fi/3fVynsQ⁠Google Podcast: ⁠https://bit.ly/3thf9RC⁠Apple Podcast: ⁠https://apple.co/3Elhykq⁠Amazon Music: ⁠https://shorturl.at/9Dtd9⁠#venturecapital #italy #startupGet in touch:Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/giacxxx⁠Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/giacomomollo⁠Email: [email protected]

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• Bending Spoons: 500M in Debt + Vimeo Acquisition Explained ; Nozomi; ShopCircle- Sept 23, 2025 #178

  We discuss Bending Spoons’ massive $500M debt financing led by JP Morgan and other global banks, and its headline-making $1.38B acquisition of Vimeo, signaling a bold product consolidation strategy. We highlight speculation of a possible IPO and synergies across Bending Spoons’ video and productivity tools. The episode also covers Shop Circle’s $200M Series B round, emphasizing its acquisition-driven SaaS platform strategy and strong founder-led execution. A landmark deal is Mitsubishi Electric’s $1B acquisition of Italian cybersecurity leader Nozomi Networks, a case study in corporate venture collaboration. Finally, we preview an upcoming analysis of BlackRock’s VC report on European fund performance, focusing on metrics like TVPI, DPI, and IRR.Niccolò's newsletter: ⁠http://dealflowit.niccolosanarico.com/⁠Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@giacomomolloListen to all episodes on audio:Spotify: ⁠https://spoti.fi/3fVynsQ⁠Google Podcast: ⁠https://bit.ly/3thf9RC⁠Apple Podcast: ⁠https://apple.co/3Elhykq⁠Amazon Music: ⁠https://shorturl.at/9Dtd9⁠#venturecapital #italy #startupGet in touch:Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/giacxxx⁠Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/giacomomollo⁠Email: [email protected]#venturecapital #italy #startup

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• Exein Built a Digital Immune System for 1 Billion Devices, Tulum, Nuclidium - July 22, 2025 #177

  This episode kicks off with Exein, a cybersecurity startup building a “digital immune system” for IoT devices, which raised €70M and achieved 450% YoY growth, highlighting strong demand for device-level protection. We break down the massive opportunity in cybersecurity, noting unicorn creation and strong ARR multiples.Next, the conversation shifts to Tulum Energy, a clean-tech firm producing turquoise hydrogen using methane pyrolysis, which raised €27M in a seed round backed by major corporates like CDP and TDK Ventures. We spotlight Nuclearis, a biotech firm working on theranostics (therapy + diagnostics) for precision oncology, backed by Novartis and Italian VC Angelini Ventures. The final segment covers the booming welfare tech space in Italy and why July 2025 has become the most active fundraising month of the year so far—on track to surpass 2024 totals.Niccolò's newsletter: ⁠http://dealflowit.niccolosanarico.com/⁠Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@giacomomolloListen to all episodes on audio:Spotify: ⁠https://spoti.fi/3fVynsQ⁠Google Podcast: ⁠https://bit.ly/3thf9RC⁠Apple Podcast: ⁠https://apple.co/3Elhykq⁠Amazon Music: ⁠https://shorturl.at/9Dtd9⁠#venturecapital #italy #startup

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