Eight billion euros in four years: this is the value of new industrial plan 2024-2028 by Cdp venture capital: “What is venture capital – asks the CEO and general manager Agostino Scornajenchi -? It is becoming investors and, after having invested, becoming entrepreneurs by assisting other entrepreneurs.”
This vision highlights the crucial role of venture capital (VC) in supporting business growth, as demonstrated by the fact that seven of the top 10 listed companies globally were backed in their first years of operation. “Google, Microsoft, Apple, just to name a few, have become giants also thanks to VCdemonstrating its ability to accelerate the scalability of businesses,” comments Scornajenchi.
Launched in 2020, the CDP Venture Capital program is still in its infancy. “Despite some progress, such as the notable increase in the financial envelope from one billion euros at the end of 2023 to 3.5 billion euros, and deliberate investments of 1.5 billion euros, we are still far from having fully developed the potential of venture capital in our country – he comments again -. We currently have 7,500 people employed across our startups, with the goal of increasing this number to 10,000 by 2025. However, while this represents a step in the right direction, we recognize that these are still modest numbers. The aspiration is to aim for 20% of workers employed in startups”.
Even though it is in its infancy, CDP Venture Capital has already made its first exits – the one of the Unobravo startup is notable – with an average return of three times the capital invested. “Another crucial aspect is Cdp VC’s approach to this sector – continues Scornajenchi -. We don’t want to be a “state investment company”, but to focus on merit and on building the startups of tomorrow, focusing on merit and competence”.
In this regard, Cdp Venture capital launches an ambitious plan that will make 8 billion euros available for innovation under management, of which 1 billion raised by third parties – to support the development of Italian innovation through investments in the seven areas classified as most strategic for the country with the aim of attracting private capital and bringing the “brains” back within the borders on the run: “We want to stimulate the creation of new VC funds”, comments the president of CDP Dario Scannapieco.
Within the new industrial plan of Cdp Venture Capital, two strategic pillars of intervention are outlined aimed at supporting and nourishing the Italian entrepreneurial ecosystem. The first pillar consists of supporting the Italian venture capital infrastructure through a series of targeted investments. These investments, which concern both new companies in the embryonic stage, known as pre-seed and seed, and venture capital funds, aim to encourage medium and long-term growth of the market. Furthermore, it is planned to invest in skills to support innovation, providing resources and support to startups to face emerging challenges and opportunities. “This is 1.6 billion euros, 1 billion more than what has been allocated so far, in a plan in which CDP has already launched 20 incubation nodes and accelerators in the first four years and with a strong collaboration strategy with companies . The goal is to launch at least 50 corporate venture capital by 2028”, explains Alessandro Scortecci, responsible for strategy, business development & sustainability. Another 3 billion will be used in early stage startups in which Cdp venture capital plans to launch seven new vertical funds that will invest in more than 150 startups.
Finally, in the late stage, 600 million euros will be allocated with the already active Large Venture fund.
Particularly significant is the additional investment of one billion euros in artificial intelligence. This is based on the awareness of the strong growth and potential of the sector, in which Italy has a unique competitive position. The emphasis is placed on the need to create a solid market champion in the AI sector, making the most of the skills and resources available on the Italian territory.
In particular, the nascent Artificial Intelligence plays a central role in the strategy of Cdp Venture Capital with 1 billion euros of resources dedicated to the growth of the sector in three specific areas: 120 million euros dedicated to technology transfer, the link between university research and market, 580 million euros of investments in startups with sectoral applications to strengthen existing players, 300 million euros of investments in mature companies ready to scale abroad and become future national champions.
Finally, 3.3 billion euros are expected to support the venture capital infrastructure and the launch of funds of funds which will bring an incremental 2.2 billion.
The ultimate objective of the plan is to bring the volume of investments in our market from 1.3 billion euros in 2023 to 5.5 billion in 2028. This significant growth aims to ensure that Italian Venture Capital contributes to a greater extent to the overall economic growth of the country, going from 0.1% to 0.3% of GDP by 2028.
“This ambitious objective – concludes the CEO of Cdp venture capital – cannot be achieved without the involvement and active support of funds, insurance companies, banks and companies. It is for this reason that we appeal to these actors to consider venture capital as an investment opportunity that has a significant impact on the real economy. We do not call them to intervene to save crisis situations, but to contribute to the construction of a solid and dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem that can guarantee sustainable growth in the long term. This will not only benefit their coffers and the country as a whole, but also their subscribers and shareholders. Investing in Italian venture capital means contributing to the creation of value, stimulating innovation and promoting economic growth, which will ultimately translate into more consistent and stable returns for all the actors involved.”
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– 2024-04-11 00:27:30
