In Italy, investments in startups grow in 2026, but the 'exit' issue remains
In Italy, investments in startups grow in 2026, but the 'exit' issue remains
Italian startups raised a total of 643.43 million euros in the first half of 2026, an 82% increase compared to the same period in 2025. This is the snapshot taken from the H1 2026 Investment Report by StartupItalia and Pull the Rabbit, which narrates the ongoing evolution of the startup market in our country.
Funding for Startups in 2026
The world of startup financing is significantly changing compared to the past. The market is heading towards a consolidation phenomenon, where it is preferred to invest more in fewer companies that are also more solid and structured. This is why the 643.43 million euros raised so far by Italian startups have, in fact, gone to fewer companies (-16.16%).
Transactions below one million euros accounted for 18.1% of the total, while those between one and nine million euros reached 62.6% of the total; investments over ten million made up 19.3%. This reassessment towards more substantial investments marks a continuation of the trends we observed last year, namely the preference for more structured and established entities with more solid economic prospects.
This represents both a positive and negative evolution: on one hand, it is important that so-called "scaleups" (i.e., startups that receive over ten million in funding) are financed to grow and become truly relevant in their fields, a step that is often completely absent in the Italian landscape; on the other hand, financing for small startups remains essential for them to become scaleups. The shift towards scaleups is seen as a sign of market maturity, but it can also be viewed as a desire on the part of venture capital to minimize risk, risking stifling the growth of new enterprises.
The first semester saw a particular concentration of funding in five companies, which obtained about 278 million (43% of the total):
- Rent2Cash: 100 million
- WeRoad: 49.95 million
- Smartness: 47 million
- Lexroom: 43 million
- Niulix: 38 million
In terms of geographical distribution, there has also been a certain concentration: as is easily predictable, most investments were concentrated in Lombardy, a region that collected 61.2% of the funds (393.5 million); followed by Lazio (20.2%, thanks to the investment in Rent2Cash), and at a distance Trentino-Alto Adige (7.7%), Emilia Romagna (2.6%), Friuli-Venezia Giulia (2.3%), and Puglia (2.2%).
Analyzing investments by sector, there is a clear preference for the development of B2B software leveraging AI (24.1%), followed by deep tech (9.6%), medtech and fintech (8.4% each), cybersecurity (6%), and robotics (4.8%).
"Italian venture capital is undergoing a transformation phase in line with major international markets: less dispersion, more substantial rounds, and greater focus on tech investments. Artificial intelligence is the main driver of this change, influencing business models and investment strategies. Italy has the skills and startups to play an important role, but to grow, we need a more solid exit market, new private capital, and greater integration between innovation, industry, and finance," observes Simone Pepino, CEO of Pull the Rabbit.
A Mental Shift More Necessary Than Ever
Lastly, we allow ourselves to reflect on the state of the startup market, starting from the statement of StartupItalia and Pull the Rabbit, which includes the following comment from Chiara Trombetta, Media & Events Director at Pull the Rabbit:
"Italy is showing that it can attract increasing attention and international capital. The 82% growth in investments in the first half of 2026 is not just a numerical result but a signal of greater trust in our startups and the quality of innovation that the country is capable of expressing. However, the real challenge remains that of exits: we continue to see investments grow, but we still need more stories capable of completing the journey and becoming global champions. The maturity of an ecosystem is measured right here: in the ability to transform investor interest into companies that generate value, attract strategic acquisitions, and compete in international markets."
Indeed, this is exactly one of the major problems currently facing Italy and, looking more broadly, all of Europe. For some time now, there have been few European companies that manage to scale up and become competitive on an international level. Those that succeed are often acquired by large American (and not only) giants, only to be stripped down and moved outside the Old Continent. The result is an overall impoverishment of Europe, which thus loses companies capable of competing on an international level and generating local value through local supply chains.
A striking example is that of DeepMind, a British company that has established itself as a world reference in the field of artificial intelligence. It was acquired by Google, which thus took total control of DeepMind's intellectual property and expertise, resulting in Europe losing one of the famous "AI champions" of which we so often say we need.
This situation will not change, and Europe will continue to lag behind the United States and China in terms of competitiveness in technology until we continue as we have so far. The real challenge is therefore really that of creating companies capable of competing on the international stage without being acquired, stripped down, and relocated.