Italian Startups: Strong Investment Growth in the First Half of 2025, Up 39% on 2024
The first half of 2025 marks a turning point for the Italian startup ecosystem with investment surging significantly and the sector regaining a central role in innovation. In the first six months of the year, Italian startups raised a total of €353.4 million across 99 funding rounds: a 38.88% increase compared to the same period in 2024, when €254.5 million was raised in 87 rounds. The number of deals also increased by 13.79%, indicating renewed dynamism in the sector.
Driving this growth are sectors such as medtech, HR/worktech, biotech, deeptech andfintech, with the medetch sector leading in terms of closed rounds. The wider impact of artificial intelligence and digital transformation is evident in the quality of funded startups, which increasingly focus on innovation and social impact. Lombardy remains Italy’s most attractive region for investment, accounting for 44.9% of all rounds, followed by Tuscany, Lazio, Emilia-Romagna, and Piedmont.
These insights were presented at SIOS25 Summer event, hosted at Politecnico, and are detailed in the mid-year paper That's Round, by StartupItalia.
Among the positive trends, equity crowdfunding also shows promising growth. According to the Crowdinvesting Observatory at Politecnico di Milano, €7.27 million was invested in 14 startups during the first five months of 2025, up 59.27% from the €4.56 million raised by 15 startups in the same period in 2024. Despite these positive trends, bridging the gap with Europe’s leading startup ecosystems will require a bolder vision and greater collaboration across public institutions, private stakeholders, and universities.
“Universities can and must help close this gap by acting as active connectors among the key players in innovation: startups, businesses, investors, and public institutions. Young people are ready, let's give them confidence, tools and space,” commented Vice Rector for PoliTo Communication and Promotion Silvia Barbero.
“At Politecnico we’re doing everything we can to ensure our research has real-world impact. We are particularly well placed in our relationship with industry because we conduct applied research, which makes it easier to engage with the productive sector. We share a common language, and often our researchers work directly in response to business needs. This means the results can be used both to create new ventures and to transfer knowledge”, explained Vice Rector for Scientific and Technological Innovation Giuliana Mattiazzo.
