Key Takeaways
- • Nevermind VC achieves €23.6 million first close for its NVM Venture Lazio compartment, with a final fundraising target of €35 million to deploy across 10–15 dual-use deeptech startups at Pre-Seed and Seed stages.
- • Lazio Innova committed €18.83 million through its Lazio Venture 2 fund of funds, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the 2021–2027 Regional Programme, positioning the region as a strategic anchor investor.
- • The fund targets frontier dual-use technologies including aerospace, maritime, robotics, autonomous systems, cybersecurity, AI for defence, energy infrastructure, new materials, advanced manufacturing, and biotechnology—sectors spanning both commercial and critical defence applications.
- • Leadership team includes founding partners Andrea Bonabello and Niccolò Bienati, supported by fund managers Giorgio Gulienetti and Alessandro Casiraghi, bringing combined expertise in venture capital, corporate finance, and scaling companies in aerospace and defence sectors.
- • Multi-compartment structure separates investment theses by specialist teams while maintaining shared institutional governance, risk management, and compliance frameworks across the fund.
Summary
Nevermind VC, an Italian-based venture capital fund focused on deeptech dual-use technologies, has officially launched operations with a €23.6 million first close for its flagship NVM Venture Lazio compartment. The fund is targeting a final close of €35 million and plans to build a portfolio of 10–15 companies at Pre-Seed and Seed stages, positioning itself as a lead investor in startups with international growth ambitions while anchoring its strategy in strengthening the Lazio Region's innovation ecosystem.
The fund's investor base is heavily weighted toward institutional regional support. Lazio Innova, operating through its Lazio Venture 2 fund of funds mechanism, committed €18.83 million of the first close. Lazio Venture 2 receives co-financing from the European Regional Development Fund under Italy's 2021–2027 Regional Programme, indicating that the compartment was selected as a strategic vehicle for channeling EU structural funds into deeptech innovation.
NVM's investment thesis concentrates on dual-use frontier technologies—companies with applications spanning both civilian and defence sectors. Core focus areas include aerospace, maritime, robotics and autonomous systems, cybersecurity, AI for defence applications, energy infrastructure, new materials, advanced manufacturing, and biotechnology. This sector selection reflects broader European strategic autonomy priorities around critical technologies and industrial capability.
The fund operates under a multi-compartment model in which each investment thesis pairs with a dedicated team possessing specialized domain expertise. This structure allows emerging managers to operate with focused theses while benefiting from shared institutional infrastructure for governance and compliance. The team is led by founding partners Andrea Bonabello and Niccolò Bienati, with fund managers Giorgio Gulienetti and Alessandro Casiraghi driving operations of the Lazio compartment. The collective leadership brings experience across domestic and international venture capital, corporate scaling in aerospace and defence-adjacent sectors, and technology company professionalization.
The fund's investor base is heavily weighted toward institutional regional support. Lazio Innova, operating through its Lazio Venture 2 fund of funds mechanism, committed €18.83 million of the first close. Lazio Venture 2 receives co-financing from the European Regional Development Fund under Italy's 2021–2027 Regional Programme, indicating that the compartment was selected as a strategic vehicle for channeling EU structural funds into deeptech innovation.
NVM's investment thesis concentrates on dual-use frontier technologies—companies with applications spanning both civilian and defence sectors. Core focus areas include aerospace, maritime, robotics and autonomous systems, cybersecurity, AI for defence applications, energy infrastructure, new materials, advanced manufacturing, and biotechnology. This sector selection reflects broader European strategic autonomy priorities around critical technologies and industrial capability.
The fund operates under a multi-compartment model in which each investment thesis pairs with a dedicated team possessing specialized domain expertise. This structure allows emerging managers to operate with focused theses while benefiting from shared institutional infrastructure for governance and compliance. The team is led by founding partners Andrea Bonabello and Niccolò Bienati, with fund managers Giorgio Gulienetti and Alessandro Casiraghi driving operations of the Lazio compartment. The collective leadership brings experience across domestic and international venture capital, corporate scaling in aerospace and defence-adjacent sectors, and technology company professionalization.
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