Deep Ocean Capital SGR SpA enters the technological innovation arena with the launch of Deep Blue Venturesthe first fund Deep Tech di Venture Capital based in Rome, to support startups, spin-offs and more generally initiatives in the aerospace sector with a particular focus on aerospace technologiesArtificial intelligence he was born in Quantum applied to the health and sustainability sectors.
With a initial endowment of 40.8 million euros, Deep Blue Ventures aims to reach a total funding of 70 million euros. The first round of financing was subscribed by the European Investment Fund (EIF) and by CDP Venture Capital SGR through its Technology Transfer fund as Corner Investor, together with Blue Ocean Finance and ReItaly21 as Investor. Other subjects, including professional and non-professional investors, will be able to participate in the investment and growth of the ecosystem of theItalian deep tech innovation.
Deep Blue Ventures has established partnerships with important industrial players in the aerospace and defense sector, including Leonardo, ESA (European Space Agency), I3P (incubator of innovative companies of the Polytechnic University of Turin), CNR and the Istituto Italian of Technology (IIT). The focus of Deep Blue Ventures will be on phases seed and early stage of young companiessupporting them in verifying product-market fit and building solid foundations for growth.
A successful model for investing in advanced technologies such as AI and Quantum
The fund adopts an investment approach that involves each stakeholder from the initial stage to stimulate the synergistic process of value creation that lasts until the exit. Deep Blue Ventures operates within a model called Deep Tech Factory, which includes both the advanced technology venture capital fund, Deep Blue Ventures; than a real factory of deep tech startups, or the ecosystem of venture builders, accelerators, incubators and venture studios.
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This combination of financial and industrial skills creates fertile ground for it sustainable development of deep tech companies. Deep Blue Ventures thus plays the role of deep tech venture capital fundacting as a catalyst of the entire innovation process and investing when the target potential company has passed the technological risk reduction process.
The fund will focus on early stage investments, such as Seed Round and, in some selected cases, Round A, positioning itself as the lead investor in exponential technologies such as AI and Quantum Technologies. Strategic sectors such as Aerospace, Healthcare e Sustainability (with regard to synthetic biology) are particularly interesting for the fund, in which AI plays an accelerator role for more technologically advanced solutions which until now, due to its absence, have been far from being developed.
Deep tech and technology transfer for sustainable business growth
Second Emilia Garito, Chairman and co-Founder of Deep Ocean Capital SGR SpA, one of the main limitations of deep tech and technology transfer funds has been the difficulty in transforming research into entrepreneurial initiatives and in coordinating the actors involved in the innovation ecosystem. With Deep Blue Ventures, the goal is to create a Deep Tech and Technology Transfer ecosystem in which all the players work in synergy to foster business growth.
Domenico Nesci, CEO and co-Founder of Deep Ocean Capital SGR SpA, underlines that Europe and Italy, with their heritage of universities, research centers and scientific and industrial ingenuity, are well positioned to support innovators and lead a further wave of innovation deeply oriented towards disruptive technologies.
Paolo Cellini, Marco Simoni and Alessandro Commito are on the Board of Directors of Deep Ocean Capital SGR SpA, an asset management company that manages the DBV fund. Members of the board of statutory auditors: Pierluigi Pace, Ignazio Carbone and Pierluigi Cirielli. Head of Operations: Emanuela Paravati.
Article originally published on Jun 15, 2023