# Luca Ascani

> Luca Ascani is a seed investor in Rome backing FinTech, Software and Financial Services. See 41 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Location: Rome, Italy
- Total investments: 41
- Last investment: May 2025
- Lead investor: 7%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lucaascani
- X (Twitter): http://twitter.com/Luca_Ascani
- Website: http://www.lambdalpha.com/

Luca Ascani is a seed investor in Rome focused on FinTech and Software. Luca is founder and CEO of Lambda Alpha, an investment company focused on early stage investment. Its portfolio includes Bear, the Apple Design Award winner notes app, Fintechs as Lendable and Emma App in London, Mansa in Paris and ScalaPay as well as autonomous robots Gideon Brothers and automated pasta restaurant Cala. Recent investmentsincludes Dishpatch, Airbank and RVVUP. Luca started his entrepreneurial career aged 20 when he launched BuyCentral.it, the first Italian shopping comparison site, in 2000. It was sold to Lycos in 2004. In 2002 he founded ADVance which became the leading digital agency in Italy, subsequently sold to NetBooster. In 2004 he cofounded GoAdv, later rebranded Populis, one of the largest vertical digital publishing groups in Europe and Brazil, listed on the Paris Alternext stock exchange. In 2011 Populis was named the fastest growing company in Ireland and part of the top ten in Europe by Deloitte. In 2012 and 2013 he has brought the TechCrunch conference to Italy with the aim of connecting the Italian industry with international investors. For this same purpose he was co-hosting the 2017 Founders Forum in Rome.From 2010 Luca was in the board of IlSecoloXIX, an Italian north west leading newspaper, then acquired by LaStampa in 2014 and he was in the board of the new group, ITEDI, until it was acquired by Gruppo Espresso in 2017.

## Round sizes

| Stage | Round size |
| --- | --- |
| Seed | $1.1M–$14M |
| Pre-Seed | $589k–$37M |
| Series A | $4.3M–$32M |

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| FinTech | 10 | 24% |
| Software | 8 | 20% |
| Financial Services | 8 | 20% |
| Mobile Apps | 5 | 12% |
| Banking | 4 | 10% |

63 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 16 | 39% |
| Pre-Seed | 10 | 24% |
| Series A | 4 | 10% |
| Funding Round | 4 | 10% |
| Secondary Market | 2 | 5% |

7 stages tracked in total.

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Italy | 9 | 22% |
| France | 9 | 22% |
| United Kingdom | 7 | 17% |
| Germany | 4 | 10% |
| Croatia | 2 | 5% |

7 countries tracked in total.

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ReportAId | ReportAId is a artificial intelligence company that provides health data for medical reports that is used by patients, doctors, hospitals. | $2.5M | Pre-Seed | May 06, 2025 |  |
| Fence | At Fence, we're transforming the way debt facilities are managed. We are the Operating System for your debt facility, reducing the amount of resources spent in back-office operations and letting teams focus on what matters.Our platform, built on blockchain technology, offers a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution that simplifies andautomate debt facility operations. Whether you're a capital provider or an asset originator, Fence leads you toward a smarter financial future.For capital providers, our platform enables internet-native debt solutions and real-time portfolio insights, enhancing your credit investment monitoring. With Fence, you stay ahead, making informed decisions for success. Asset originators benefit from enhanced capital efficiency and reduced operational costs, thanks to Fence's automation. We seamlessly integrate debt facilities into your tech stack and provide on-demand programmable debt, giving you unprecedented control over the capital you borrow. | $2M | Pre-Seed | Nov 20, 2023 |  |
| qomodo | Qomodo is an "all-in-one" payment methods aggregator, allowing physical commercial operators to safeguard and expand their cash flow and offer Buy Now Pay Later payments to customers, in addition to one-time payments. Qomodo focuses on merchants providing services for essential yet often unforeseen expenses, which typically involve ahigher transaction value. | $36.9M | Pre-Seed | Nov 07, 2023 |  |
| Jet HR | Jet HR makes managing people incredibly simple: payroll, benefits, devices, compliance and much more. We re-thought the HR function, removing anything that is cumbersome and simplifying any action on employees. We are funded by the best Italian VCs (Exor Ventures, Italian Founders Fund and 6 more) and by the best Italian founders (founders ofCasavo, Satispay, Scalapay, Bending Spoons, Musixmatch, Talent Garden, Oyster HR, etc). | $5.1M | Pre-Seed | Jun 26, 2023 |  |
| Superlayer | Superlayer equips your sales team with the best weapons to succeed, including: pipeline management, conversation intelligence, team coaching and productivity tools. | $1.3M | Pre-Seed | Feb 02, 2023 |  |
| Futura | Futura makes high quality education accessible to everyone. Our AI-based platform uses Deep Learning to optimize your study time and test scores by learning from your past mistakes and targeting weak points with extra attention. We completely personalize learning, using a data-driven approach and modular classes that adapt to students’ individualneeds. | $1.8M | Seed | Aug 01, 2022 |  |
| Futura | Futura provides personalized learning using data driven approach and modular classes that adapt to student's Individual needs. | $1.8M | Seed | Jul 06, 2022 |  |
| Teta | Teta is an online cooperative app builder. It allows designers and developers to collaborate in real-time on the design and development of mobile applications, through a convenient visual interface that allows the export of Flutter code. |  | Pre-Seed | Dec 01, 2021 |  |
| Pliant | Pliant provides modular, API-first B2B payment solutions designed to help businesses streamline spending, improve cash flow management, and integrate payments into financial operations. Its platform serves industries with complex payment needs, such as travel and fleet, offering tools that increase operational efficiency and financial control.Pliant’s core offerings target two customer groups: businesses seeking to optimize their payment workflows using apps and APIs, and companies such as financial software providers, ERP systems, and banks looking to build or expand credit card products through embedded finance and white-label services. The company’s solutions enable customers to extend credit lines, manage expenses flexibly, and create new revenue streams.We serve two primary customer segments: - Companies looking to optimize operational processes through intuitive apps and APIs, gaining control, automation, and financial flexibility through extended credit lines. - Companies such as financial software platforms, ERP providers, and banks that want to launch or enhance their credit card offerings using Pliant’s embedded finance and white-label solutions. Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Berlin, Pliant supports over 3,500 businesses and more than 20 partners globally. As a licensed e-money institution (EMI), we issue Visa-powered credit cards in 11 currencies across more than 30 countries, helping companies streamline and simplify payments.Learn more at www.getpliant.com | $6.5M | Seed | Aug 06, 2021 |  |
| Friday Finance | Airbank is the next-generation financial management platform for startups and small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Airbank transforms B2B finance for SMBs in Europe by building the simplest way for businesses to collect, pay, and finance invoices. Airbank connects with existing bank accounts of its users and provides real-time visibility intotheir cash flow. | $2.7M | Seed | Jun 22, 2021 |  |

