United Ventures

A truly well-deserved accomplishment for our portfolio founder, Gianni Cuozzo, who has been awarded the prestigious EY Entrepreneur of the Year in the Scaleup category for the impact Exein is making in the cybersecurity industry. This recognition reflects the passion, dedication, and hard work that Gianni and the entire Exein team demonstrate daily as they operate at the highest level of international excellence. It's a special acknowledgment of Gianni's ability to transform his vision into reality. We're so proud of you, Gianni, and grateful to have been part of your journey from the very beginning. Here's to everything that's still to come 🥂

Some evenings linger a little longer than others 🥂💫 A few weeks ago, we gathered at Cracco in Galleria for a dinner that brought together GPs, LPs and founders as part of the 0100 International Conference, hosted with Comune di Milano and Milano & Partners. There's something about Milano—and especially a setting like this—that makes conversations flow differently. Between courses, the usual formalities gave way to genuine exchanges, and somewhere the evening became less about networking and more about the kind of serendipitous conversations that actually matter. The Galleria set the scene, but it was the people in the room who made it memorable. These moments remind us why building a community around innovation matters as much as innovation itself. Swipe through for a few snapshots from the night 📸 Credits: Juliusz Migdziński x Zero One Hundred Conferences

⏳ Europe's tech moment is now, and the stakes have never been higher. Atomico's latest State of European Tech report is a call to action: with optimism hitting a decade high, a talent pool rivaling the US, and nearly 40,000 funded tech companies, Europe has the ingredients to lead globally. Yet we're leaving trillions in potential on the table. Here's what needs to change: The gaps aren't about ambition or capability. They're structural. Founders cite restrictive regulation, fragmented markets, and capital constraints as the real friction. When 70% of founders say Europe's environment is too restrictive, and talented founders increasingly scale from the US rather than Europe, we have a clarity problem—not a capacity one. But there's momentum shifting. French and German VCs now dominate Europe's top ten funds. Southern European unicorns are multiplying. And European pensions are finally committing serious capital—up 55% last year. This is the market saying: we're ready to believe in European champions. At United Ventures, we've long believed that Europe's strongest competitive advantage isn't capital or tech, it's our people, values, and the freedom to build differently. The report validates this: 51% of founders say building in Europe is core to their mission. The "brain drain" narrative isn't about Europeans leaving; it's about us not making it obvious enough why they should stay and build here. The path forward demands bold moves: harmonised regulation that moves at the speed of innovation, a single European company framework, and public procurement that validates startups as partners, not vendors. These aren't nice-to-haves, but the foundation for Europe's next generation of trillion-euro companies. The question now is execution. Do we have the collective will to move with the urgency this moment demands? The next decade will decide whether Europe leads the #tech era or watches from the sidelines. We're betting on the former. Read Atomico's full report, it's essential reading for anyone building Europe's future. Credit to Niklas Zennström, Tom Wehmeier, Sarah Guemouri and all the contributors for turning insights into a blueprint for action 🫡 #SOET25 #StateOfEuropeanTech

Europe’s regulatory framework is often seen as a barrier to innovation. But what if we looked at it differently? Our managing partner Paolo Gesess was recently featured in Tech Funding News, sharing his perspective on navigating regulation in the EdTech space 🎓 Paolo suggests looking at it as "a clarifying principle that brings complexity and cost but also builds the transparency and accountability that foster trust." A strong foundation that bolsters investor confidence and portfolio stability — turning what many perceive as bureaucratic friction into a genuine competitive advantage. Policy shifts can be disruptive, but they can also spark unexpected growth. Paolo points to our portfolio company Futura as a powerful example. When Italy replaced its traditional medical school entry exam with a "filter semester," Futura transformed from a test-prep platform into an AI-powered full-tutoring solution that personalizes learning paths for each student. What could have been a setback became a breakthrough. This kind of adaptive thinking is what we look for in founders: the ability to turn policy disruption into opportunity.  Regulation — though complex and at times slow — is part of the system founders are trying to change. Those who can navigate it with clarity and creativity tend to build stronger companies. Education builds the capacity to understand, to adapt, and to question: all essential skills in a fast-changing world. That's why #EdTech matters so much. It sits at the intersection of technology and society, where innovation has the power to improve lives in the most meaningful way. Thanks to Sofia Chesnokova for the insightful piece. Read the full article to explore how European EdTech investors and founders can work with regulation, not against it 👇 https://lnkd.in/dpQHCWwR cc Remko Wiesman Riccardo Coletta

