The ninth edition of theObservatory on Open Innovation and Italian Corporate Venture Capital, promoted by InnovUp and Assolombarda, with the scientific partnership of InfoCamere and the Digital Innovation Observatories of the Politecnico di Milano and with the support of Piccola Industria Confindustria and the Digital and Supply Chain Policies, Life Science and Research area of Confindustria with Fondazione MAI, highlights how in 2024 Italy will have approximately 15,900 innovative start-ups and SMEs with a total turnover of EUR 11.1 billionThe number of innovative realities is shrinking for the second year in a row, mainly due to a decrease in the number of start-ups registered in Italy (about 1,000 fewer than in 2023), while innovative SMEs are up by 11.2%. However, 75.6 per cent of the start-ups that left the register in the last year are still active and 10.3 per cent of these have become innovative SMEs. Altogether, they generated a turnover of more than EUR 800 million in 2023, of which 30 per cent was generated by those that passed through the innovative SME register.
One third of Italy’s innovative companies are corporations, a share that has been growing steadily in recent years. These almost 5,300 innovative start-ups and SMEs generate 47.2 per cent of total revenues, equivalent to EUR 5.3 billion. Compared to 2023, there has also been a further increase in the number of innovative companies owned by specialised investors (for the first time more than a thousand and with a turnover of €1.6 billion), while those owned by individuals (family & friends) continue to decrease.
Nel 2024 le startup e PMI innovative partecipate da aziende sono rimaste pressoché stabili in numero e sono cresciute in termini di valore della produzione (+1,9%), mostrando così performance migliori del totale delle imprese innovative. Non solo, rispetto al 2019 (anno pre-covid), il fatturato delle startup e PMI innovative con soci aziendali è aumentato di un importante 74,5% (against +63.3% of the total).
Chiara Petrioli, president of InnovUp stated in a note: ‘The Italian innovation market shows remarkable resilience, with a turnover of €11.1 billion generated by almost 16,000 companies. Despite the slight decline in the number of start-ups, the increase in innovative SMEs testifies to the growth and maturation of the ecosystem. Maturation also testified to by the figure for venture capital investments by corporations, amounting to €313 million, 21% of the total investments recorded in 2024 (€1,493 million), with growth of 190% over 2023, evidence of the growing interest in innovation in our country . Tuttavia, la distribuzione geografica degli investimenti richiede attenzione: dobbiamo lavorare per colmare il divario tra nord e sud del Paese, favorendo la crescita di un ecosistema innovativo più diffuso e inclusivo, e come InnovUp continueremo a favorire attività che aiutino tutto il Paese a sviluppare la filiera dell’innovazione”.
Italian companies investing in start-ups remain predominantly small companies, with 64.9% having fewer than 10 employees, and the majority (42%) operating in non-financial services. Micro enterprises also represent 65.9% of the total share capital held by companies in innovative start-ups and SMEs. This share, however, is declining by more than three percentage points compared to 2023, while the weight of investments from larger companies is increasing (with almost EUR 24 million more capital injected by medium-sized companies in the last year).
Geographically, for the second year running, the number of start-ups and SMEs is growing only in the south and islands (now home to 27.4% of the national total). This trend clashes with a scarcity of potential corporate investors in the same breakdown: almost half (47.8%) of corporate partners are in fact concentrated in the north-west, compared to a modest 12.2% in the south and islands. This fragmentation is exacerbated by the share of corporate members investing outside their region, which fell to 24.5% in 2024.
“Corporate venture capital increasingly represents a fundamental strategic lever for the innovation of our small and medium-sized enterprises,” emphasises Giovanni Baroni, president, Piccola Industria Confindustria. “The Observatory’s data confirm a significant trend: one third of Italian start-ups and innovative SMEs is participated in by corporate investors, generating 47.2% of the sector’s overall revenues. This is a crucial phenomenon for our entrepreneurial fabric, also bearing in mind that those investing are mainly small businesses, 65% of investor members have fewer than 10 employees, with an increase over the last year in the weight of investments by medium-large companies as well. Moreover, while we are witnessing a numerical contraction of innovative start-ups and SMEs in Italy, corporate investments are proving to be a factor of stability and growth: investee companies show above-average performance, growing turnover and greater solidity. However, structural criticalities emerge that require attention. The concentration of corporate investors in the north-west (47.8%) compared to just 12.2% in the south risks exacerbating territorial innovation gaps. A joint commitment is needed to disseminate investment culture and tools in all regions. Investment by companies in start-ups is not just a source of capital, but an ecosystem of contamination and development that can regenerate our production system. For this to happen, SMEs need to be supported with specific instruments so that they can play an increasingly leading role in this transformation. I am referring in particular to the tax deduction for taxpayers investing in innovative SMEs, due to expire at the end of 2024, which should be extended at least through 2025′.
