Top 5 Sporting Goods Startup Investors in Italy in May 2026

Giovanni Gardelli is the Senior Director at Verizon Media.

Investment focus

E-Commerce, Fashion, Software
Seed, Angel, Funding Round
United States, Italy, United Kingdom

Portfolio highlights

HiNelson — HiNelson an Italian-based online store for nautical accessories. HiNelson is the first nautical online store about high-level boating components. They select the best and successful brands in the nautical worldwide market, such as Veleria San Giorgio to guarantee maritime safety with their life jackets, moving through Polyform’s boat fenders foryacht protection, or the best anchoring and docking system by Lofrans’, Max Power and Quick and finishing with the most famous Plastimo’s compasses or and Bartomarine sail’s accessories.
Promoted.ai — Sort search and promote the best listing at the top to increase revenue. Designed for top engineering teams at scaled online marketplace e-commerce companies.
Growth Kitchen — Growth Kitchen provides a network of delivery-optimized kitchens coupled with food delivery solutions and support.

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Venture Partner, Eurazeo InvestmentInternational Venture Capitalist, Business Angel and SVP with >20 years experience in >20 countries, with a successful track as VC, BA and Entrepreneur in a truly global environment. Fabio is a Venture Partner in Eurazeo Investment, following their acquisition of IDINVEST Partners, a leading Europeanprivate equity firm with >9B€ AUM, focusing on Venture Capital investments in Italy across sectors and in the Smart City sector (Energy, Cleantech, Eco-mobility) worldwide. Fabio is the Founder and CEO of growth Capital, the leading Italian investment banking focusing on advising innovative, fast-growing companies on fund raising and M&A. Fabio is also an active Business Angel, with a personal portfolio of more than 30 startups. a Member of the Investment Committee of Lazio Innova. Previously Fabio has been a Senior Advisor in the European Investment Fund (EIF), leading the joint efforts of EIF and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) to establish TT Investment Funds in Italy to develop its ecosystem for Innovation. Before entering the Private Equity sector, Fabio has lead Soitec Solar Division sale after it has increased its revenues from ~2M€ to >40M€ and achieved the world record of PV Module Efficiency and Solar Cell Efficiency. He had earlier founded and lead RenEn Renewable Energy to a leading renewable energy consulting firm. Earlier Fabio has been in McKinsey, ENEL and Russell Reynolds. In ENEL, Fabio has been Head of Integration, Head of International Management, Head of HR and Organisation and member of the Board of various international companies. Fabio received his M.S. degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from M.I.T. and his M.B.A. from INSEAD. He is fluent in English, Italian, French and Spanish.

Investment focus

E-Commerce, Retail, Information Technology
Seed, Pre-Seed, Equity Crowdfunding
Italy, France, United Kingdom

Portfolio highlights

Icohup — The aim of Icohup is the development of pollution sensors with high performance yet low costs.
Yobs — Record your interviews, accelerate candidate review, coach recruiters and build a fair and rigorous hiring process.
Keyless — Reverify and authenticate your users in a glance, without storing biometric data. PingOne Recognize delivers private, fraud-resistant biometric authentication.

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CDP Venture Capital Sgr - National Innovation Fund aims to make venture capital a cornerstone of the country's economic development and innovation, creating the conditions for an overall and sustainable growth of the venture capital ecosystem.

Investment focus

Software, Information Technology, Health Care
Seed, Series A, Funding Round
Italy, United States, United Kingdom

Portfolio highlights

ALBA Robot — Through our micro mobility platform we add autonomy and artificial intelligence to transform passengers transportation.
RARA Factory — RARA Factory is a company that provides research and development of sustainable materials utilizing physics-based artificial intelligence.
Proxima Fusion — We are a European fusion energy startup pursuing the clearest path to grid deployment.

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Growth Engine is a Venture Capital holding investing in Pre-Seed and Seed high-potential opportunities. With a current portfolio of more than 40 companies, most of them evolved in successful Scaleups, Growth Engine is a diversified asset class by sector and stage. Growth Engine Shareholders are entrepreneurs who have built companies from the groundup, collectively creating billions in value, and top executives managing companies with multi-billion-dollar valuations.

Investment focus

Software, E-Commerce, Information Technology
Seed, Secondary Market, Convertible Note
Italy, Mexico, United Kingdom

Portfolio highlights

BonusX — Con l'app BonusX hai un supporto anti-burocrazia tutto l'anno. Accedi a centinaia di bonus e servizi pubblici, senza stress e code.
WithLess — Apps multiply, costs grow, admin spirals. We get it. The tools your team needs WithLess time, money, and admin.
Vivaio Ventures — Vivaio Ventures partners with early-stage and creator-led consumer brands to scale food, beverage, and beauty products. We offer capital, consulting, and Made in Italy manufacturing excellence for the next CPG leaders.

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