- Primo Capital is raising €120 million for Primo Space 2, its second fund focused on space and dual-use technology. The first close is expected after the summer.
- The 19 companies in the first fund’s portfolio have together raised more than €470 million, which is over eight times the original investment.
- McKinsey predicts the global space economy will grow to $1.8 trillion by 2035, but Europe still lacks sufficient investors.
Primo Capital‘s first space-focused fund helped its 19 portfolio companies raise over €470 million, more than eight times the fund’s investment, employ around 900 people, and create over 600 new jobs since its first investment.
Building on this track record, the Milan-based firm is launching Primo Space 2, a €120 million fund aimed at civil and defence space technology.
General partners Matteo Cascinari, Ilaria Cavalleri, and Giorgio Minola lead the fund. Professor Roberto Battiston, former president of the Italian Space Agency, continues to serve as an advisor to the investment team.
A track record built since 2020
Primo Capital is Italy’s largest independent alternative investment platform, managing more than €500 million across funds in the digital, healthcare, climate, and space sectors. Since its launch in 2020, Primo Space Fund has been one of Europe’s first specialist operators in the sector, built over more than eight years on vertical expertise, a network of technical advisors and consolidated industry relationships.
The fund reviewed almost 1,500 opportunities and invested in 19 companies across six countries. These companies have generated over €115 million in revenue, with 69% coming from international markets.
Primo Space 2 will invest in companies from the seed stage to Series B, supporting the full space economy value chain with a focus on Europe. The fund has already received more than €70 million in expressions of interest ahead of a planned first close after the summer. It is backed by Italian and European institutional investors, including the European Investment Fund.
Europe’s shift to dual-use technology faces a funding gap
This comes as Europe’s defence investment landscape is changing. Expeditions closed its second fund at €197 million this year, with support from BAE Systems and the NATO Innovation Fund. In March, the European Investment Fund committed a record €50 million to Join Capital’s dual-use fund.
Geopolitical pressures are speeding up investment in dual-use technologies, and space sits at the centre of these trends as vital civilian infrastructure for communications, navigation, Earth observation and cybersecurity.
The funding gap that Primo aims to address remains large. McKinsey estimates the global space economy will reach $1.8 trillion by 2035, up from $630 billion in 2023. Europe, however, still lacks enough specialised investors to support companies from early stages through to growth rounds, a gap Primo argues its track record positions it to help close.
It remains to be seen whether Primo Space 2 can repeat an eightfold return, or whether that success reflected early entry into a fast-growing sector. The answer will say as much about the maturity of Europe’s space economy as it will about Primo’s own investment skill.