Focus Lombardy
Innovative start-ups and SMEs are also decreasing in Lombardy (-4.7% per year), but there are still more than 4,300 of them (27.4% of the national total) and they generate EUR 3.7 billion in turnover (one third of the Italian value). Compared to other regions, Lombardy emerges as a more mature innovation ecosystem, where almost half of the innovative companies are owned by specialised or corporate investors. These also have a very significant weight in terms of economic value: they generate more than EUR 2.5 billion in revenues, i.e. more than 70% of the regional total.
The characteristics of Lombardy’s corporate members do not differ much from those highlighted by national data: they are mainly small companies belonging to the services sector. However, the number of large investors (250+ employees) grew by 13.5% between 2023 and 2024. Compared to the rest of Italy, Lombardy’s innovation ecosystem appears to be more centralised, with 75.8% of corporate investors targeting sectors other than their own and 20.1% investing outside the region (in both cases, less openness than in other regions).
“Lombardy confirms its role as a reference model and driver of Italian innovation,” says Federico Chiarini, vice-president with responsibility for start-ups and president of Assolombarda’s Young Entrepreneurs Group. “With more than 4,300 innovative companies and a turnover in excess of EUR 3.7 billion, our region represents a dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem that is projected towards the future. What distinguishes Lombardy is the maturity of its ecosystem: almost half of the innovative companies have already attracted investment from companies or specialised investors. The data also show a particularly significant growth in the number of large investors, demonstrating a growing interest in innovation and a significant convergence: the most innovative and change-prone start-ups meet more structured companies, which are better able to steer their growth, thanks to advanced resources and skills. Some elements for reflection also emerge. The Lombardy ecosystem appears more centralised than in other regions, with a lower propensity to invest outside its borders. In order to support such a dynamic ecosystem, public policies to support innovation and entrepreneurship are increasingly necessary, with the open challenge of attracting more and more talent to face a global competition that appears to be ever tighter.
The survey conducted by the Politecnico di Milano on 90 medium and large-sized corporations involved in over 70 agreements with Italian start-ups between 2023 and 2024 shows that corporate investments are in line with and, indeed, in some cases over-performing overall investment trends: after a sharp drop in 2023, 2024 shows encouraging signs of recovery (€313m invested by corporations, compared to €108m in 2023, an increase of 190%, against an overall increase of 32%). Growth was mainly driven by international corporate investments, which grew by +689%, from EUR 19m in 2023 to EUR 163m in 2024. Corporates are present in every fourth investment round. However, of the top 50 Italian companies, only 36% invest in start-ups and only 20% have a VC fund (40% of these managed by independent VC funds). It is evident, therefore, that corporations operate with disbursement methods and planning levels still close to those of informal investors: the presence of structured national VCs remains limited, and is often associated with collaboration with independent VCs.
Despite this, Italian corporations are evolving their approach to investment, focusing increasingly on early-stage start-ups in their own sectors or in adjacent fields, a sign of a greater appetite for risk and an ecosystem that is slowly consolidating. The average investment tickets on the more than 70 operations mapped are less than EUR 1 million in 78% of cases, with an average of EUR 346,000 and a median of EUR 100,000. Finally, we note that the objectives of CVC activities are mainly of a strategic nature, such as access to new products/services or emerging technologies, rather than of a financial nature. As evidence of this, 92 per cent of investments take place within the corporate sector or in adjacent sectors. All in all, the Politecnico di Milano analysis shows how companies are gradually consolidating their approach to CVC.
Antonio Ghezzi of the Politecnico di Milano comments: ‘In 2024, the presence of corporations in the cap-tables of Italian start-ups showed a recovery after the sharp drop in 2023, both in terms of the number of companies involved and the investments made; however, in addition to the need for more investment planning to move away from a contingent logic, significant challenges remain related to the strategic alignment and cultural fit between corporations and start-ups, which require integrated solutions to improve governance and generate sustainable synergies’.
The full version of the 2024 edition of the Observatory on Open Innovation and Corporate Venture Capital in Italy is available here.
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