Maia Ventures launches with 55 million euros fund

New venture capital fund Maia Ventures has announced the launch of its first fund with a volume of EUR 55 million. The thematic fund invests in early-stage AgriFoodTech companies that use technology and science to create a healthier, more efficient and resilient food system.

The fund is already fully operational, with six investments closed. In total, Maia Ventures plans to support 20 to 25 startups with tickets between 0.5 and 1.5 million euros. The final closing is scheduled for the coming months.

Institutional and strategic investors

The limited partners include institutional investors such as the European Investment Fund (EIF) and CDP Venture Capital Sgr, as well as private investors from the Italian food industry. These include Teseo Capital sicav-sif, Cereal Docks (via Grey Silo Ventures) and Andriani, as well as other family offices of leading food companies.

Maia combines the strength of the established Italian food industry with the innovative power of young start-up teams

Claudia Pingue, Head of Tech Transfer Fund at CDP Venture Capital

Focus on FoodTech, HealthTech and sustainability

Maia Ventures is an Article 8 fund under SFDR and pursues both financial and impact-oriented goals. The focus is on innovation fields such as food-as-medicine, new ingredients, resilient supply chains and sustainable nutrition models.

"We are excited by the level of scientific and operational talent currently focused on these topics," explains David Bassani, Founding Partner of Maia Ventures."As an early-stage partner, we want to be among the first institutional backers and connect founders with industry partners to create the basis for scaling."

The team consists of former founders, investors, industry experts and scientists and is supported by a technical advisory board made up of representatives from leading AgriFood universities and companies.

Bucking the trend

While the global AgriFoodTech market is currently in a capital slump, Maia Ventures sees this as a historic opportunity. "The current downturn creates space for investors who understand structural changes in the agrifood sector," says Andrea Galassi, Founding Partner. "We invest in solutions to real problems - not in ideas that are still looking for one. This is the key to actually accelerating the necessary transformation of the industry."

The fund is managed by Praesidium S.A. (Luxembourg) as AIFM and advised by Maia Advisors SRL.