A direct bridge between Italy and the US to support innovative talent.
Italian Angels for Growth (IAG), the leading Network-Powered Venture Capital investor in Italy, has strengthened its presence in the U.S. territory and on the West Coast, where it has already been active for several years. As you may recall IAG was born precisely from a benchmarking trip by some pioneers of angel investing in the U.S. now seventeen years ago, who after that experience brought the culture and professionalism of business angels to our country (Read the article). Today, this transatlantic link is strengthened by establishing a privileged presence in Silicon Valley through significant investments in the US VC firm Lombardstreet Ventures (among the top 10 Pre-Seed funds in the US in 2023 according to S Truic Startup Savant), a crucial step to open new opportunities and concretize growth goals.
IAG angels have already made a dozen direct investments in U.S. startups: the most recent include Connectly.AI in conversational AI founded by a former C-Level at Meta that has recently raised additional capital from international funds (News here). In addition to these deals, IAG's presence overseas is consolidated by periodic Innovation trips to meet some of the world's top VCs and exchange stimulating views on the market and best practices; not to mention that some IAG partners reside in the US also playing a role as ambassadors of the leading Italian angels’ network.
The California market, known for being a breeding ground for innovation and for being at the forefront of multiple sectors, represents fertile ground for IAG's activities, a strategic tipping point for the network, allowing more direct and immediate access to an ecosystem of dynamic and innovative startups. The investment in Lombardstreet Ventures, a VC with a solid track record of supporting growth-stage companies, adds significant value to IAG's presence in California and offers valuable know-how and an established network in the West Coast entrepreneurial landscape. This is an additional step in the ecosystem's internationalization journey, which also opens opportunities for the network's startups to showcase themselves to key industry and financial stakeholders.
The similarities between IAG and Lombardstreet Ventures are obvious: both entities share a common vision in identifying and supporting innovative projects with high growth potential. IAG with more than 600 business angels from the entrepreneurial, financial, and industrial worlds, in more than 17 years of activity, has analyzed more than 7,000 investment opportunities, closed more than 125 deals, for a total of more than 550 million euros invested by IAG members and its co-investors, which have created +1100 jobs and 310 million in generated revenues, creating an ecosystem involving more than 150 national and international partners. Lombardstreet Ventures was founded in 2017 by Luigi Bajetti and Massimo Sgrelli. The two started in Silicon Valley in 2010 as angel investors with a personal portfolio to date of dozens of startups, including 11 whose valuation exceeds $1 billion. The firm has more than 70 early-stage investments in U.S. companies, with a target of 10 investments per year chosen from thousands of opportunities analyzed annually. The approach to investing is cross-market and Silicon Valley first. Overall, the startups they have invested into date have a market capitalization of more than $69 billion.
Carlo Tassi, IAG President, expressed great enthusiasm, "California is a global hub of innovation and entrepreneurship. Bringing IAG into this vibrant ecosystem is a critical step for us. The investment in Lombardstreet Ventures gives us access to a network that will further enhance our commitment to supporting the startup ecosystem and encouraging technological innovation."
Leonardo Giagnoni, Managing Director IAG, reinforces the concept: "The growth of an angel club is not evaluated on numbers but on the quality of its network. IAG has been able to distinguish itself in the early-stage VC market by paying attention to the profile of members and selected partners, hence the term 'network-powered' which is recognized as a real added value by entrepreneurs and various stakeholders. With Lombardstreet Ventures we share the investment logic, and we are going to consolidate the bridge of relationships between Italy and the United States."
Luigi Bajetti, Managing Partner Lombardstreet Ventures, adds, "I have always thought that the Silicon Valley ecosystem is not replicable: it moves fast and is capable of spawning great waves of innovation that spread planet wide. I am also convinced that the best way to spread the culture of San Francisco is to double-connect with its ecosystem. In this sense, having IAG as LP of Lombardstreet Ventures brings the Italian ecosystem ever closer to the American West Coast."