Italian VC firm United Ventures has closed a new fund – United Ventures III with a target fund size of €150 million. Upon completion, the total volume of funds under managed by United Ventures, which already manages two early-stage funds and a growth fund, which will reach €500 million in total.
A number of Italian and institutional investors backed the fund, including CDP Venture Capital, Banca Popolare di Milano, UniCredit, Sella, and Fondazione Carilucca.
Fund III’s investment plans
The VC firm’s Fund III will invest in 15 to 18 early-stage European technology companies, with initial investment tickets ranging in size from €1 million to €8 million. The investment focus is on companies that develop innovative technology solutions to innovate yet to digitise sectors in order to improve people’s quality of life and promote more sustainable development of society.
Notably, the firm plans to split the fund 50/50 between initial and follow-on investments. Besides this, United Ventures also appointed Giulia Giovannini and Sara Lovato as Investment Partners, Jacopo Drudi as Operating Partner, and Mariarosaria Taddeo as an independent Board member.
Founded in 2013 by Massimiliano Magrini, and Paolo Gesess in Milan, Italy, United Ventures currently has a team of 15 professionals with diverse backgrounds and skills and a track record with 35 investments in Europe and the United States. In 2022, the firm exited FACEIT and Musixmatch, with an over 10x return on investment.
“United Ventures’ new fund will focus on investing in visionary entrepreneurs who tackle critical issues, and that are often underestimated in their early stages. We believe that these companies have the power to make meaningful societal advancements by harnessing innovations that fall outside the tech sector’s typical hype cycles,” said Massimiliano Magrini, co-founder at United Ventures.
“Raising a fund in the midst of a challenging macroeconomic environment is a testament to United Ventures’ strong reputation in the industry and our ability to identify the most promising investment opportunities. It also represents a vote of confidence in the potential of our ecosystem to drive innovation and create value,” added United Ventures’ co-founder Paolo Gesess.
