Excellis

Excellis concentrates on startups and spin-offs founded or co-founded by Italian researchers who have earned master's or doctoral degrees from leading global universities and are building companies abroad. The firm screens for deep-tech ventures with strong patent estates that have already attracted pre-seed or seed financing, typically via grants or research prizes. It then enters alongside qualified international venture capital firms that act as lead investors, relying on their due diligence and sector expertise.

Excellis is structured as a holding company, not a limited-life venture fund. This distinction matters for portfolio construction because it removes fund-life pressure from investment decisions, allowing the firm to hold positions for longer periods while deep-tech research matures. Investors subscribe to participations in the holding rather than committing to a blind-pool vehicle with a defined liquidation date.

Excellis targets pre-seed and seed-stage rounds and does not lead deals. The firm explicitly co-invests alongside qualified international VCs that have a clear track record in the relevant sector. This strategy allows Excellis to access vetted opportunities while relying on the lead investor for term-setting and active governance.

Excellis publishes four primary deep-tech domains: enabling technologies (including Edge AI, advanced computing, quantum, lasers, and photonics), robotics and automation (drones, industrial robots, autonomous vehicles, and exoskeletons), cleantech (hydrogen, energy storage, carbon capture, and circular-economy materials), and med-tech (AI for diagnosis, imaging, lab-on-chip, rehabilitation robotics, and surgical robotics). The firm has no stated exclusion of sectors outside these categories, though deal flow overwhelmingly maps to them.

The firm is led by co-founders Alberto Emprin and Loris Lanzellotti. Emprin's background spans technology transfer, IP commercialization, and angel investing through 3LB Seed Capital, while Lanzellotti has invested in more than 200 companies globally through Seedstars International and Boost Heroes. The website presents them as the two principals, and no additional investment committee structure is publicly described.

Excellis is headquartered in Torino, Italy, but its portfolio companies are located exclusively outside Italy, reflecting its thesis of backing Italian researchers abroad. Portfolio companies operate in Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom, Austria, and the United States, with clusters around the ecosystems of EPFL, ETH Zurich, Imperial College London, and the University of Oxford.

There is no public disclosure of a philanthropic foundation or charitable vehicle affiliated with Excellis. The firm describes its mission as creating value for shareholders, portfolio companies, and co-investors, with an emphasis on generating a positive societal impact through the deep-tech companies it backs, rather than through a separate philanthropic entity.