The first quarter of 2026 photographs an Italian venture capital ecosystem in an apparently contradictory form: 53 rounds closed (the lowest figure in the last five years) but 367 million euros invested, in line with the quarterly average of the last three years both including and excluding mega rounds. It is the photograph of the Quarterly Observatory created by Growth Capital in collaboration with the Italian Tech Alliance, presented in Milan at the Palazzo delle Stelline.
The distribution by stage reveals a maturing market: early stage operations (pre-seed and seed) represent 58% of the rounds but absorb only 8% of the capital, while the Series A and B+ rounds concentrate around a third of the operations and almost 90% of the investments. In the quarter, 12 Series A rounds, 3 Series B, 1 Series C+ and 6 exits were recorded. Late-stage rounds increasingly include debt financing or secondary deals in addition to equity capital.
AI, Fintech and Software drive investments
Software is the most dynamic sector in terms of number of operations, driven by AI, machine learning and cybersecurity, followed by Smart City and Life Sciences. In terms of capital raised, Fintech, Smart City and Software concentrate 72% of investments, with the strength of software linked to the high number of deals rather than the average size. The five most relevant deals of the quarter: Rent2Cash (100 million, Series A), Newcleo (75 million, Series A), D-Orbit (45 million excluding the secondary component, Series D), Subbyx (30 million, Series A) and Dronus (15 million, Series A). On the fundraising front, two new VC funds were launched for a public total of 85 million.
Europe accelerates, Italy follows
In the European context, the first quarter of 2026 marks the best result for capital since the second quarter of 2022: 22 billion raised in 2,805 rounds, performance driven by the mega rounds in AI and natural language processing. Italy is participating in the trend but on a smaller scale. “The Italian VC market remains in line with historical averages for total capital invested, despite the lower number of rounds. We expect that venture debt will gradually take on a more relevant role in Italy too”, commented Fabio Mondini de Focatiis, Founding Partner of Growth Capital.
The new frontier of venture debt
The quarter brought attention to venture debt, a form of credit financing for startups in the growth phase that allows you to raise capital by limiting dilution and extending the runway between one equity round and another. In Europe, venture debt operations exceeding 25 million represent 18% of deals but 90% of the total value; in Italy the phenomenon is still rare. The President of the Italian Tech Alliance Davide Turco warned that to compete globally, concrete structural interventions are needed, citing the failure to extend the 30% tax incentive for investments in startups and the interpretative details still missing on the measures of the Competition Law: “It is necessary to move from the announcement phase to that of concrete decisions.”
