Vento

Every season of Vento Venture Building begins with a question: out of the 500, 600, or even 700 people who apply, who are the top 40? Each applicant brings something unique and exceptional, but only a few make it and start their journey. And what happens when 40 talented aspiring founders meet? They push each other’s limits, inspiring and challenging one another to be better than the day before. "40 Nodi" is our first podcast, produced in collaboration with Will Media. We created it to share, through the voices of the Season 3 participants, what it means to live inside Vento on a daily basis while striving to build the next game-changing startup—alongside people as talented, if not more, than yourself. And this is exactly what Flavio Proietti Pantosti explores in the first episode: new beginnings, extraordinary encounters, and even more exceptional companions on the journey. Listen here > https://shorturl.at/CHMz0

The secret to success? As Matilde Giglio shared on stage at ITW, it’s about hiring the best people available, giving them care, all the resources they need to excel, and, above all, fostering a culture of trust that empowers people to make tough decisions quickly. Even Healthcare is the startup founded in India by Matilde Giglio, Mayank Banerjee, and Alessandro Davide Ialongo that offers unlimited consultations, diagnostic tests, and cashless hospitalization through an in-house medical team, a network of owned clinics, and many insurance partners. Last month, Even closed a $30 million Series A round led by Khosla Ventures, enabling the startup to further expand quality healthcare access in India and build three new hospitals across the country. We're glad to have had leaders like Matilde on our stage at #ITW24. Keep following us for more insights!

Maybe it’s Halloween, but today we’re thrilled to share some frighteningly good news we’re incredibly proud of. Aurora Maggio (CEO of Zefi.ai) Gaia Salizzoni (CEO of Hale) and Silvia Wang (CEO of Serenis) three of the exceptional founders in our Investment Portfolio, have been named among Founders Forum Group “100 Women Founders to Watch.” This list aims to spotlight the most outstanding women founders making waves in the tech industry across three key markets—the UK & Europe, the United States, and Southeast Asia—and to support them on their growth journey. Change is happening across the Italian, European, and global ecosystems: the gender gap, which in tech remains one of the deepest in the labor market, is gradually narrowing, enabling talents like Aurora, Gaia, Silvia, and many other female founders to shine without restraint. There’s still a long road ahead, but progress is underway, and maybe a future where gender-based rankings are no longer needed is just a bit closer. Kudos again to Aurora, Gaia, and Silvia! Keep up the amazing work 🚀 Check the full report here: https://lnkd.in/ehgpYiDR

Jeannette zu Fürstenberg, Managing Director and Head of Europe at General Catalyst, is driven by a powerful vision: advancing Europe as a global tech leader. By supporting ambitious founders, she is committed to building enduring businesses that strengthen Europe’s resilience, competitiveness, and sovereignty. ✨ Discover the inspiring profiles we had on stage at #ITW24, and follow us for more updates and insights!

Do you have any superpower? What’s the funniest thing that’s ever happened to you? These are (also) the kinds of questions we asked the 761 people who dared to believe in their entrepreneurial dream and apply for Vento’s Season 4. There will be time to talk about their skills, the startups they’ve founded, and their academic backgrounds, but today is not that day. Because today, we’re discovering some of the quirky little details that make their profiles simply unique. Read some of the most interesting responses we received and let us know how you would’ve answered— the comment section stage is ready for your take!

If you’re looking for a new job where you can showcase your talent, or if you want to grow alongside some of the game-changing startups in the Italian scene, we might have the right opportunity for you. ⚖️ Lexroom.ai is looking for a Junior Software Engineer. 💳 Qomodo is looking for an SDR Intern. 🔮 Futura is looking for a Senior Performance Marketing Manager. These are just a few of the job openings within our portfolio ventures. Check out the link below to discover all available positions. >> https://lnkd.in/g4UT2jqF

🚀 Can you believe Italy’s startup ecosystem has tripled its job creation in just six years? 📈The growth of an ecosystem like Italy’s startup scene can be measured in many ways. You can look at the total number of startups launched over the years or the volume of investments, but no metric captures the impact of this growth better than the number of jobs created. According to Dealroom.co, startups in Italy have gone from generating 105,000 jobs in 2018 to an impressive 309,000 in 2024. This reflects not only the resilience of the ecosystem but also the growing appetite for innovation across diverse sectors. 💻⚡🧬 Key industries driving this growth include SaaS, energy storage, and biotech, with venture capital investment also increasing across these fields. The number of active investors has surged, growing tenfold in recent years, boosting both the size and frequency of funding rounds. What truly stands out in Italy’s case is the combination of entrepreneurial reinvestment and returning founders who bring international experience back to the country, further fueling the ecosystem. ✨ We’re thrilled that initiatives like the recent Italian Tech Week and our Venture Building program, now celebrating its third anniversary with over 110 aspiring founders selected and 25 startups launched, are helping to give a boost to what has always been fertile ground for creativity and innovation. The road ahead looks promising, and we can’t wait to see what the next curve holds. 

👉 What’s the future of the Italian startup scene? 👉 How can you attract people like Brian Chesky and Sam Altman to Italian Tech Week in Turin? 👉And what’s the role of empathy and community in building startups? These are some of the questions Marcin Lewandowski to Diyala D'Aveni, head of Vento, during the latest episode of the EU Startup Podcast. In their half-hour conversation, Diyala shared her journey in the startup world, her insights on personal growth, the mission of Vento, and the future of the Italian startup ecosystem. They also explored topics like the importance of empathy and community in building startups, and the challenges of organizing Italy’s most important tech event, Italian Tech Week. Don’t miss out on the episode! YouTube: https://lnkd.in/e8UKSW4U Spotify: https://lnkd.in/edfm3AsJ

Wow, October has come to an end and the keyphrase of the month has been: recharging the batteries (we wish!). This month, we wrapped up Italian Tech Week, brainstormed a script for a new Inside Out movie featuring the emotions we dealt with during the event (spoiler alert: the new main characters would be Pure Panic, Happy Tears, and Heart-Warming Gratitude), and kicked off interviews for Season 4 candidates of Vento. You know, just a couple of small (but very exciting) things. We’ve covered all these stories (some truly exceptional), plus updates from our portfolio, job opportunities, and reading suggestions in the latest issue of our newsletter, “The Vento Post.” Check your inbox or sign up here >> https://lnkd.in/d5d8ue3Q

This year, Bee AI, a startup founded by Maria de Lourdes Zollo and Ethan Sutin, is truly on an exceptional journey. After closing a $7 million funding round led by Exor N.V., they’re pushing the boundaries of what's possible in AI-powered voice assistants and wearables. Their innovative #AI #assistant doesn’t just listen—it learns, takes notes, offers smart reminders, and transforms unstructured thoughts into useful tools. So, it’s no surprise that Bee AI was recently featured in Andreessen Horowitz’s 'Building the AI Brain' report by Justine Moore, which highlights them as one of the most exciting startups aiming to organize the chaos of our minds and turn it into something tangible. Huge congratulations to Maria, Ethan, and the entire Bee AI team on this amazing achievement! The future is looking brighter than ever.