Invitalia

Chief Executive Officer Bernardo Mattarella holds ultimate responsibility for Invitalia's investment strategy. Day-to-day deal execution is managed through dedicated business units for venture capital, corporate restructuring, and infrastructure finance, each led by divisional directors. Investment committees for direct equity stakes include members from the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, reflecting the agency's public mandate.

Invitalia is fully owned by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance and receives capital primarily through government budget allocations and EU structural fund transfers. While it deploys capital through equity, quasi-equity, and convertible instruments much like a private equity fund, its mandate is public-policy driven — targeting economic development, industrial rescue operations, and innovation in underserved regions — rather than maximizing financial returns on a fund-by-fund basis.

Invitalia held a significant equity stake in ITA Airways, the state-owned successor to Alitalia, before the Italian government negotiated a sale to Lufthansa in 2024. The agency also holds a minority interest in Acciaierie d'Italia, the steelmaker formerly known as Ilva, alongside ArcelorMittal, as part of a government-led industrial rescue and decarbonization strategy.

Invitalia invests primarily through direct balance-sheet equity and quasi-equity instruments. However, it also acts as a cornerstone investor in venture capital funds-of-funds focused on Italian tech transfer and underserved regions, such as the ITATech platform under the European Investment Fund's mandate. The agency does not typically participate as a limited partner in blind-pool third-party funds outside these structured programs.

The agency's direct investment activity focuses on advanced manufacturing, industrial automation, digital health, agri-food innovation, renewable energy, and sustainable mobility. Its venture capital arm, through the Smart&Start Italia program, explicitly targets early-stage technology startups in artificial intelligence, enterprise software, robotics, and life sciences. Invitalia publicly prioritizes investments located in Italy's Southern regions under EU cohesion policy.

Cassa Depositi e Prestiti is Italy's sovereign promotional bank and holds strategic passive stakes in large Italian corporates. Invitalia, by contrast, is an executive agency that originates, structures, and actively manages direct equity deals and grant-based incentive programs. While CDP invests through funds and minority positions, Invitalia frequently leads restructuring transactions, exercises board-level governance rights, and administers the operational subsidy infrastructure that CDP does not handle.

Yes. Invitalia frequently co-invests alongside private equity firms, corporate partners, and international financial institutions in growth-stage and restructuring deals. Its Smart&Start Italia program explicitly requires matching private capital for startup investments. The agency's turnaround mandates, as seen in Acciaierie d'Italia and formerly in Ilva, routinely involve private industrial partners in co-investment and operational management roles.