#UVnewsletter
hello 2025 👋
Always a night from old to new! Night and the healing balm of sleep! Each morn is New Year’s morn come true, Morn of a festival to keep.
In her poem "New Year's Morning," Helen Hunt Jackson reflects on how each morning can be a celebration of the New Year. I’ll take those lines as an inspiration to embrace this new year as one of continuous, surprising beginnings 🫶
But, well, a new year has begun, and we hope you’re entering it with a refreshed body and mind. Today, we’re sharing a roundup of our activities from the second half of 2024, including highlights such as our latest investments in Volume, Stema, and IdentifAI.
The United Ventures team journeyed across the continent, seeking the best dealflow and working closely with our portfolio founders and teams. We’re fortunate to have such an intense and rewarding job—it’s a privilege to do what we do.
Read on for all the details, along with our top content picks (articles and podcasts) and three book recommendations to kickstart your "read more" resolution for the new year. 📖
With gratitude and our warmest wishes for a healthy and prosperous 2025,
The United Ventures Team
Latest Investments
Volume: Driving payment fees to zero
United Ventures led a $6M funding round for UK fintech startup Volume, with participation from Fabrick (Sella Group), Firstminute Capital, SeedX, and Haatch. Volume aims to reduce high transaction fees charged by providers like PayPal and Stripe with its Account-to-Account (A2A) payment solution, lowering fees from 2–8% to under 1%. This approach eliminates card networks, offering faster, cheaper, and more secure payments.
Founded by payments veterans Simone Martinelli and Chris Tarnawski, Volume boasts a skilled team, including hires from Curve, iZettle, and Luno. With global A2A payments surpassing $525B in 2022 and regulatory changes favoring bank-to-bank payments, demand for their solution is growing. The funding will support Volume’s European expansion, UK FCA regulation, and open banking innovation. Read more on TechCrunch.
Stema: The career copilot for engineers
In October, we led a €1.6 million seed round for HR tech startup Stema, joined by Eden Ventures, Club degli Investitori, and Octopus Ventures. Stema revolutionizes STEM recruitment with its AI-powered platform that automates hiring for technical roles. Acting as a “career copilot,” it provides engineers with personalized conversations and tailored career guidance typically reserved for executives.
Founded by Vito Lomele, Davide Bodini, and Matteo Gambera, the team combines expertise in technology, product development, and recruitment. With this funding, Stema aims to enhance its AI platform, grow its team, and expand its European presence.
IdentifAI: Verifying authenticity in the digital world
In September, we led IdentifAI’s €2.2 million seed round to support their mission of combating the rising threat of deepfakes in an AI-driven world. Deepfakes—AI-generated, hyperrealistic media—threaten politics, financial markets, and personal lives by blurring truth and fiction.
Founded in 2024 by Marco Ramilli and Marco Castaldo, IdentifAI uses innovative "degenerative" AI technology to detect and expose manipulated content in images, videos, and audio. As one of Italy’s first deepfake detection companies, IdentifAI serves media, government, and financial services, aligning with our commitment to mitigating the harmful impacts of artificial intelligence.
Portfolio Highlights
xFarm Technologies raises €36M 🚜
In October, xFarm Technologies raised €36M in Series C funding, led by Partech’s Impact Growth Fund, with participation from Mouro Capital, Swisscom Ventures, and United Ventures. The funding will fuel expansion across Europe, Latin America, India, Turkey, and the US, furthering its leadership in agricultural digitization.
Founded by farmer-turned-entrepreneur Matteo Vanotti, xFarm has grown significantly, including a €17M Series B in 2022 and recent acquisitions of Greenfield Technologies (Spain) and SpaceSense (France). Its platform now supports over 490,000 farms managing 7 million hectares globally with tools for sustainable, data-driven farming.
The new funding will enhance regenerative agriculture technologies, geospatial AI, and data analytics. xFarm Technologies was also recently recognized as Startupitalia's best startup of the year at SIOS24 🤩
D-Orbit raises €150M 🛰️
In September, we reaffirmed our support for D-Orbit by participating in their €150 million (US$166 million) Series C funding round, led by Marubeni Corporation, as leaders of a consortium including the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF).
D-Orbit, a leader in sustainable space logistics, will use this funding to advance space cloud computing, in-orbit servicing, and circular economy initiatives. The company also aims to strengthen partnerships, expand its customer base, and pursue strategic acquisitions.
