In the first half of 2025, the number of transactions involving Italian startups increased, but the amount invested decreased. These are the main findings of the 2025 half-year report by Venture Capital Monitor (VeM) on VC operations in Italy, a study launched in 2008 by the LIUC - Cattaneo University Observatory, promoted by AIFI and carried out with the contribution of Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center and KPMG, with the institutional support of CDP Venture Capital SGR and IBAN – Italian Business Angel Association.

Presented online at the Press Conference on 22 July, the VeM report monitors over time the investment activities in the early stage chain in our country.

In the first half of 2025, the innovation ecosystem confirmed its dynamism in terms of completed rounds but showed weaknesses in terms of invested capital, which decreased. In particular, there were no large-sized transactions (mega deals) during the semester.

The data confirm that the Italian VC ecosystem remains essentially stable even in the face of geopolitical tensions that, since April, have impacted global financial markets, triggering volatility and uncertainty. There is also a confirmed trend, in Italy too, of greater caution by investors, while it is becoming more difficult for early-stage startups to find capital. Nevertheless, the signals recorded in July are encouraging for the growth of invested capital at the start of the second half of the year.

Transactions on the rise, capital decreasing

Between January and June 2025, 153 venture capital deals were recorded – including initial and follow-on operations – conducted on Italian startups and scaleups: an 18.9% increase compared to the 129 transactions registered in the first half of 2024.

However, the amount invested in innovative Italian startups amounts to €443 million, a decrease of 9% compared to the €488 million collected in the first half of last year.

Including foreign companies with Italian founders or co-founders, which raised €80 million in 11 deals in the first half of the year, the total invested amount reaches €523 million, down from €758 million in June 2024.

Regarding rounds, 142 were recorded between initial and follow-on: an increase compared to the 117 completed between January and June 2024. Specifically, initial operations rose from 97 to 107, demonstrating the dynamism of the Italian early-stage chain.

VeM-i Index stable

The VeM-i Index, which quarterly tracks early stage activity in Italy, increased and reached 1,300 in Q2 2025. Although this value shows a slight rise compared to 2024, it still remains below the peaks recorded in 2021 and 2022.

The impact of U.S. policies and the absence of mega deals

In an international context influenced by the economic policies of the Trump administration, the increase in transactions is an encouraging signal. Nevertheless, the absence of mega deals reveals an innovative ecosystem still immature, which must continue to grow to bridge the historical gap with the main European VC markets (Spain, France, and Germany).

Early stage: €465 million mobilised

In the first half of 2025, €465 million were invested along the early-stage chain, distributed across 156 rounds, a 25% decrease compared to the first half of 2024.

€137 million invested in Technology Transfer

Technology Transfer (TT) is in constant expansion and shows no signs of slowing down. In the first six months of 2025, €137 million were invested in 33 rounds (compared to €115 million in 43 transactions in the first half of 2024).

The funds dedicated to TT, together with the initiatives promoted by CDP Venture Capital SGR and the financial instruments developed with ITAtech, triggered a leverage effect of over €500 million. Among TT funds, Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, through the SEI Fund managed by Neva SGR, invested during the semester in the Galaxia fund and previously in the Tech4Planet fund.

Geography of investments

From a territorial perspective, Lombardy confirms itself as the region hosting the highest number of target companies (48) among the 100 Italian ones (107 including foreign-based ones). Next come Lazio and Emilia-Romagna, both at 8%, with a shift from 2024 when Piedmont was second with 15% of target companies. Encouraging signals also come from Central and Southern Italy.

Sectors: ICT leads, followed by Healthcare and Energy

Analysing the sectors, ICT remains particularly attractive for the early-stage chain with 39% of initial transactions completed in the first six months of 2025.

Healthcare remains stable, confirming its second position with a 14% share of investments in startups in the sector (vs. 8% in the first half of 2024), followed by financial services (9%, up from 7% in the first six months of last year).

Also on the rise are sectors linked to the ecological transition (ClimaTech and Energy) and those with a strong technological component (AI, Defence, and DeepTech), indicating alignment with the investment trends of major European markets. A key driver is EU policy, including the European defence programme RearmEU.

Origin and type of transactions

This year, 79% of initial deals come from private initiatives, 18% from research spin-offs and proof of concept programmes, and the remaining 3% from corporate spin-offs and spin-off building.

Moreover, in the distribution by type of investment, seed rounds weigh increasingly: 67 were recorded in the first half of 2025 compared to 46. The contribution of startup capital decreased (35 deals vs. 47), while the later stage remains marginal (5 vs. 4).

Over €100 million invested in Italian startups in July

Traditionally more dynamic than the first part of the year, the second half of 2025 began with encouraging signals: over €100 million in investments have already been recorded in July. If this trend continues, it would lead to recovery and improvement in annual volumes.

Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center’s point of view

The signs from July, together with the publication of the implementing decrees of the December 2024 Competition Law, give hope for the recovery of VC investments in the second half of the year.

According to Luca Pagetti, Head of Startup Growth and Ecosystems Development Department at Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, “The signals received in H1 show greater caution from investors, highlighting the tendency towards polarisation: capital is increasingly concentrated in a few established players, while it is becoming harder for startups to find funding.”

The first half of 2025 was strongly affected by global geopolitical tensions and the impact of new trade barriers between the United States, China, and Europe. The half-yearly data from VeM confirm that the Italian VC ecosystem is essentially solid even in the face of geopolitical tensions that, since April, have impacted financial markets by triggering volatility and uncertainty.
Maintaining the current small size of the Italian VC market – which remains far behind the EU markets of Spain, France, and Germany – is not enough to be satisfied. It remains urgent to further support the VC/startup sector: even a small decline weighs more in a market like Italy’s, which should be catching up with its European peers. A stronger attraction of internationally-oriented investors is needed to ensure competitiveness in new disruptive sectors such as AI.

On 28 May, the European Commission presented the EU Strategy for Startups and Scale-ups (Choose Europe to start and scale), an ambitious plan aimed at consolidating Europe as a global hub for tech innovation and entrepreneurship. This initiative aims to overcome the main challenges hindering the growth of European innovative enterprises, such as regulatory fragmentation, limited access to funding, and shortage of qualified talent.

ClimaTech-Energy and Life Sciences-Biotech sectors are growing, while the presence of international lead investors in early rounds confirms the attractiveness of our ecosystem.
“Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center supports the growth of the Italian ecosystem with initiatives that promote innovation for the competitiveness of companies, regions and communities, thanks to its distinctive expertise built over time and the synergy with the financial offering of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, including the investments of the SEI Fund managed by Neva SGR,” concludes Pagetti.