Foolfarm, the generationbuilder specializing in the creation of startups in the field of generative artificial intelligence and deeptech technologies, based in Milan and Lecce, announces a new capital increase of 9 million euros to support the objectives of the business plan in Italy in the horizon 2024/2028, aiming for operating break-even by 2026 and to distribute over 60 million euros in dividends to its shareholders. The increase aims to exceed the pre-money market valuation of €50 million, projecting the company towards an IPO on the Euronext market by 2028. Since 2021, the company has already raised over €5.6 million in two rounds (pre-seed and seed) from Italian investors, including institutional and international investors, including KPMG, CRIF, SAPA Moratti, IBL Banca, and family offices such as that of the Dalla Riva and Ottavia family, which brings together important investors in the Roman industrial ecosystem, exceeding the valuation of €21.5 million in just two years and aiming with this round to exceed the threshold of €50 million of euro valuation. Foolfarm has launched 9 startup projects, of which 5 innovative startups are already incorporated and all based on solid patents and international IPs filed in the deeptech sector. Among the new companies launched by Foolfarm are: Voiceme , a startup led by Mauro Ferri that aims to enable payments and authentication through voice, based on a European IP that enables voice payment, and which has already closed two rounds (pre-seed and seed) raising over €800,000, currently in the Series A phase with a pre-money valuation of around €10 million; IIO , led by Edoardo Zorzetto, is a conversational platform based on generative AI capable of recognizing human emotions and interacting in text and voice like a real human operator, has exceeded €3.5 million in post-money valuation and is preparing for a new round by 2024 where it aims to exceed €6 million in pre-money; Fragmentalis, a startup in the world of cybersecurity that has launched the Stream platform, a secure solution for data exchange, a sort of secure Dropbox with a built-in messaging system that allows you to transfer data between companies with military-grade security and protect the most sensitive data, thanks to the patented technology of pulverization of the data, which aims for a valuation of more than €15 million premoney by the end of the year; Aidamask , a generative AI startup that allows companies to use GPT chat and generative AI without fear of data breaches or data leakage by their employees through the AI-masking technique, pIt has already closed a capital increase that brings its pre-money valuation to €2.5 million. Aidamask is led by Andrea Giannuzzi; Snaproof, a startup born from a team of students from the University of Salento through the Foolers Village program of Foolfarm, built around their degree thesis that aims to revolutionize the contactless experience of our mobile phones with a technology called OTPr 100% made in Italy, which allows you to make from payment to secure delivery tests, with a simple contact between phones or objects. Snaproof is completing a capital increase round to €2.5 million. In total, Foolfarm’s startups have raised over €2 million, in addition to the €5.6 million raised by Foolfarm, in funding from investors and are preparing to scale, already representing over €10 million of net asset value generated by Foolfarm, which aims with the new business plan to found 20 new startups and create over 100 million net asset values by 2028. Foolfarm’s listing on Euronext by 2028, with the aim of capitalizing over 250 million euros, aims to position itself as a reference point in the European IT sector in the context of the generative AI revolution, aiming first and foremost at a competition with OpenAI to finance the launch of an international startup based on an innovative generative AI open source platform, expected by 2025, with an operational base in Southern Italy around one of its university hubs, such as Sassari and Lecce, and created by an international team following the example of the French Mistral AI.
The Investment Committee
Foolfarm therefore continues its growth strategy in the market, equipping itself with an Investment Committee (CDI) of international value composed of five independent members selected for their experience, track record and expertise in the field of investments, entrepreneurship and technology. The members of the committee are: Barbara Cominelli, CEO of JLL Italia; Dario Calogero, former CEO of Kaleyra Inc, a NYSE-listed company and founder and CEO of Maya Investments; Amedeo Giurazza, founder and CEO of the Vertis fund; Riccardo Ruggiero, former CEO of Infostrada, Telecom, Tim, Aria, Tiscali and Melita. The adoption of an investment committee of this calibre is unique due to the importance and specific weight of the figures who will support CEO Andrea Cinelli in investment decisions to guarantee investors who will participate in the next capital increase, an element of trust and guarantee towards investors and at the service of Foolfarm’s new business plan. “With enthusiasm and pride, I announce a significant step in the path of continuous growth of Foolfarm: the formation of our new Investment Committee – comments Andrea Cinelli in a note -. We have created a team of international prestige, of true and authentic pioneers in their field, of champions in their sectors, who have profoundly marked the Italian economy and its digital development. This demonstrates the value of our project and the quality of our ecosystem. The Investment Committee will be at the heart of our strategic decisions, with the task of evaluating and deciding on investments in startups. These professionals not only bring world-class expertise but symbolize the innovative ecosystem we are building in Italy and soon internationally. Their commitment ensures independence, competence, transparency and objectivity in our assessments, ensuring that every investment decision in Foolfarm reflects our ambitions and values and absolute objectivity and transparency. I thank Barbara, Riccardo, Dario and Amedeo for joining us at this crucial time. Together, we are ready to not only change the rules of the game, but to make a mark in 2024 by creating around an international team a champion in generative AI in Italy who can compete on equal terms with players like OpenAI in the world of generative AI and to enhance Italian talent, especially in Southern Italy, with our hubs in universities. Our dream is to create over a thousand jobs in Southern Italy by 2028 in this revolutionary new technology around the universities where we are already present with the Foolers Village university venture building program”. Since its foundation in 2020, Foolfarm has carved out an important role in the national innovation ecosystem, with a fundamental contribution to the Italian economy, which benefits from Foolfarm’s expertise, skills and innovative solutions that facilitate technology transfer, especially in university contexts with a high brain drain in Southern Italy. The new capital increase operation aims to accelerate Foolfarm’s growth in the area, thanks to the strengthening of the research and development areas dedicated to the development of Italian solutions and services based on generative AI and led by CTO Alessandro Redaelli, formerly of MIT, to the strengthening of the offer in the field of technology transfer and enhancement of the Foolers Village project. This initiative is inspired by the U.S. experience that, through the inclusion of venture builders on university campuses, has allowed the creation of some of the most well-known tech companies in the world, for example, Akamai and Dropbox. Foolers Village establishes partnerships with universities excluded from the usual circuits and focuses on the South and the Islands of Italy, to contribute to the economic development of our country, providing the necessary tools for the creation of new successful businesses in Italy, starting from the genius of our graduating students and their theses: in addition to Lecce, Sassari, Naples, other universities are approaching the project of business creation. The territorial Foolers Villages enhance the skills of university students and made in Italy of technological matrix, supporting students, graduates, undergraduates and PhDs in the transition from idea to business: a context that allows the investment in Foolfarm to meet the ESG criteria relating to social and governance parameters. The injection of new capital will allow the expansion of the Foolers Village in 3 other universities in addition to the collaborations already active with the University of Salento and the University of Sassari; the creation of an internal reserve of around €4 million for the launch of new high-potential startups; the strengthening of the ‘Factory’, through the strengthening of the team to reach 50 professionals by 2028 and of the community of investors, involving angels from all over Italy. And it is precisely to further safeguard the direction of Foolfarm’s investments that the role of the new Investment Committee will act, strengthening the protection of Foolfarm’s investment community. Finally, FoolFarm makes use of a proprietary production process called Befool, a model for the creation of startups with an industrial and sequential matrix that, after 3 years of validation, allows multiple patentable business ideas to be developed in parallel and transformed into startups with factory processes.
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