In addition to the funding, D-Orbit had a notable year, launching a joint venture in the U.S. and securing a major contract with the European Space Agency for in-orbit servicing. Founder and CEO Luca Rossettini was recognized by la Repubblica as one of the top ten figures shaping the Italian economy for 2024.
Other portfolio news
🔋⚡ Electra Vehicles is expanding globally and advancing sustainability, e-mobility, and electrification. With the EU Battery Passport regulation approaching, the company has launched EVE-Ai – EAGLE Battery Pass, a solution designed for both compliance and competitive advantage. Electra's technology offers predictive maintenance, risk analysis, and end-of-life planning to help businesses extend battery life, reduce costs, and improve efficiency.
The company is now live on Amazon Web Services (AWS) Marketplace, making adoption easier. Electra is also showcasing battery innovation at CES 2025. Visitors can experience their new in-vehicle demo, the Cyberbeast, featuring cutting-edge AI software, at Booth #4974 | LVCC West Hall.
💰 Another milestone for Moneyfarm as they continue their international expansion: our portfolio company has acquired 100% of Willis Owen, a UK-based investment platform with a legacy dating back to 1982. This marks Moneyfarm’s third major acquisition in just three years, following the integration of Wealthsimple’s UK customer base and the digital pension adviser Profile Pensions. With this latest step, Moneyfarm surpasses €6 billion in assets under management and serves over 160,000 clients worldwide.
🟣 In 2024, Aindo introduced new features to its platform, including Differential Privacy, Data Rebalancing, and synthetic data generation from prompts powered by pre-trained large language models (LLMs). They launched an enhanced platform version with improved UX/UI, streamlined deployment, and expanded automation capabilities. In Q4, Aindo's market leadership gained further recognition with two mentions in Gartner reports.
Last but not least, it was great to see many of United Ventures' portfolio companies featured in Sifted’s 250 Europe Leaderboard, which recognized the fastest-growing European startups based on revenue growth. Congrats to Fiscozen, Exein, Mishipay, and all the other companies on the list 🏅
News from the Team
👋 Please join us in welcoming Francesca Perrotti to the UV team!
Francesca joined in September 2024 to lead Corporate & Legal Affairs, bringing extensive experience in corporate law and financial compliance. She ensures the firm meets all regulatory requirements, manages internal procedures, and oversees corporate secretarial activities. Additionally, Francesca works closely with outsourced control functions and ensures compliance with privacy and workplace safety regulations.
Before joining United Ventures, Francesca worked as a financial advisor, with law firms specializing in corporate law and AML, and as a legal consultant for financial intermediaries, deepening her expertise in the economic and regulatory landscape.
In the Press 🗞
The opportunity for industrial sectors
A key topic today is Europe’s role in the tech revolution driven by artificial intelligence. Rather than comparing directly to the United States, Europe could take a unique path, focusing on industry, sector-specific applications, infrastructure, and data protection. In Luca Salvioli's article for Il Sole 24 Ore, Massimiliano emphasizes the need for a medium-to-long-term strategic vision without getting fixated on creating a national champion. The real challenge is to develop vertical applications with secure data and interoperability as a new value chain emerges, with some Italian companies, including startups, potentially playing a key role.
Fostering European deeptech innovation: A VC perspective
Investments in European deeptech startups have tripled over the last five years. Yet challenges remain, as only a few countries have ecosystems capable of supporting a company’s growth from start to finish. We need to capitalize on every stage, aiming to foster European tech consolidators that can scale these initiatives in the medium to long term.
🔬 “We approach things with a scientific research mindset. We know that out of twenty ideas, maybe only two will succeed. But that doesn’t mean the others are wasted efforts or bad investments. Along the way, we’ve built hypotheses, tested them, and developed skills and resources that can be used by those who succeed. It’s not a zero-sum game.”
Read more in Luca Zorloni's article for Wired Italia, including Massimiliano’s reflections on the essence of what drives European deeptech startups.
The State of Startups in Italy
In his article on Money.it, Jacopo Paoletti highlights the recent developments in Italy’s startup scene, focusing on the Centemero law and the 2024 “DDL Concorrenza”. These important legislative changes, shaped through collaboration among public, private, and institutional sectors, are designed to strengthen Italy’s competitiveness in today’s fast-moving global market. United Ventures' commentary highlights the potential these reforms hold to unlock crucial resources for emerging tech startups. We believe that venture capital is not only a way to generate strong returns and diversify portfolios but also a powerful engine for driving economic growth, offering long-term value and lasting impact.
