NVM Ventures Launches €35M Italian Dual-Use Tech Fund

NVM Ventures has raised €23.6 million at the initial closing of its first sub-fund, NVM Venture Lazio. The multi-compartment venture capital vehicle is targeting a final close of €35 million and will deploy capital into 10–15 dual-use deep-tech start-ups at pre-seed and seed stage, primarily as lead investor.

What is NVM Ventures?

NVM Ventures operates under Nevermind SICAV-RAIF S.c.A., a structure designed to pair each investment thesis with sector-specialist teams. The platform offers emerging managers shared institutional governance, risk management and compliance, founder Andrea Bonabello said.

Bonabello and Niccolò Bienati sit on the board of the general partner, Ulixes Capital Lux, where Bonabello serves as founding partner. Giorgio Gulienetti and Alessandro Casiraghi, the fund managers at the delegated manager, oversee the NVM Venture Lazio compartment.

Why does Lazio matter?

Lazio Innova committed €18.83 million through Lazio Venture 2, the regional fund of funds co-financed by the 2021–2027 European Regional Development Fund Operational Programme. Lazio is the only Italian region hosting the full aerospace value chain — research, production and services — across more than 300 companies employing roughly 23,000 people in advanced technologies.

Those companies generated turnover above €5 billion, with €1.6 billion from exports, according to Lazio Regional Government figures. "Lazio is the right place to do this, because here research, industry and institutions are located just a few kilometres apart," Gulienetti said.

Where is the LP money going?

Limited partners are rotating toward emerging managers. The IPEM Allocation and Fundraising Trends Report 2027 shows 88% of LPs now look with interest at managers raising their first, second or third fund, up from 65% a year earlier. Sixty-four percent of LPs say they are willing to invest in a Fund I. US research by the National Association of Investment Companies measured outperformance of emerging-manager programmes at 700 basis points.

"NVM Ventures was set up to meet this demand in Italy with the aim of fostering the development of a new generation of capable and ambitious fund managers who are currently struggling to raise their first fund," Bonabello said in a statement.

Which sectors does the fund back?

NVM Venture Lazio will deploy capital across aerospace, maritime, robotics and autonomous systems, cybersecurity, AI for defence, energy infrastructure, new materials, advanced manufacturing and biotechnology. The fund will back companies with international expansion potential and a concrete commitment to the Lazio Region's innovation ecosystem, according to the platform.

How big is the European dual-use opportunity?

European dual-use start-ups raised a record $8.7 billion in venture capital in 2025, 55% more than in 2024 and almost four times the level five years earlier, according to the Defence, Security and Resilience in Europe 2026 report by Dealroom and the NATO Innovation Fund. Dual-use now accounts for 43% of all European deep-tech investment, up from 20% in 2022.

Capital remains concentrated in the UK and Germany. Italy, with one of the continent's most solid industrial bases in the relevant sectors, still trails. Lazio Innova Director General Andrea Ciampalini framed the bet directly: "With NVM Venture Lazio, we are further expanding the regional venture capital platform's presence with specialist expertise in cutting-edge dual-use technologies."

What do regional officials expect?

Roberta Angelilli, Vice-President of the Lazio Region and Councillor for Economic Development, Trade, Crafts, Industry and Internationalisation, called STEP technologies "a strategic area for European competitiveness and technological autonomy." The fund, she said, will "foster the transfer of innovation into practical applications and new avenues of economic development."

Italy's venture capital market still lags France and Germany in maturity and financial depth. Whether NVM Venture Lazio can close its remaining €11.4 million and turn €18.83 million of public capital into a portfolio of category-defining dual-use companies will test the region's pitch as Italy's deep-tech hub.