ItaTech has committed an initial $33m to the fund, which will invest in spinouts emerging out of 19 partner universities and research institutes across Italy.
Italy-based venture capital firm Eureka! Venture has launched a €50m ($55m) fund with an initial close of $33m thanks to a commitment by investment platform ItaTech, Il Sole 24 Ore reported on Wednesday.
The Eureka! Fund I – Technology Transfer will focus on the commercialisation of deeptech, such as materials science and engineering as well as advanced materials.
The firm has partnered a total of 19 universities and research institutes across the country, though only Polytechnic University of Turin and Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia’s Technology Transfer office were named.
Eureka was formed in March 2019 by commercialisation firm Meta Group, together with Stefano Peroncini, Salvatore Majorana and Anna Amati.
The fund will invest over 10 years, backing both spinouts and proof-of-concept projects. It aims to build a portfolio of 28 companies, make 14 follow-on investments and achieve eight exits within that timeframe.
ItaTech is backed by the EU-owned European Investment Fund and the Italian state-owned national promotional institution Cassa depositi e prestiti. Funds it has previously supported include Poli360, a $70m university venture fund for Politecnico di Milano launched a year ago.
Thierry Heles
Thierry Heles is editor-at-large of Global University Venturing and Global Corporate Venturing, and host of the Beyond the Breakthrough podcast.
