LIFTT

LIFTT embeds scouting personnel inside partner universities — primarily Politecnico di Torino, Politecnico di Milano, and Università di Genova — reviewing patent disclosures and research-IP pipelines before they reach other investors. The firm also co-develops technology with originating laboratories, giving it access to pre-incorporation opportunities that traditional venture firms rarely see. This university-embedded model accounts for virtually all LIFTT's deal flow.

LIFTT operates as both. The firm makes direct equity investments from pre-seed through Series A, but also provides operational support, management talent, and technology co-development resources to portfolio companies. In several cases LIFTT has helped structure the founding team and negotiate IP-licensing terms with the originating university, functions typically associated with venture builders rather than passive financial investors.

Investment decisions are made by the firm's investment committee, chaired by co-founders Stefano Buono (Chairman) and Giovanni Tesoriere (CEO). Buono brings the technology-origination lens from his background commercializing nuclear-medicine research; Tesoriere handles fund-level portfolio management. The internal structure deliberately separates technology assessment from portfolio construction.

LIFTT targets deep-tech sectors including advanced materials, clean energy systems, medical devices and diagnostics, robotics, aerospace components, and industrial artificial intelligence. The firm's sector exposure is driven by the IP emerging from its partner universities, so the mix reflects northern Italy's industrial and research strengths rather than opportunistic sector rotation.

LIFTT has not publicly disclosed its LP base in detail, but operates as a regulated asset manager under Italian law. The firm participates in grant-linked instruments tied to European Innovation Council programs alongside its equity investments, suggesting a capital structure that blends private LP commitments with public innovation-funding mechanisms.

LIFTT is an independent investment firm, not a subsidiary of the university. However, the firm maintains a structured partnership with Politecnico di Torino that grants early access to patent disclosures and research IP, and several LIFTT portfolio companies have spun out of the university's laboratories. The relationship mirrors a technology-transfer office function without formal institutional ownership.

LIFTT targets pre-seed, seed, and Series A rounds. The firm frequently writes the first institutional check for university spinouts, often before incorporation, and follows on through subsequent rounds. LIFTT has not publicly disclosed making growth-stage or late-stage investments.