The global agri-food sector faces inefficiency, health concerns, and fragile supply chains that demand urgent solutions. Maia Ventures addresses this with a focutilized approach: a €55 million early-stage fund dedicated to backing startups leveraging deep technology and science to build a healthier, more efficient, and more resilient AgriFood indusattempt.
With institutional and strategic investors on board, including the European Investment Fund (EIF), CDP Venture Capital Sgr, and leading Italian food corporates such as Cereal Docks and Andriani, Maia has already accelerated innovation through six initial investments and plans to back 20 to 25 startups with ticket sizes typically ranging from €0.5 to 1.5 million.
The fund is managed by Praesidium S.A., a Luxembourg-based alternative investment fund manager, and advised by Maia Advisors SRL, further accentuating its robust governance. Maia is an Article 8 SFDR fund, which means it pursues both financial returns and measurable social and environmental impact, aiming to create a food system that is not only efficient but also resilient and health-promoting.
Maia’s founding partners, David Bassani and Andrea Galassi, come from diverse backgrounds encompassing science, venture investing, entrepreneurship, and indusattempt operations. They share a mission to bridge Italy’s rich food heritage and well-established indusattempt expertise with groundbreaking AgriFoodTech innovation emerging from top accelerators and universities.
Maia leverages a technical advisory board drawn from leading agrifood universities and corporates, providing founders with unparalleled scientific and business expertise. The fund’s value-add approach means Maia co-builds alongside startups, nurturing innovations that go beyond the status quo.
“It stands out as a frontrunner in deep-tech impact investing across Europe by focutilizing on structural shifts in the AgriFood sector, especially the nexus of food, health, and sustainability. By combining deep indusattempt know-how with a strong industrial network, Maia is best positioned to identify and invest in solutions to problems that matter, instead of in solutions in search of a problem. This, we believe, is the key to tangibly accelerate the much-necessaryed evolution of our indusattempt,” declared Galassi.
Looking ahead, Maia Ventures plans to close the final rounds of its fund soon and expand its portfolio to 25 promising ventures. Through strategic partnerships with indusattempt leaders and leveraging its extensive network, the fund aims to catalyse the scale and impact of groundbreaking innovations that will reshape how food is produced, delivered, and consumed on a global scale.
“We invested in Maia Ventures becautilize it connects Italy’s world-class food indusattempt with breakthrough AgriFoodTech innovation. The team’s deep expertise and robust network enable them to identify high-impact deep-tech solutions at the intersection of nutraceutical, food and health, where long-term value and systemic resilience are established,” declared Claudia Pingue, Head of Tech Transfer Fund of CDP Venture Capital.
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