Bending Spoons acquires Tractive, an Austrian GPS pet tracker with €100M+ ARR, breaking its software-only acquisition playbook for the first time with a hardware-subscription hybrid. The episode unpacks why a company that built an $11B valuation buying declining digital products like Evernote, Vimeo, and AOL paid a premium for a profitable, fast-growing hardware business. Tractive's co-founders came from Runtastic, the fitness app sold to Adidas for €220M, making this their second major exit using the same sensor-plus-subscription model in a different vertical. The hosts explore how Tractive's 900,000 paying subscribers generate a proprietary pet health and movement dataset that could unlock AI-driven veterinary intelligence and pet insurance products. In Italian startup news, Wearable Robotics — a Sant'Anna di Pisa spinoff building rehabilitation exoskeletons — closed a €5M Series A led by CDP Venture Capital, targeting a market where traditional therapy only recovers 10% of stroke patients. Capsule Corporation raised €800K to develop water-based propulsion systems for small satellites, positioning Italy as a hub for specialized space-tech engineering. The episode closes with a shoutout to Depthfirst, a cybersecurity startup with an Italian CTO from Google DeepMind, which raised $80M in a Series B less than 90 days after emerging from stealth.

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#venturecapital #italy #startup

The discussion starts from 360 Capital’s €85M first close and argues this is not just another fund announcement, but a stronger institutional bet on turning university research into investable deep tech companies across robotics, semiconductors, AI, and energy transition. A key insight is that Italy may not lack scientific talent as much as it lacks commercialization infrastructure, and vehicles tied closely to top technical universities like Politecnico di Milano can become a repeatable pipeline for venture-grade startups. The speakers also highlight a more important shift: corporates, including defense-linked players, are not only watching deep tech but increasingly funding the pipeline early through LP commitments and “right of first look” logic. Another sharp angle is that Europe may be splitting into two VC models: classic software-style venture funds and more thesis-driven vehicles shaped by industrial policy, regulation, and strategic sectors. On the startup side, Trifoglio is framed less as a traditional startup and more as a PE-style roll-up using acquisitions and operational scaling in the carwash market. Subbyx is presented as a balance-sheet-heavy subscription model where debt is not a warning sign but a structural feature, while Dronus reinforces the idea that drones are moving from gadget territory into serious industrial infrastructure for inspection, monitoring, and security.

Niccolò's newsletter: ⁠⁠http://dealflowit.niccolosanarico.com/⁠⁠

Watch on Youtube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@giacomomollo⁠

Listen to all episodes on audio:

Spotify: ⁠⁠https://spoti.fi/3fVynsQ⁠⁠

Google Podcast: ⁠⁠https://bit.ly/3thf9RC⁠⁠

Apple Podcast: ⁠⁠https://apple.co/3Elhykq⁠⁠

Amazon Music: ⁠⁠https://shorturl.at/9Dtd9⁠⁠

Get in touch:

Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/giacxxx⁠⁠

Twitter: ⁠⁠https://twitter.com/giacomomollo⁠⁠

Email: giacomo@in3.ventures

#venturecapital #italy #startup

This episode breaks down the EU Inc proposal, stock option taxation in Europe, Delaware incorporation, and Italian startup fundraising rounds. The hosts dissect a hidden clause in the 28 EU Commission regime that would harmonize stock option taxation across all 27 member states — shifting the tax event from exercise to sale, a move that could dramatically reshape founder incentive structures. They draw a parallel to Delaware's rise as the gold standard for company formation, arguing that EU Inc's real value isn't the €100 fee or 48-hour setup, but the potential for unified corporate governance, bankruptcy law, and a deep judicial corpus. The conversation then pivots to Italian deal flow: UpSurgeOn, a medtech startup, raised €5M for cadaver-free surgical training using VR and physical simulators, backed by CDP Venture Capital and Siemens. Alomana, an agentic AI infrastructure startup, closed a €4M seed to build enterprise workflow automation beyond the copilot paradigm. The hosts note Alomana's early international footprint as a strong signal for AI companies attracting global investors. They close with a Q1 2025 Italian venture capital tracker check-in, flagging a slowdown in later-stage rounds compared to prior years.

Niccolò's newsletter: ⁠⁠http://dealflowit.niccolosanarico.com/⁠⁠

Watch on Youtube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@giacomomollo⁠

Listen to all episodes on audio:

Spotify: ⁠⁠https://spoti.fi/3fVynsQ⁠⁠

Google Podcast: ⁠⁠https://bit.ly/3thf9RC⁠⁠

Apple Podcast: ⁠⁠https://apple.co/3Elhykq⁠⁠

Amazon Music: ⁠⁠https://shorturl.at/9Dtd9⁠⁠

Get in touch:

Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/giacxxx⁠⁠

Twitter: ⁠⁠https://twitter.com/giacomomollo⁠⁠

Email: giacomo@in3.ventures

#venturecapital #italy #startup