Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) has committed €5m to Invitalia Ventures Sgr, the Italian Government led vc firm investing in the Italian startup ecosystem.
The investment is part of the recently anticipated country plan under which the networking giant will invest €100m in Italy in the next three years.
Led by CEO Salvo Mizzi (read our interview at the time of launch), Invitalia Ventures has set up a €50m co-investment fund, called Italia Venture I, which co-invests in tech/digital startups along with private players. Since September 2015, Mizzi and his team have worked to create an investor network made of Italian and international vc firms (from Europe, China, and USA) willing to pick investment opportunities in the Italian ecosystem.
The fund has already announced its first investment in the €1.5m round of D-Eye, which develops a portable eye and retinal imaging system for Apple or Samsung.
FinSMEs
04/03/2016