10 of 41 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Exor Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/exor-ventures) — VC Fund, 6 deals together
- [HCVC](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/hardwareclub) — VC Fund, 6 deals together
- [Exor Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/exor-seeds) — VC Fund, 5 deals together
- [EXOR N.V.](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/exor-s-p-a) — VC Fund, 5 deals together
- [Ithaca Investments](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ithaca-investments) — VC Fund, 5 deals together
- [Plug and Play](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/plug-and-play-ventures) — VC Fund, 4 deals together

## Similar investors

### Similar industry
- [Goodwater Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/goodwater-capital) — VC Fund
- [FJ Labs](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/fj-labs) — VC Fund
- [Antler](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/antler-be9c) — VC Fund

### Similar stage
- [Antler](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/antler-be9c) — VC Fund
- [Alumni Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/alumni-ventures-group) — VC Fund
- [Right Side Capital Management](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/right-side-capital-management) — VC Fund

### Similar country
- [CDP Venture Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/cdp-venture-capital) — VC Fund
- [Club degli Investitori](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/club-degli-investitori) — VC Fund
- [Primo Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/barcamper-ventures) — VC Fund

## Featured in investor lists
- [All Angel Investors in Europe](https://shizune.co/investors/angel-investors-europe)
- [SaaS Angel Investors in Europe](https://shizune.co/investors/saas-angel-investors-europe)
- [Software Angel Investors in Europe](https://shizune.co/investors/software-angel-investors-europe)
- [FinTech Angel Investors in Europe](https://shizune.co/investors/fintech-angel-investors-europe)
- [All Investors in Italy](https://shizune.co/investors/investors-italy)
- [All Angel Investors in Italy](https://shizune.co/investors/angel-investors-italy)

## FAQ

### What does Luca Ascani invest in?

Luca Ascani invests primarily in FinTech, Software and Financial Services startups, most often at Seed and Pre-Seed stage. Most of the 41 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in Italy. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### What is Luca Ascani's check size?

Luca Ascani typically joins rounds of $1.1M–$14M at Seed, $589k–$37M at Pre-Seed and $4.3M–$32M at Series A. These ranges are 10th–90th percentile round sizes calculated from confirmed public funding rounds, so they are a realistic guide to the rounds Luca Ascani participates in.

### When did Luca Ascani last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Luca Ascani closed in May 2025. Shizune tracks 41 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

# About Shizune
Shizune.co is an investor database. Core features:
- 48,091 startup investors (angels, VCs, accelerators, and others)
- Email, phone, LinkedIn (for intros), socials, and other contact data
- Updated daily from public funding news
- CSV and Excel export

The User can access the full database FOR FREE after signing up: shizune.co