FoolFarm Spa, the Italian venture studio specialising in artificial intelligence and university tech transfer, founded in 2020 in Milan by Andrea Cinelli, announces a €3.7 million capital increase.
The transaction is aimed at supporting expansion in the US, the launch of the Italian AI Innovation Hub in Miami, and the path to listing on the stock exchange, bringing the company’s valuation to EUR 32 million.
On 27 March 2025, on the occasion of Emerge Americas 2025, one of the most important tech events in the United States based in Miami and uniting the North American world with the LatAm area, Andrea Cinelli will present the FoolFarm USA project and the Italian AI Innovation Hub to the investor community, accompanied by the 10 start-ups that were born within the venture builder and addressing American and international investors.
In the previous three funding rounds, the company has raised over EUR 8.15 million from the likes of KPMG, Crif, Crédit Agricole and IBL Banca. In four years, FoolFarm has launched seven innovative start-ups: Voiceme, IIO, Fragmentalis, Aidamask, Snaproof, DeckDive and Sharetrust.
The new value represents a six-fold growth from the initial EUR 5 million investment in just four years, confirming the soundness of FoolFarm’s business model and the confidence of investors
FoolFarm adopts a venture building model based on the FoolFarm Launcher tech transfer programme, which draws on the best IA talent in collaboration with five Italian universities: Sassari, Lecce, Palermo, Cosenza and Sapienza Roma. In a six-month on-the-job training programme, the talents develop new start-ups under the guidance of industrial partners at an early stage. Entrepreneurial ventures can be set up either in Italy or the US, with a monetisation model that aims to reduce exit time to a third or a quarter of that of a traditional VC fund.
With the goal of listing on the stock exchange by 2028, FoolFarm aims to consolidate its position as an AI innovation hub between Italy and the US, exploiting a dual-entity model that enhances the ability to generate innovation on Italian soil and to enhance it in more liquid markets such as the US.
As of 2024, FoolFarm is active in the United States with an office in Miami, where it has created the Move2USA acceleration programme. This route has already enabled numerous start-ups to enter the American market through a period of deep immersion, offering access to networks of investors and strategic partners.
From 24-28 March 2025, start-ups will participate in an intensive development and networking programme in Miami. At Emerge Americas 2025 FoolFarm will officially present three key initiatives for the US market:
1. The capital increase, intended to facilitate the entry of industrial and financial partners into the Italian-American structure of FoolFarm.
2. The Italian AI Innovation Hub platform, designed to create a bridge between Italian AI innovation and the American market.
3. The US-based Road2USA fund, which will start operations in 2026.
At the heart of FoolFarm’s strategy and its new capital increase is the Italian AI Innovation Hub, conceived to facilitate the access of Italian startups and companies to the American ecosystem and of which the Move to USA programme is a part. With the Italian AI Innovation Hub, FoolFarm wants to build a platform that connects the Italian ecosystem, rich in talent and expertise, with a broader, receptive and strategic market.
The main focus remains on AI, Web3 and cybersecurity technologies, with a focus on early-stage projects. In parallel, the platform aims to become an open innovation engine, offering companies the opportunity to develop AI-related projects directly in the world’s most competitive and advanced technology market.
To support this initiative, the Road2USA fund is being set up in the United States, which will finance Italian start-ups that enter the programme on their path to development and growth in the American market. The fund will also focus on AI, Web3, and cybersecurity, with a particular focus on AI for Industry and AI for Defence applications.
With the €3.7 million capital increase, FoolFarm aims to: offer US investors the opportunity to invest through the Road2USA fund in Italian innovation in AI and early-stage deep-tech technologies. The intent is to create a low-risk asset class by setting up start-ups directly in the US or through a balanced Italy-US operating model, with a competitive entry cost and accelerated valorisation potential in a market up to 200 times larger than the Italian one, and to offer Italian investors the opportunity to invest in FoolFarm as an AI Innovation Farm that has already founded seven start-ups in Italy since 2021 and plans to launch 16 more by 2028, and now wants to take its model to a global scale. The ambition is to generate more than EUR 50 million in capital gains by 2028, laying the foundation for a future IPO on an international market.
On 25 March, thanks to a partnership with a major US financial player listed on the NYSE – active in the financing and banking sectors – and with the financial centre Brickell21, FoolFarm will officially inaugurate the Foolers Club. The initiative is aimed at angel investors, family offices and corporations interested in supporting Italian AI innovation in the US.
The Foolers Club, which in Italy already has 100 members and more than EUR 2 million raised, now aims to expand to the US, positioning itself as a reference for the financing of innovative Italian and American start-ups at an early stage, thanks to its club deal model capable of accelerating the growth and scalability of tech projects.
Startups
On 12 February, in front of over 100 Foolers Club investors gathered at Le Village in Milan, FoolFarm presented two new start-ups from the Launcher programme and a new round for Snaproof
Sharetrust, AI and blockchain for job security
Led by Davide Bottai and Giuseppe Locantore, Sharetrust uses artificial intelligence algorithms and blockchain to improve workplace safety. The platform detects risks in real time, verifies PPE compliance and automates reporting. Winner of the ‘ZeroInfortuni’ contest by Würth and CNA Giovani Imprenditori, it collaborates with a major construction group on site safety. The ongoing capital increase amounts to EUR 350,000, on a valuation of EUR 2.5 million.
DeckDive, the AI for pitch deck analysis
Led by Simone Mastri and Iacopo Boaron, DeckDive is an AI platform that optimises pitch deck analysis, offering investors quick insights into market trends. It is currently being raised for €350,000 on a valuation of €2.5m.
Snaproof, blockchain 99% energy-saving
Led by Edoardo Parini and Simone Casciaro, Snaproof is an ultra-efficient blockchain that uses smartphones as a decentralised ledger, reducing energy consumption by 99%. Currently raising €1m, the pre-money valuation is €5m.
“At FoolFarm, we want to create a ‘big thing’ in artificial intelligence, providing access to an American market 200 times the size of Italy. We believe this is a unique opportunity for our Italian talent to generate new ‘unicorns’ in a more liquid and dynamic ecosystem. At the same time, we offer companies the chance to develop AI innovation around their assets, both in the domestic and international markets, responding effectively to geopolitical challenges and new trade policies,’ says Andrea Cinelli, founder and CEO of FoolFarm, in a note. The launch of the Italian AI Innovation Hub in Miami represents a strategic platform to bring together Italian excellence in the field of artificial intelligence and connect it with the US ecosystem, fostering the exchange of skills, capital and growth opportunities. The AI Innovation Hub creates a concrete bridge between Italian talent and a much broader market, generating value not only for early-stage start-ups but also for established companies wishing to open up to new models of open innovation. Moreover, through the Road2USA fund, starting in 2026, we aim to support Italian companies that choose to internationalise, guaranteeing them dedicated financial resources and a targeted acceleration path. This pairing, AI Innovation Hub and Road2USA, will make it possible to transform high-tech ideas into global initiatives, consolidating FoolFarm’s role as an engine of growth and creating a real competitive advantage for the entire Italian innovation ecosystem”.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ©