Venture capital firm Nevermind has launched with a €23.6 million first close for its NVM Venture Lazio compartment, targeting early-stage frontier technology companies with dual-use applications. The fund compartment is working toward a final fundraising goal of €35 million to back emerging startups in Italy and across Europe.
Pre-seed focus and regional backing
NVM Venture Lazio plans to assemble a portfolio of 10 to 15 companies at Pre-Seed and Seed stages. Operating primarily as a lead investor, the fund targets startups developing technologies under the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform framework that possess international growth prospects while committing to strengthen the Lazio region's technology ecosystem.
Lazio Innova provided the primary backing for the initial close, committing €18.83 million through the Lazio Venture 2 fund of funds. This allocation is co-financed via the European Regional Development Fund Regional Programme 2021–2027.
Specialist management and target sectors
Nevermind employs a multi-compartment structure established by founding partners Andrea Bonabello and Niccolò Bienati, which pairs individual investment strategies with domain-expert management while retaining shared institutional governance. Fund managers Giorgio Gulienetti and Alessandro Casiraghi serve as key figures overseeing the NVM Venture Lazio compartment.
The compartment focuses on engineering-heavy startups across dual-use sectors. Target domains include aerospace, maritime technologies, robotics, autonomous systems, cybersecurity, defense-oriented artificial intelligence, energy infrastructure, novel materials, advanced manufacturing, and biotechnology.
Leveraging local industrial strength
The fund aims to draw upon the industrial infrastructure of the Lazio region, which hosts the complete aerospace supply chain from basic research to industrial production. Regional statistics cited by the fund indicate that over 300 advanced technology companies operate in Lazio, employing approximately 23,000 workers and generating more than €5 billion in annual revenue, including €1.6 billion in exports.
According to fund manager Giorgio Gulienetti, critical technologies for European defense and security increasingly originate outside traditional industrial defense firms within academic laboratories and engineering spin-offs, requiring specialized early-stage capital capable of navigating extended procurement cycles.
AI-generated editorial illustration; not a documentary photograph.
Source: Nevermind VC launches with €23.6M first close to back dual-use deeptech startups
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