Heroes, a London-based startup that aims to acquire European SMEs that signed a partnership with Amazon FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon) for the logistics and customer service, attracted a venture debt facility of 200 million US Dollars (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Crayhill Capital Management, a New York-based investor in private credit that has resources of 820 million, provided the loan. Heroes will invest such proceeds in its organic development. Italian entrepreneurs Riccardo Bruni and Alessio Bruni founded Heroes in 2020.
Cars24, the Indian e-commerce of second-hand cars where Italy’s Exor Seeds had invested for the first time in November 2020, raised 450 million US Dollars (340 million in equity and 110 million in debt) on the ground of an enterprise value of 1.84 billion dollars (See here a previous post by BeBeez). The company attracted the resources of DST Global, Falcon Edge, SoftBank Vision Fund, Tencent, Moore Strategic Ventures, and Exor Seeds. Rumours say that Alpha Wave Incubation, Scott Kapnick and BloombergSen Investment Partners also invested in Cars24.
Vertis Venture 5 Scaelup Fund (VV5) raised 35.3 million euros and led an investment round of 9.1 millions in SkinLabo, an Italian digital cosmetics company, with a 4.5 million ticket (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Giulio Valiante, an operating partner of Vertis, will join SkinLabo’s board of directors.The company also attracted the resources of Immobiliare.it and Angelomario Moratti. Vertis owners are Amedeo Giurazza (54%), Renato Vannucci (9%), Maria Elena Giurazza (4%), Giancarlo Di Luggo (14%), Fondazione di Sardegna (10%), and Futura Invest-Fondazione Cariplo (9%).
In 1H21, Italian platforms for real estate crowdfunding platforms raised 157.87 million euros for 469 campaigns (90.43 millions in lending and 67.44 millions in equity), said the real estate crowdfunding report 2020 of Walliance and Milan Polytechnic University (see here a previous post by BeBeez). CrowdfundingBuzz, a news and analysis service for the crowdfunding sector that is part of the portfolio of EdiBeez, the publisher of BeBeez, says that in 1H21 the Italian platforms raised 18.2 millions in equity (11 millions in 1H20), and 25.5 millions in lending (see the real time data of CrowdfundingBuzz for the real estate crowdfunding in Italy). CrowdfundingBuzz says that in 2020, the Italian platforms financed 182 projects with 65 millions in equity and debt (35 millions in 2019).
Walliance, an Italian equity crowdfunding portal for the real estate sector, launched Première, a market place for UHNWI. (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Earlier in July, Giacomo Bertoldi, the ceo and cofounder of Walliance, said to BeBeez that the company was working on services for UHNWI that now may access to the Gold account if they have invested at least 50,000 euros on Walliance; have a portfolio of financial instruments or cash worth at least 0.2 million euros; and are ready to invest at least 10,000 euros. The Black account requires investment tickets of at least 25,000 euros; investments of at least 0.1 million on Walliance, and a portfolio of financial instruments of at least 0.5 million
Valore Condiviso, a blockchain-based Italian portal for real estate lending crowdfunding, raised more than one million euros for seven development projects in Milan (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Alberto Papa founded Valore in 2020.
Between 2020 and 1H21, the Italian insurtech sector attracted investments of 110 million euros (50 millions in 2020 and 60 millions in 1H21) (see here a previous post by BeBeez). The sector attracted resources of 2.8 billions in the UK, 2.5 billions in Germany and 2,2 billions in Francia, said the Insurtech Investment Index Report of the Italian Insurtech Association (IIA).
Caracol, an Italian provider of Additive Manufacturing services, attracted 3.5 million euros from Primo Ventures and Eureka! Venture (see here a previous post by BeBeez). A group of business angels also invested in the company. Francesco De Stefano, Jacopo Gervasini, Paolo Cassis, and Giovanni Avallone founded Caracol in 2017. The company will invest the raised proceeds in R&D.
Federico Isenburg and Mega Holding acquired the majority of Nutribees, an Italian startup for the delivery of healthy food, from the founders Giovanni Menozzi and Mario Villani (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Gianmaria Brusini and Marco Boroli founded Mega Holding in 2017 for investing in the food sectors.