Pods 🎙️
Attracting growth capital and generating DPI in European Venture
Recently, Massimiliano joined
on the podcast to discuss why Europe's venture ecosystem stands at a critical inflection point.Key insights from the discussion:
👉 Unlike the US market, where Big Tech companies serve as natural consolidators, Europe is still developing its ecosystem of large-scale acquirers - a dynamic that fundamentally influences exit strategies and growth paths;
👉 The European growth stage, predominantly led by PE firms focused on profitability, offers a distinct contrast to the US VC model's emphasis on high-growth potential;
👉 A big shift in US investment focus from Asian markets to Europe is creating new opportunities for transatlantic collaboration;
👉 Europe's unique landscape presents exciting opportunities in sustainable digitization, enterprise software, and deeptech - key focus areas for United Ventures.
Massimiliano’s core messages resonate beyond market dynamics: Successful venture capital requires balancing deep expertise with openness to discoveries while never forgetting our broader responsibility to society. People remain at the core, beyond the thesis. This philosophy continues to guide United Ventures' investment approach.
Exploring ESG in Venture Capital
I (Giulia) recently joined Laura Iriarte Zabalaga on Zero One Hundred's ESG & Impact Talks podcast to discuss the growing significance of ESG in venture capital and United Ventures' efforts to integrate ESG principles into its operations.
💬 "From a VC perspective, ESG is a precondition for asset allocation. Sustainability and innovation go hand in hand. True innovation must have a positive impact; otherwise, it’s not real innovation. In our portfolio, we see this constantly: companies innovate to optimize processes, create sustainable products, and make meaningful improvements. For them, ESG isn't a nice-to-have; it's the driving force behind their work."
Our conversation explored how my role has evolved to include comms and ESG, the ESG challenges faced by a fund like United Ventures, and the industry’s rapid shift in response to regulatory changes and rising ESG expectations. We also delved into the firm’s SFDR Article 8 fund, the balance between meaningful engagement with portfolio companies and providing robust data for LPs, and why a strong ESG framework is transformative for venture capital funds. Give it a listen, and let me know your thoughts! 😊
New Year reads ☕️ 📖
Three recommended books from the team explore how human decisions within powerful systems—algorithms, technologies, or corporations—shape and impact society.
Mariarosaria Taddeo, The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Defence
Mariarosaria Taddeo, an independent director on United Ventures’ Board of Directors, is an Oxford scholar on the ethical implications of emerging technologies. Her book, The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Defence, addresses the challenge of leveraging AI advancements in defence safely, ethically, and effectively. It presents a systematic framework that combines AI ethics and Just War theory, offering actionable recommendations for policymakers and practitioners. The book explores real-world applications, including intelligence analysis, cyber warfare, and autonomous weapons, while emphasizing the importance of ethical governance and responsible AI use in defence.
Diletta Huyskes, Tecnologia della Rivoluzione (italian edition)
In Tecnologia della Rivoluzione, Diletta Huyskes explores the intersection of technological progress and social justice, revealing how algorithms can perpetuate and amplify societal injustices. Through the story of Sara—a migrant, unemployed, and single mother unfairly labeled as a potential criminal by an algorithm—Huyskes illustrates how social identities are often reduced to data points, with profound consequences.
The book traces the history of technology, from bicycles to AI, emphasizing how every innovation reflects human values and decisions that can lead to social exclusion. Drawing on feminist insights from the 1970s to the 2000s, Huyskes encourages critical reflection on steering technological revolutions toward positive social change. It is an interesting read for those interested in the ethical implications of technology and its societal impact.
William Dalrymple, The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company
William Dalrymple’s book examines the unchecked power of corporations through the rise of the British East India Company, a cautionary tale with enduring relevance. Starting as a small London-based joint-stock company with just 35 employees and a royal charter to "wage war," it grew into a global superpower. Over two centuries, it amassed immense wealth, controlled vast territories, and commanded a private army larger than many national forces, all without democratic or constitutional oversight.
Dalrymple highlights the company’s influence abroad and at home, where it undermined emerging democratic principles through systemic corruption and conflicts of interest. This narrative reminds us of the dangers concentrated corporate power poses to democracy and offers vital insights into modern global capitalism.
That’s all for today!
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