Growth Capital’s Post

📊 An Analytical Look at the #Italian #VC Landscape. The latest PitchBook report on the Italian venture capital market (2020-2024) highlights an ecosystem showing gradual growth, with trends that point to progress but also underline the work still needed to fully unlock its potential. 🔹 VC-backed company growth: Between 2012 and 2024, the number of VC-backed companies has grown consistently, surpassing 1,400 in 2024. This expansion has been driven by increasing activity in pre-seed/seed rounds and a notable rise in late-stage funding, signaling a maturing ecosystem. 🔹 VC #deal activity: In Q3 2024 alone, Italy recorded 75 deals with a total value of €0.5B. This reflects growing investor confidence and the resilience of the market, despite broader economic fluctuations. 🔹 #Assets under management (AUM): Italian VC has reached a total of €7.4B in 2024, with €1.8B still available as dry powder. This unallocated capital points to untapped potential, highlighting the opportunity for further innovation and investment across sectors. 🔹 #Exit activity: While Q4 2022 stands out with a peak exit value of €1.7B, overall exit activity remains modest. This represents a bottleneck for the market but also reflects the dynamics of a young and evolving ecosystem, where companies are still scaling before achieving consistent liquidity events. At #LIFTT, we are proud to be recognised as one of Italy's top investors, ranking #3° in Pitchbook's Italy #TopInvestors chart. With #60 investments in #Italian start-ups between 2020 and 2024 and a total of #103 investments #worldwide, we are actively contributing to Italy's deep tech ecosystem, which is increasingly demonstrating its ability to scale and compete globally. As an international player, we are ready to seize new future opportunities that will accelerate growth, foster innovation and unlock potential - not only in our landscape but also beyond it.🚀 Download the full report here: https://lc.cx/QZzUcT #VentureCapital #DeepTech #DeepTechDeepImpact #ItalianEcosystem #Innovation #LIFTT Luca Salerno

"Over ten years, #VentureCapital has become an industry: it has invested about 8 billion euros in Italian #startups, which in 2023 reached a value of 67 billion euros, increasing their value 25 times with a growth rate more than double the European average, but there is still a long way to go. Overall, investments directed towards the national economic system are approximately 2% of the savings of Italians, whereas in countries like France, Germany, or Sweden, pension funds alone allocate at least 5% to investments within the country" - emphasizes Andrea Di Camillo in his interview for MondoInvestor - “Investor interest in VC is driven by the growing awareness of both the potential of this #assetclass, which has rewarded them with double-digit returns over the long term, and the impact it can have on the economy in terms of creating new businesses and jobs. We therefore expect that the amounts invested will progressively rise in Italy too, in parallel with the expansion of the type of investors, both institutional and retail." But when it comes to #VC, which sectors are the most promising? Which areas will offer the best return opportunities in the coming years? In the article curated by Marco Degrada, Andrea Di Camillo's analysis of the state of Italian VC and the investment opportunities that can make a difference in supporting the national and international economic system ⬇

𝐎𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐕𝐂 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞. Quarterly I track this information; getting data from Dealroom.co, I check the trends in venture capital (VC) deals in the Netherlands, categorized by co-investment types (deal types) across different funding stages (VC round) (Fig. 1) and over the years (Fig. 2). - Definition of rounds I employed will be in comments. Lets update with recent data: 1️⃣ 𝐃𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭: While Dutch investors lead seed rounds (over 70% participation), their involvement drops drastically by the time later deals roll around, contributing around 30% to mega deals. 2️⃣ 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬: Starting from early VC, bigger deals are backed by foreign investors more, highlighting the significant reliance on international capital for scaling Dutch startups. 3️⃣ 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: Dutch VCs increasingly rely on co-investments with their foreign peers in later stages, signaling scaling requires more foreign capital in Netherlands. 4️⃣ 𝐂𝐨-𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭: % of co-investments (sole or mixed) in 2024 (so far) is almost half of the all investments. It was only 22% in 2018. Well this is kinda nature of the play, foreigns usually step in later deals and larger deals drag more players in. However the participation of local investors in later stages decreases apparently. I read this story as an indication of a 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐞 in general but more in local investors. Could it be that Dutch VCs are playing it too safe? Any thoughts? #VentureCapital #Startups #Investing #Netherlands #TechTrends

Venture in Eastern Europe event was held as part of the How To Web conference, gathering over 200 investors and industry leaders to discuss the future of venture capital in Romania and beyond. Key participants included representatives from major European funds, such as the European Innovation Council and the EBRD, along with emerging local CVC funds like BCR Seed Starter. Adrian Rosoaga, CFA Chief Investment Officer at BCR Seed Starter, expressed optimism about Romania's venture capital landscape, stating, "We are seeing a lot of talented and bold founders here, with many opportunities for venture capital funding." Key Takeaways: 1. Investment opportunities: Romania's local talent and new fund initiatives position it as a magnet for international investors. 2. Collaborations: Strategic partnerships between international funds and local entrepreneurs are essential for driving innovation. 3. Sustainability and diversification: Investors are encouraged to adopt diversified strategies to navigate market challenges and leverage emerging trends, particularly in AI technology. The future looks bright for venture capital investments in Romania! #VentureCapital #InvestInRomania #HowToWeb #Innovation #Entrepreneurship

