Italy’s Maia Ventures Closes €55 Million Fund to Bridge Food Heritage and Deep Tech Innovation

As generalist capital retreats from agrifoodtech, specialist investors are stepping in to fill the void. Milan-based Maia Ventures has closed a €55 million fund to back Europe’s next generation of sustainable food and agriculture innovators, bridging Italy’s industrial tradition with the continent’s deep tech potential.

Courtesy: Maia Ventures

In a year when venture capital across agrifoodtech continues to tighten, a new player is emerging from Italy with an ambitious vision that ties scientific rigor to industrial know-how. Maia Ventures, a Milan-based early-stage venture capital firm, has announced the first close of its €55 million fund dedicated to transforming Europe’s food and agriculture systems through scalable innovation.

Founded by David Bassani and Andrea Galassi, Maia Ventures positions itself as a specialist investor at the intersection of health, sustainability, and food system efficiency, three domains where Italy’s deep industrial legacy meets new frontiers of food science and digital transformation. The fund aims to invest in 20 to 25 startups over the coming years, with initial tickets ranging from €500,000 to €1.5 million, and is expected to reach its final close in the coming months.

Building an Ecosystem, Not Just a Portfolio

While most new funds launch with a broad tech mandate, Maia Ventures was designed around a distinct conviction: the European food sector doesn’t need disruption, it needs precision and integration.

“Our goal isn’t to reinvent the wheel,” explains co-founder Bassani. “It’s to help founders polish and scale innovations that can realistically fit within the value chains of today, while preparing for the needs of tomorrow.”

This pragmatic approach has already drawn strong institutional and strategic backers. Maia’s limited partners include the European Investment Fund (EIF) and CDP Venture Capital Sgr, alongside Teseo Capital, Cereal Docks (through Grey Silo Ventures), and Andriani, one of Italy’s leading food industry groups. Together, they form a network that connects startups not only to funding but to manufacturing, distribution, and regulatory expertise.

Investing Where Food Meets Science

Maia’s investment thesis spans a range of high-growth themes, from next-generation ingredients and circular bioeconomy models to supply chain digitization and climate resilience. But its defining edge lies in its focus on scientific validation and industrial scalability.

According to Galassi, the firm seeks out companies that blend deep tech and applied research with tangible market demand: “We’re looking for founders who can navigate both a lab bench and a boardroom. This space demands scientific discipline and commercial pragmatism in equal measure.”

In line with EU sustainability goals, Maia Ventures operates as an Article 8 fund under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), ensuring measurable environmental and social impact across its portfolio. That means ESG metrics and sustainability outcomes are baked into the investment process—not retrofitted as an afterthought.

Filling a Critical Gap in Europe’s Agrifood Funding

While the global agrifoodtech sector has matured rapidly, Europe’s early-stage ecosystem remains fragmented. Many deep tech startups spin out of academic labs but struggle to find capital that understands their long R&D timelines or complex regulatory pathways. Meanwhile, corporate incumbents face mounting pressure to decarbonize, digitize, and diversify, but often lack the agility or external innovation pipelines to do so.

Maia Ventures sees itself as the connective tissue in this system, leveraging Italy’s industrial base as a testing ground for scalable pilots and partnerships. Its founders describe this as “bringing lab-proven technologies into the kitchen of Europe.”

The firm has already completed six initial investments, targeting startups working on functional ingredients, ag-biotech, food waste valorization, and precision supply chain tools. Each investment includes hands-on support in industrial testing, partnerships, and go-to-market execution.

Timing the Market: From Tourist Capital to Domain Expertise

The timing of Maia’s debut is significant. After a record run of investment into foodtech between 2019 and 2022, the sector has entered a correction phase. Many generalist or “tourist” funds have stepped back, leaving room for specialist investors with technical depth and long-term conviction.

For Maia’s team, this shift isn’t a headwind; it’s an opening. As Bassani notes, “The capital slowdown is filtering out noise. What remains are the founders and investors who are here to build substance over hype. That’s where we want to play.”

A Catalyst for Italy’s Innovation Renaissance

Italy, long recognized for its culinary heritage and manufacturing excellence, is now seeing a new wave of food innovation rooted in biotechnology, circular materials, and data-driven agriculture. Maia Ventures is part of this movement to transform the country from a producer of tradition to a hub of transition.

By combining local industry knowledge with global networks, the fund aims to make Italy a testbed for Europe’s agrifood evolution, connecting universities, corporates, and startups under a shared sustainability agenda.

As Galassi puts it: “We’re not chasing the next trend. We’re investing in the future of how food is made, distributed, and valued, one that’s better for people, the planet, and the entire ecosystem that sustains them.”