Key Takeaways
- • Eureka! Venture launched its inaugural fund, Eureka! Fund I – Technology Transfer, with a €38 million first close and a €50 million final target, positioning itself as Italy's first independent venture capital firm focused exclusively on deep tech investments.
- • Zest and Eureka! Venture jointly launched Z_One, a €55 million pre-seed/seed fund targeting AI applications and urbantech startups in Italy, with Zest holding a 20% stake in Eureka! and committing €5 million as lead private investor.
- • The Z_One fund employs a two-phase investment strategy: broad diversification with pre-seed cheques up to €200,000 across up to 100 investments, followed by concentrated follow-on funding up to €1 million for breakout companies, optimizing for selection discipline and reserve management in early-stage venture.
- • Luigi Capello, founder of LVenture Group, transitioned from Zest's CEO role to lead Z_One, alongside Giulio Montoli and Giulia Fazzini, both former senior investment managers at Zest Investments, ensuring deal flow continuity and institutional track record rather than a cold-start fund.
- • The combined platform strategy positions Zest to generate €130 million to €200 million in direct and indirect assets under management by integrating research commercialization, acceleration, and venture capital deployment across the Italian innovation ecosystem.
Summary
Eureka! Venture, Italy's first independent venture capital firm dedicated exclusively to deep tech investments, launched its flagship fund, Eureka! Fund I – Technology Transfer, achieving a €38 million first close with a final target of €50 million. The fund represents a significant institutional commitment to technology transfer and deep tech spinoffs from Italian research institutions and academic centers, addressing a structural gap in venture capital availability for capital-intensive, science-based startups in the country.
Concurrently, Zest, an Italian innovation platform, and Eureka! Venture announced the launch of Z_One, a €55 million pre-seed and seed stage fund focused on AI applications and urbantech ventures. Zest holds a 20% equity stake in Eureka! Venture and has committed €5 million as the lead private investor in Z_One, establishing a strategic partnership that integrates venture capital deployment with acceleration and commercialization infrastructure. Marco Gay has assumed the CEO role at Zest, while Luigi Capello, the original founder of LVenture Group, stepped down from Zest's executive position to lead Z_One as fund manager.
The Z_One fund operates under a deliberately structured two-phase investment model designed to optimize capital allocation and risk management. The fund targets up to 100 pre-seed investments with individual cheques capped at €200,000, emphasizing broad-based portfolio diversification and early-stage exposure across the Italian innovation landscape. For companies demonstrating traction and product-market progress, follow-on investment rounds scale to €1 million, allowing the fund to concentrate capital into proven performers while maintaining portfolio breadth. This index-then-double-down approach reflects sophisticated pre-seed venture discipline, prioritizing selection rigor and reserve management.
The fund management team brings continuity and institutional depth to the strategy. Capello leads the fund alongside Giulio Montoli, former Chief Investment Officer of Zest Investments, and Giulia Fazzini, former senior investment manager at Zest Investments. Rather than a cold-start team, this represents a lift-out of Zest's proven investing professionals, ensuring access to existing deal flow networks and demonstrated track record in sourcing and evaluating early-stage deep tech companies.
The broader platform architecture reflects a differentiated market opportunity. By combining research commercialization and acceleration capabilities with dedicated venture capital, Zest expects the integrated ecosystem to generate €130 million to €200 million in direct and indirect assets under management once fully operational. This structural integration—linking university spinouts, accelerator support, and institutional venture funding—positions the platform as a comprehensive value chain solution for Italian deep tech founders rather than a standalone venture fund competing on capital availability alone.
Concurrently, Zest, an Italian innovation platform, and Eureka! Venture announced the launch of Z_One, a €55 million pre-seed and seed stage fund focused on AI applications and urbantech ventures. Zest holds a 20% equity stake in Eureka! Venture and has committed €5 million as the lead private investor in Z_One, establishing a strategic partnership that integrates venture capital deployment with acceleration and commercialization infrastructure. Marco Gay has assumed the CEO role at Zest, while Luigi Capello, the original founder of LVenture Group, stepped down from Zest's executive position to lead Z_One as fund manager.
The Z_One fund operates under a deliberately structured two-phase investment model designed to optimize capital allocation and risk management. The fund targets up to 100 pre-seed investments with individual cheques capped at €200,000, emphasizing broad-based portfolio diversification and early-stage exposure across the Italian innovation landscape. For companies demonstrating traction and product-market progress, follow-on investment rounds scale to €1 million, allowing the fund to concentrate capital into proven performers while maintaining portfolio breadth. This index-then-double-down approach reflects sophisticated pre-seed venture discipline, prioritizing selection rigor and reserve management.
The fund management team brings continuity and institutional depth to the strategy. Capello leads the fund alongside Giulio Montoli, former Chief Investment Officer of Zest Investments, and Giulia Fazzini, former senior investment manager at Zest Investments. Rather than a cold-start team, this represents a lift-out of Zest's proven investing professionals, ensuring access to existing deal flow networks and demonstrated track record in sourcing and evaluating early-stage deep tech companies.
The broader platform architecture reflects a differentiated market opportunity. By combining research commercialization and acceleration capabilities with dedicated venture capital, Zest expects the integrated ecosystem to generate €130 million to €200 million in direct and indirect assets under management once fully operational. This structural integration—linking university spinouts, accelerator support, and institutional venture funding—positions the platform as a comprehensive value chain solution for Italian deep tech founders rather than a standalone venture fund competing on capital availability alone.
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