🤖 Cyberwave × SAP! At #SAPTechEd Berlin 2025, SAP announced a strategic partnership with our portfolio company Cyberwave -- a big step forward that brings the digital and physical worlds closer than ever. Cyberwave has been selected as one of SAP’s new robotics enablement partners, joining a group of innovators helping enterprises integrate #robotics into everyday operations. Through this collaboration, Cyberwave’s platform will connect humanoid and mobile robots, enhance intralogistics, streamline inspections, and coordinate physical assets powered by SAP business AI and automation technologies. ⚡ For Cyberwave, it means joining SAP’s physical-automation ecosystem and gaining access to a global network of more than 440,000 enterprises. ⚡ For SAP, it extends their business-software core into physical operations. ⚡ For industry, it signals a shift where enterprise data doesn’t just inform decisions; it drives robots and machines to act. This partnership comes just weeks after Cyberwave’s €7M funding round; an investment backing a vision where industrial automation becomes flexible, scalable and closely tied to enterprise strategy. Congratulations to Simone Di Somma, Vittorio Banfi, and the Cyberwave team for showing what European deeptech can achieve when it finds the right partners 🦾 Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/dVGE5ArN

Last week in Milan, investors, fund managers, and innovators from across Europe gathered for 0100 International 2025 to discuss the state of private markets. The conversations moved fast from global uncertainty to the energy transition, from institutional appetite to the next wave of European venture. What emerged was the clear signal that the industry is learning to invest differently. More than 800 participants from over 50 countries took part; 130 speakers, representing firms managing a combined €13 trillion, shared how they are navigating change 🌊 For United Ventures, it was a week of intensity and connection. It began at BASE, where Massimiliano opened the public session; then Giulia took the stage to explore the drivers and challenges of deeptech investing, while Damiano and Fabio joined a session with next-gen family offices. Our Investor Day gave us time to reconnect with our LPs and reflect on how our strategy and culture come together. And then came a magical dinner in one of Milan’s most iconic locations—a reminder that relationships remain at the core of this business. Partnering with Zero One Hundred matches our vision of building bridges across countries, supporting the growth of new tech champions, and helping Italy find its voice in the European venture story. The momentum is real, and Milan felt like its center of gravity. A thoughtful recap by Laura Iriarte Zabalaga Iriarte captures the week’s key takeaways—strategies, shifts, and signals from the market → https://lnkd.in/dPcTUCG2 Thanks to Filip Vagner and the entire 0100 team for making this edition a memorable one. Until next year! United Ventures x Zero One Hundred Conferences Milano & Partners Comune di Milano #venturecapital

💭 What if the software running our cars, factories, and even spacecraft could protect itself? That’s the vision driving Gianni Cuozzo and his team at Exein, one of Europe’s fastest-growing deeptech startups, scaling at 450% year-on-year. With 1.5 billion+ devices already secured, offices in Italy, Germany, the US, and Taiwan, and €93 million raised from leading European investors, Exein is redefining how cybersecurity is built — from the inside out. 🎙️ In this special Made IT Podcast episode, recorded during Italian Tech Week, Gianni discuss with Inès Makula his vision for a world powered by open collaboration, European deeptech ambition, and technology that’s self-protecting by design. 📺 Watch here: https://lnkd.in/gQP7Yppr 🎧 Listen here: https://lnkd.in/da8Kycnr #UVportfolio

Yesterday we hosted our Investor Day, a special moment to connect with our LPs and share how our portfolio construction reflects our company culture. The day concluded with a memorable dinner in one of Milan’s most iconic venues, held as a side event of 0100 International by Zero One Hundred Conferences, now in its third year of collaboration with United Ventures. The event brought together leading LPs and GPs to exchange perspectives on the future of venture capital. These conversations matter: venture capital helps startups grow globally, reach new markets, and attract top talent. By doing so, we’re not only supporting individual companies but also strengthening Italy’s role in the global innovation ecosystem — where technology and entrepreneurship drive growth, job creation, and long-term competitiveness, while delivering solid, sustainable returns for our investors. Thanks to everyone who joined us, and a special thanks to our speakers Beniamino Pagliaro, Matteo Bogana, Luca Forni, Renato Panesi, Simone Di Somma, Daniele Panfilo, PhD, and Marco Ramilli, PhD. #venturecapital

You know your portfolio company is on the right track when it’s selected from thousands of startups to join the Gemini Founders Forum, an exclusive gathering where leaders of today’s most innovative Series A startups engage in forward-thinking dialogue with top AI experts from Google 🤯 The forum, an initiative by Google for Startups in partnership with DeepMind and Google Cloud, brings together in Mountain View founders who are making AI a core pillar of their growth strategy. It facilitates a high-caliber, collaborative exploration of the practical application and strategic integration of AI in building transformative companies 🧠 Congratulations Marco Ramilli, PhD and the extraordinary team of engineers, data analysts, and developers you’ve brought together at identifAI Labs, bringing strength, transparency, and speed to a challenge that spans from Europe to the entire AI ecosystem. See the full cohort here: https://lnkd.in/gJWU2q2y