Late last night I had the pleasure to be part of a very dynamic panel with the theme "The financing winter" at Ziarul Financiar #ITGenerationSummit alongside Ilinca Paun and Marius Istrate representing the angels, Adrian Rosoaga, CFA representing the CVC and Marius Ghenea and Valentin Filip on the VC side. Some of the points I wanted to make across in my more "skeptical" 😁 position have been: - the macro numbers on startup investments are hiding behind 1-2 large series A/B rounds the fact that 2024 is the second year with a very small number of early stage rounds which are critical for a healthy startup and innovation ecosystem - the lack of financing options in the pre-seed / early seed space is an important factor of this "financing winter" discouraging founders to start new quality endeavors. I'm aware of the PNRR mirage, but the reality is that the few VC funds getting approved are aiming at tickets of >€1M and therefore more mature companies with pretty much all the pressure on pre-revenue on angels. A healthy ecosystem should have a pyramid form, with a solid base of say 10-15, not 2-3 pre-seed and early seed players competing for the good deals and differentiating themselves on the thesis - a competitive VC & PE market requires also a strong private support to match the governmental funds infusion and for this it is critical to lower the pressure which is now exclusively on #HighNetWorthIndividuals and open the market for Pension Funds, Banking and Insurers investments as per the example of Croatia or Estonia. #startupventures #rocax #investimInRomania Thank you Ioana Nita and Adrian S. for the invitation and great hosting of the event.

We had the honor of hosting the first Latin American Private Capital Mission to the UK, organised by the Investment Team at the British Embassy Mexico City and the Mexican Association of PE & VC Funds (AMEXCAP). This groundbreaking mission brought together 13 delegates from Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and Brazil, offering them insights and connections within the UK's venture capital ecosystem. The delegates participated in 15 key engagements with prominent actors such as the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA), UK Business Angels Association, Lloyd’s of London, and the London Stock Exchange, among others. These interactions highlighted why the UK remains a global leader in venture capital, offering unique investment opportunities and extensive support for startups and investors alike. The UK's strategic location, advanced infrastructure, and comprehensive tax incentives make it an ideal destination for business growth and innovation. With programs like the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) and the Enterprise Investment Scheme Association (EISA), the UK continues to attract significant venture capital investment, retaining its position as the third most active VC market globally. The mission was a collaborative effort, and I want to highlight the contributions of Liliana Reyes, CEO of AMEXCAP, Carlos Marmolejo, CEO at Finsus, Paul Clastre, partner at 1200vc, and Monica Cortina Peresola, Head of Inward Investment at the British Embassy in Mexico, who orchestrated the entire mission flawlessly. 🎥 Join us in celebrating the success of this mission and hear directly from the attendees about their experiences and the valuable connections they made. #UKInvestment #VentureCapital #GlobalBusiness #PrivateCapitalMission

VC is still on go slow generally. Here is the data from the latest quarterly report on the asset class by Preqin’s Research Insights team: 1) The number of VC transactions continued to decline in Q2, to 4,207 from 4,452 in Q1.   2) There were only 13 VC-backed IPOs, compared with 44 in Q1 2024, and 109 in Q2 2023.  3) On the fundraising side, 200 VC vehicles closed in the first quarter, worth a combined $25.6bn – less than a sixth of the volume and a quarter of the value of Q4 2021’s record levels.  This is global data and so there will undoubtely be large differences between regions, and even more so between stages (early stage seems to have been affected less). Obviously we focus on Spain, and within Spain on early-stage startups, and generally my feeling is that after picking up at the beginning of the year there has recently been a slowdown in activity. Thoughts? #venturecapital #capitalriesgo #angelinvestors

"the Nordic and Baltic countries together emerge with the highest numbers of unicorn per capita. With a population of 27 million, the Nordic nations created 73 unicorns between 2013-23, which accounts for 17% of all Europe's unicorns with only 4% of its population, according to data of Nordic-founded early-stage venture capital firm node.vc. " #Business #Competitiveness #Economy #Finance #Investments #Europe #EuropeanUnion

Nordics Innovation 2024: A Resilient Growth Story 🚀 Nordic startups' combined value hits $552B: A 16x increase since 2014, showcasing robust growth. 🌍 $3.8B in VC raised in 2024: Despite a dip from 2021, the region surpasses pre-pandemic investment levels. 🦄 82 unicorns in 2024: Up from 9 in 2014, with new entries like Kerecis and Bonesupport. 💼 100+ VC-backed exits expected: Active exit market indicates strong investor confidence. 🔋 Energy sector leads with $1.2B funding: Dominates for the third year, focusing on batteries, hydrogen, and solar. 🌐 Two-thirds of VC from international investors: Highest share to date, reflecting global confidence in Nordic startups. 📈 Sweden leads with $1.8B in VC: Followed by Denmark, Norway, and Finland in regional investment. Source : https://lnkd.in/dFJ-pVFT #NordicInnovation #VentureCapital #StartupGrowth #Unicorns #InvestmentTrends #EnergySector #GlobalInvestment