Successful startup: what will be the next Italian unicorn?

Rome, October 30, 2023 - While Italy is still the tenth largest economy in the world, it is not even among the top 20 European countries investing more capital in their startups. That's the statement with which Sifted, a Financial Times-backed online magazine specializing in reporting on the European startup ecosystem, begins.

The country has recently made significant steps forward in innovation, as evidenced by the encouraging results of the "Industry 4.0" plan, launched in 2016 and then turned into the "Enterprise 4.0" plan and the national "Transition 4.0" plan. The latter is included in the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan's (Pnrr) 'Mission 1' to promote''Italian "unicorns" and who is preparing to become one?

According to Sifted, another encouraging fact is that in the coming months, at least three Italian startups could reach this prestigious mark, which two e-commerce and fintech companies, Scalapay and Satispay, were able to cross in 2022. Scalapay, a startup with a "Buy Now, Pay Later" concept, raised a $497 million investment in February 2022 in a Series B funding round - the largest investment in the Italian startup's history. Then digital payments provider Satispay, which now has more than 3 million registered customers, raised an investment of €320 million, giving it a well-deserved place in the limited club''Italian "unicorns," which was launched in previous years by Yoox and Depop.

But which startups could be the next to break this milestone? Based on Dealroom's data, Sifted highlights three companies: Immobiliare.it, InfoCert and Casavo. Let's take a closer look at each of them.

Immobiliare.it

Founded in 2005 inMilan, Immobiliare.it offers users a platform (app and website) to buy, sell or rent houses and apartments, with the ability to get free real estate valuations and track changes in market prices over time.

InfoCert

Rome-based InfoCert, founded in 2007, is a qualified trust service provider with an offering of services related to digital''secure. It has a valuation of $551 million: the last investment raise was in October 2021 and amounted to €100 million, backed by growth capital firm Bregal Milestone.

Casavo

The Italian proptech company Casavo, founded inMilan in 2017, is dedicated to the instant real estate buying market, meaning it supports users looking to sell or buy a house. In more detail, sellers can receive a purchase offer directly from Casavo or find a buyer on the market thanks to a network of partner agencies. In addition, Casavo's platform connects real estate market participants including real estate agencies, banks and restoration companies. In the summer of 2022, the company raised investment''s €100 million Series D financing round led by Exor. At the end of the year, it also secured an additional €300 million in credit lines from Intesa Sanpaolo, Viola Credit and other lending institutions including UniCredit. With a total of €843 million raised between its founding in 2017 and the end of 2022, Exor is dreaming big for the future and aiming to take a leading position in the European real estate market. However, in the first months of 2023, a challenging environment - rising interest rates, inflationary trends and caution in the technology capital market - forced CEO and founder Giorgio Tinacci to announce a decisive restructuring that will reduce''workforce by 30% (the company currently has about 450 employees).