CDP Venture Capital invests €21m in Primo Space Fund

Alessia Argentieri
02 April 2020

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Italian state-backed fund-of-funds manager CDP Venture Capital (CDP VC) has invested €21m in Primomiglio's Primo Space Fund.

CDP VC – previously known as Invitalia Ventures – was appointed as fund manager of Fondo Nazionale per l'Innovazione (FNI), a €1bn state-backed vehicle launched in 2019. FNI invests in Italian VC funds, startups and SMEs operating in a wide range of sectors across the technology industry, including artificial intelligence, blockchain, agricultural technology, financial technology and automation.

CDP VC is 70% controlled by Italian state-owned investor Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) and 30% controlled by Invitalia. The firm is led by CEO Enrico Resmini.

The investment in Primo Space Fund was drawn down from its debut fund-of-funds VentureItaly.

Primo Space Fund was announced in 2018 by Primomiglio and officially launched in 2019 with the name of Astra Ventures. The vehicle has an €80m target and is dedicated to space technology. The GP expects to hold a final close by the end of 2021.

The vehicle has a partnership with the Italian Space Agency, and has raised capital from both institutional investors and industrial players operating in the aerospace industry. It has already received a €30m commitment from the European Investment Fund.

The fund deploys equity tickets of €100,000-6m in seed investments, series-A and series-B rounds, and targets both upstream and downstream startups across the aerospace industry.

The vehicle invests in companies involved in the provision of technology for space infrastructure, as well as businesses working on aerospace data, earth observation and satellite communications.

Primo Space Fund is managed by a team led by Matteo Cascinari, with the advisory of the Italian Space Agency's Fondazione E Amaldi. It will work in partnership with numerous Italian universities, including Politecnico di Torino and University of Salerno, both active hubs of space technology spin-outs.

Primomiglio is also currently managing Barcamper Ventures, a €45m fund dedicated to digital, financial technology, big data and software companies.