About This Fund
The CDP Venture Capital Accelerators Fund is a €254 million evergreen investment vehicle managed by CDP Venture Capital SGR, the venture capital arm of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) — Italy's national promotional institution. Launched in 2020, the fund was designed to catalyse the creation and scaling of a national network of vertical business accelerators across Italy, with the goal of providing early-stage Italian startups with access to structured mentorship, corporate partnerships, and growth capital at the pre-seed and seed phases of their development. As of publication, the fund has established 20 vertical accelerator programmes operating nationally, with cohorts running 3-4 times annually and each supporting 8-10 startups.
The fund deploys capital in two modes: an indirect approach through co-investment in accelerator vehicles and programmes managed by third-party operators with demonstrated sector expertise, and a direct approach with follow-on investments made directly into graduate portfolio companies that have validated their business models and achieved meaningful product-market fit. Pre-seed investments range from €70,000 to €200,000 per startup, with seed follow-on rounds reaching €200,000 to €500,000, and Series A/B-stage direct co-investments of up to €5 million available to the most promising graduates. Strategic sectors include automotive, aerospace, energy, food and agritech, fashion, and circular economy, reflecting Italy's established industrial strengths.
The Accelerators Fund has supported approximately 435 startups across its programmes since inception, building a diverse national ecosystem of early-stage technology companies with corporate and institutional backing. The fund represents a cornerstone of Italy's national startup support infrastructure, connecting emerging founders with established industrial partners, venture capital co-investors, and the broader CDP Venture Capital SGR platform. The vehicle's public-private structure uses government-backed capital to crowd in corporate innovation investment and private VC interest in a market where early-stage capital has historically been constrained relative to Italy's industrial and academic R&D base.