CDP Venture Capital

CDP Venture Capital

CDP Venture Capital was established in 2019 as the Fondo Nazionale Innovazione, the Italian government's flagship vehicle for translating public balance-sheet capacity into domestic startup formation. Ownership is split between Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (70%) and Invitalia (30%), placing the firm squarely inside Italy's state-directed industrial policy. It inherited a fragmented landscape of regional seed funds and corporate venture experiments and was given a mandate to scale them into a coherent national system. Deployment flows through three principal channels: a fund-of-funds program that anchors Italian VC managers, a direct investment arm writing tickets from pre-seed to Series B, and a network of accelerators and technology transfer hubs linked to universities. The firm co-invests alongside corporate partners including Eni, whose Eni Next unit collaborates on energy-transition startups, and Google Cloud, which provides AI infrastructure and go-to-market support to portfolio companies. Sectors with active allocations include industrial technology, digital health, artificial intelligence, and renewable energy; the Rome headquarters confirms a national focus, though portfolio companies often target broader European markets. Leadership transitioned in May 2025 when Emanuele Levi was appointed CEO and General Manager, succeeding a board-level stewardship that had previously included Francesca Bria as Chairman. The firm maintains a secondary office in Milan and participates in the Italian Venture Capital Association. Adjacent to its investment activities, the Fondazione CDP operates separately as the philanthropic vehicle of the parent group, though no commingling of venture and grant capital has been disclosed publicly. What distinguishes CDP Venture Capital from peer national innovation funds is its hybrid structure — a private-law asset management company (SGR) executing a public-policy mandate, rather than a direct government department. This architecture allows it to co-invest alongside private LPs and corporate venture arms without the procurement constraints of a state agency, while its fund-of-funds layer means it influences capital allocation decisions across a generation of Italian GPs.