Limited partners including corporates Saes Group and Umbra Group have contributed to the €38m ($44.9m) first close of a fund for Italy-based venture capital firm Eureka Venture, StartupBusiness has reported.

Eureka Fund I – Technology Transfer has targeted approximately $59m for its final close. It is anchored by ItaTech, the tech transfer-focused investment partnership of the European Union-owned European Investment Fund (EIF) and development bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti.

Advanced materials producer Saes Group and aerospace component maker Umbra have been joined by philanthropic foundation Compagnia di San Paolo, InnovFin Equity, European Fund for Strategic Investments and unnamed individuals.

The vehicle has been set up to invest in materials and engineering spinouts from 22 Italian universities and research centres. Eureka will supply funding at proof-of-concept stage and back seed and series A rounds, focusing on advanced materials and applications related to materials science and engineering.

Massimo della Porta, chief executive of Saes Group, said: “University scientific research and industry must talk to each other, today more than ever, to find a new way to innovate.”

The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.

Italy-based venture capital firm Eureka Venture has secured €38m ($44.9m) for the initial close of a fund to invest in materials and engineering spinouts of 22 domestic universities and research centres, StartupBusiness reported today.
The Eureka Fund I – Technology Transfer – first announced in September 2019 – has a $59m target and is anchored by ItaTech, the tech transfer-focused investment partnership of the EU-owned European Investment Fund (EIF) and economic development bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti.
Limited partners also include advanced mat­erials supplier Saes Group, aerospace component supplier Umbra Group, philanthropic foundation Compagnia di San Paolo and high-net-worth individuals.
The fund also has support from two EU initiatives: InnovFin Equity and the European Fund for Strategic Investments.
Eureka will supply funding at proof-of-concept stage while also investing in seed and series A rounds, focusing on advanced materials in addition to applications related to materials science and engineering.
The fund’s research partners include Italian Institute of Technology and Polytechnic of Turin as well as commercialisation firm Meta Group and Kilometro Rosso, an innovation district in Italy’s Lombardy region.
Massimo della Porta, chief executive of Saes Group, said: “University scientific research and industry must talk to each other, today more than ever, to find a new way to innovate.”