The discussion opens with fresh 2025 VC barometer data, highlighting Italy’s structural gap in VC funding per capita relative to GDP despite improving deal activity. The conversation then dives into climate deep tech, examining how AI-driven materials discovery could address rare earth bottlenecks and enable next-generation clean technologies. A featured case is Rara , a university spin-off applying AI to novel materials research, showing how data and experimentation become the true moat. The episode also analyzes a major digital health growth round combining equity, bank financing, and M&A strategy as a repeatable European pattern. It closes with reflections on Italian funds investing abroad and what this signals for the maturity and international reach of Italy’s VC ecosystem.

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: giacomo@in3.ventures#venturecapital #italy #startup

talian startup funding, venture capital trends, AI, biotech, robotics, and institutional investors define this episode’s deep dive into the 2025–2026 ecosystem outlook. The discussion highlights how 2025 became the second-best fundraising year after 2022, driven by a record-breaking Q4 with several mega-rounds. The hosts analyze why round size—not volume—explains the rebound, and how late announcements skew quarterly data. They explore Italy’s structural reliance on institutional capital, particularly CDP, and debate whether this slows or stabilizes ecosystem development. Key sectors like biotech, robotics, and enterprise AI alignment emerge as long-term strengths, supported by strong academic tech transfer. The episode also unpacks Italy’s seed-heavy funding profile and what it implies for future Series A and B growth. Overall, the conversation frames cautious optimism: momentum is real, but maturity will take time.

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: giacomo@in3.ventures#venturecapital #italy #startup

This episode explores Italian startups, venture capital, deep tech, robotics, AI cybersecurity, and European scale-up financing at the close of 2025. The hosts break down how Italian startups reached approximately €1.4B in raised capital, driven by a strong Q4 and increased deep-tech momentum. A major focus is Generative Bionics, a humanoid robotics spin-off from the Italian Institute of Technology, highlighting the rise of physical AI and industrial robotics applications. The discussion then shifts to AI-driven cybersecurity, emphasizing continuous automated security testing as a response to increasingly sophisticated AI-powered attacks. The episode also analyzes a €70M European Investment Bank scale-up debt deal, showing how hybrid debt-equity instruments are reshaping European growth financing. Throughout the conversation, the speakers underline a “European-first” scaling mindset and the strategic importance of coordinated public-private capital deployment. The episode closes with reflections on upcoming opportunities in space tech and European innovation ecosystems.

Niccolò's newsletter: ⁠⁠http://dealflowit.niccolosanarico.com/⁠⁠

Watch on Youtube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@giacomomollo⁠

Listen to all episodes on audio:

Spotify: ⁠⁠https://spoti.fi/3fVynsQ⁠⁠

Google Podcast: ⁠⁠https://bit.ly/3thf9RC⁠⁠

Apple Podcast: ⁠⁠https://apple.co/3Elhykq⁠⁠

Amazon Music: ⁠⁠https://shorturl.at/9Dtd9⁠⁠

Get in touch:

Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/giacxxx⁠⁠

Twitter: ⁠⁠https://twitter.com/giacomomollo⁠⁠

Email: giacomo@in3.ventures

#venturecapital #italy #startup