Italian startups raised €1.465 billion in the first nine months of 2026, 71% more than a year earlier, but across 210 rounds instead of 306.
The figures come from the quarterly Italian venture capital observatory run by tech investment bank Growth Capital and Italian Tech Alliance, the national VC association. They were presented on 8 October 2026 in Turin at Wave by Vento. In the same period of 2025, Italian startups raised €855 million.
How much venture capital did Italian startups raise in 2026?
According to the observatory, investors put €1.465 billion into 210 rounds between January and September 2026. The third quarter alone accounted for €641 million across 56 rounds, including two mega rounds. The quarter also saw ten exits.
| Metric | 2025 | 2026 |
| Capital invested, January-September | €855 million | €1.465 billion |
| Rounds, January-September | 306 | 210 |
| Pre-seed and seed rounds, January-September | 183 | 116 |
| Average round | €4.1 million (full year) | €7 million (January-September) |
| Median round | €1.1 million | €2 million (January-September) |
Source: Growth Capital and Italian Tech Alliance observatory, 8 October 2026.
The average-round comparison mixes periods: the observatory uses full-year 2025. Over January-September 2025 alone, the average works out at about €2.8 million. The real jump in cheque size is larger than the headline comparison suggests.
Why is Italian VC funding growing while deal count falls?
The decline sits at the start of the pipeline. Pre-seed and seed rounds fell 37%, from 183 to 116. Rounds from Series B onwards doubled to 18 and absorbed €648 million, or 44% of all capital invested.
Two effects drive the gap. A few large rounds move the total: Exein alone accounts for 16% of the nine-month figure. The median round, which mega deals do not distort, still rose from €1.1 million to €2 million.
| Company | Amount | Stage |
| Exein | €234 million | Series D |
| Undisclosed company | €108 million | Series C |
| Rent2Cash | €100 million | Series A |
| Newcleo | €75 million | Series A, third tranche |
| WeRoad | €49 million | Series C |
The five largest rounds of January-September 2026 total €566 million, 39% of capital invested.
How does Italy compare with the rest of European venture capital?
Italy remains a small market. In its July edition, the same observatory counted 5,330 rounds and €44 billion invested across Europe in the first half of 2026, with AI taking 60% of the capital. The UK alone raised €20 billion, 46% of the European total. Italy’s first-half figure in that edition was €813 million, under 2% of the European total.
The observatory also reports that investment in Italian startups has grown 3.2 times since 2020, the fastest growth in Europe and 2.5 times the European average increase. Growth from a small base is still growth from a small base: in absolute terms, the gap with the UK, France and Germany remains wide.
Who is Exein, Italy’s newest unicorn?
Exein is an Italian cybersecurity company for connected systems. It protects robots, drones and autonomous vehicles, the field the industry calls physical AI, which also covers humanoid robots on factory floors. On 22 September 2026 it announced a $270 million round led by Headline at a $1.7 billion valuation, according to an announcement by law firm Orrick. Investors include the European Investment Bank and Germany’s KfW Capital.
The €234 million in the observatory is the same round, converted into euros. The valuation puts Exein on the list of Italian unicorns. The company plans to use the money to expand in the United States and Asia-Pacific and to develop security products for physical AI. In Europe, security for connected products is also a legal duty, as the Cyber Resilience Act reporting duties show.
What does this mean for founders and investors in Italy?
First cheques are harder to get: Italy saw 67 fewer pre-seed and seed rounds than in the first nine months of 2025. Capital is moving towards companies that have already shown traction.
New money is arriving on the supply side. Four new venture funds launched in the third quarter, with €128 million combined. The quarter’s ten exits return capital that investors can put back to work.
Italian Tech Alliance director general Francesco Cerruti called the lack of policy progress the weak spot of 2026. In July he had pointed to the stalled tax incentive for startup investors as one of the open files.
Why do Italian venture capital figures differ between sources?
Each tracker sets its own perimeter: which companies count as Italian, which rounds are included, how undisclosed deals are treated. Figures from different trackers cannot be added up or compared directly.
The same tracker also revises earlier quarters. In July the observatory put the first half of 2026 at €813 million across 145 rounds. Subtracting the third quarter from the October figures, the first half now stands at €824 million across 154 rounds. Compare figures only within the same source and the same edition.
FAQ
How much did Italian startups raise in the first nine months of 2026? According to the Growth Capital and Italian Tech Alliance observatory, €1.465 billion across 210 rounds, compared with €855 million across 306 rounds a year earlier.
Why are there fewer venture capital rounds in Italy in 2026? The drop is concentrated in early stages: pre-seed and seed rounds fell from 183 to 116. Capital is concentrating in Series B and later rounds, which took 44% of the total.
What was the largest startup round in Italy in 2026? Exein’s Series D: €234 million, or $270 million, at a $1.7 billion valuation, which made the cybersecurity company a unicorn.
How big is Italian venture capital compared with Europe? In the first half of 2026 Italy raised €813 million against €44 billion across Europe, under 2% of the total, according to the observatory’s July edition.
Why do sources give different figures for Italian venture capital? Each tracker uses its own criteria for which companies and rounds to count, and revises past quarters. Compare figures only within the same source.
Sources
- ANSA, “Startup, in Italia investiti 1,46 miliardi nei primi nove mesi del 2026”, 8 October 2026: link
- FinanceCommunity, “Venture capital italiano a quota 1,465 miliardi di euro investiti”, 8 October 2026: link
- Teleborsa, “Venture capital in Italia: 813 milioni investiti in 145 round nel primo semestre 2026”, 21 July 2026: link
- Orrick, “Exein Becomes Italian Unicorn at $1.7 Billion Valuation”, 22 September 2026: link