Sources said to BeBeez that Italian cybersecurity firm 4Securitas attracted a 2 million euros investment from Cysero EuVECA, a vehicle that AVM Gestioni and Kilometro Rosso launched (see here a previous post by BeBeez). The fund acquired a 20% stake in the business. Cysero is a venture capital fund that aims to raise 100 million for creating an Italian pole for the robotics and the cybersecurity. Alberto Bombassei founded the vehicle in 2020 together with Giovanna Dossena and the support of the Radici, Persico, Fassi, Cogliati, Pasini, and Borromeo Families.
Mister Smart Innovation (MSI), a startup incubator of which CNR, the Italian research centre, owns 31.5%, signed an alliance with Welldone Global Advisory, a corporate finance boutique that Vincenzo Macaione founded (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Michele Muccini, the chairman of MSI, said to BeBeez that the alliance it signed with Welldone aims to liaise the research centres with financial investors and corporates.
Simone Cremonini, the managing partner of Sinergia Venture Fund, said to BeBeez that the company is ready to close a second transaction, while its private equity fund aims to sell in early 2022 Kirey, a consultancy firm for system integration and software acquired in February 2016 through a Management Buy Out (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Sinergia Venture previously led an investment round of 5 million euros in Contents (fka Entire Digital Publishing), an Italian AI-based editorial company
The Italian proptech Casavo started to operate in Barcelona, Spain, and set an investment target of 100 million euros in 12-24 months (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Giorgio Tinacci is the ceo of Casavo and founded the company in 2017 together with Simon Specka who sold his stake in early 2019.
AorticLab, a startup operating in the biomedical sector, received a 1.5 million euros financing facility from Unicredit (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Earlier in 2012, sources said to BeBeez that the company attracted 300k euros from an undisclosed familiy office and AV-Venture, a vehicle that Club degli Investitori and IAG (Italian Angels for Growth) launched. The company also raised 0.4 million through a crowdfunding campaign on Doorway. Franco Osta (ceo), Enrico Pasquino and Marco Vola founded AorticLab in 2016. The company will invest the facility that received from Unicredit in the development of proprietary products worth 15 million.
Ver Capital, an European investor in debt instruments, launched Ver Capital Credit Partners Trade Receivables (VCCPTR), a vehicle that will invest in corporate invoices through fintech platforms. Workinvoice is the first platform with which the fund signed a partnership (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Andrea Pescatori and Francesco Franchini, the ceo and senior partner of Ver Capital, said that the fund will have a tenure of 6 and a half years. The first fundraising target amounts to 50 million.
Switcho, an Italian startup that allows consumers to save for utility bills, raised 2 million euros through an equity crowdfunding campaign on Mamacrowd (see here a previous post by BeBeez). The company attracted the resources of ALIcrowd, an Eltif that Milan-listed Azimut launched together with Mamacrowd, and of 31 private investors on the ground of a pre-money value of 4.6 million. Switcho set a target of 1.19 – 2 million.
EpiCura, an Italian digital provider of medical services, raised 5 million euros from Europ Assistance Italia, part of Gruppo Generali (see here a previous post by BeBeez). The company also attracted the resources of Ersel. Epicura has sales of 0.775 millions.
Athics, a startup developer of AI-based software, attracted the resources of B2B Gellify and of Azimut Digitech Fund, a subsidiary of Milan-listed Azimut (See here a previous post by BeBeez). Giuseppe Carrara founded Athics in 2018 witht he support of Yoda
Enrico Pandian launched the fintech startup Yolo Save (see here a previous post by BeBeez). The Yolo (You Only Live Once) app is still in its test stage. Everytime the users deposit money, they receive lottery tickets. Yolo Save is the second project of Startup Gym Studio, the startup farm of which Pandian owns a majority stake and which in turn is in fundraising for a 1.5 million euros capital increase, part of which through an equity crowdfunding campaign on CrowdFundMe platform.
