Rome, 26 July 2023 - CDP Venture Capital announces the creation of Farming Future, the National Technology Transfer Hub dedicated entirely to the financing and entrepreneurial development of findings from Scientific and Industrial Research activities in the Agrifood Tech field.

The aim of the initiative is to encourage and support the commercialisation of inventions coming from the laboratories of excellence of Italian Universities and Research Centres in a sector that is strategic for the Italian economy, which ranks first in Europe for the production of quality agrifood products - the market contributes 12% of the national GDP - and is ranked fourth in the world for the number of scientific publications in Agriculture and Biological Sciences.

Farming Future's investment focus will be on projects and start-ups with innovative technologies applicable to the entire agrifood supply chain, from production (green biotechnology, bioenergy and biomaterials, robotics, new farming methods) to distribution (food safety and traceability, supply chain and logistics, processing and packaging technologies, autonomous vehicles for food delivery).

The Hub has an overall target budget of around 20 million euro, of which 10 million euro have already been allocated by CDP Venture Capital SGR's Technology Transfer Fund to invest over the next three years in more than 20 technologies at the prototyping stage (POC investments) and more than 18 start-ups at the seed stage (seed investments).

POC investments will mainly be dedicated to researchers that belong to the Hub's Scientific Promoters, while seed investments will be open to the entire Italian Research System.

The Scientific Promoters of Farming Future are the University of Naples Federico II - which provides the Hub with its expertise and synergies with the National Research Centre for Agricultural Technologies (Centro Nazionale Agritech) - and other leading universities active in the sector, including the University of Padua, the University of Bologna, the University of Turin, the University of Milan, the University of Siena, the University of Tuscia and the University of Bari. In addition, agreements with corporate partners are currently being finalised.

Not only will this bring capital, but also support for researchers in the entrepreneurial development of their scientific findings. The Farming Future Hub activity provides selected projects with a Technical Incubation Programme run by To Seed Partners with the aim of providing concrete technical and business support to the research teams at the Scientific Promoter Universities, to increase the likelihood of successful transfer of their skills and technologies to the market. Start-ups selected at national level for seed investments, provided they have been established in the field of Scientific Research, will also be allowed access to a Business Creation programme, developed in collaboration with international partners with a proven track record and aimed at accelerating the generation of market metrics.

To Seed Partners, an entity whose founders have a significant track record in early-stage investments and start-up activities, is co-investor and entrepreneurial partner of Farming Future and will support the scouting and due diligence activities of the Hub, as well as contribute to the value-added services for the portfolio of initiatives.

 

"Digital innovation and technology are crucial elements in the development of the entire agrifood supply chain, an excellence of our country that holds important records in the activities of both the agricultural sector and the food processing industry", comments Enrico Resmini, CEO and General Manager of CDP Venture Capital. "The contribution that Scientific Research can make in this sector can bring great added value to the Made in Italy economy, with ample prospects for spill-over effects in the employment and social spheres. With the Farming Future Technology Transfer Hub, we wish to invest precisely in developing these Research activities, which can offer sustainable and effective solutions to the challenges of the entire agrifood sector".

 

"CDP Venture Capital's Farming Future initiative represents an important opportunity for collaboration and synergy with the National Research Centre for Agricultural Technologies (Centro Nazionale Agritech) and the many research and dissemination activities carried out by the University of Naples Federico II on various topics related to the development of enabling technologies and innovation in the agrifood sector. The relationship with CDP, already strengthened by the co-participation in the Agritech foundation, is further enriched, with the aim of giving a real and significant boost to the development of a sector of fundamental importance for our country", comments Matteo Lorito, Rector of the University of Naples Federico II.

 

"Farming Future represents a great opportunity for Agrifood Tech sector in this country. Italian agrifood excellence is rooted in technique and technology as well as in the tradition and experience of those who work in this field. Farming Future will even increase the scope of innovation, promoting the transfer of technology from Research Centres and Universities to the market, not only through the creation of start-ups, but also through the creation of patents and intellectual property rights for medium-sized companies that provide services, technology and technical means in the agrifood sector, in order to increase Italy’s competitiveness at the international level”, comments Luigi Galimberti, President of To Seed Partners.

 

Through the Technology Transfer Fund, CDP Venture Capital invests in the entire Technology Transfer supply chain by creating National Hubs across Italy, bringing together leading universities and research centres of excellence to identify and fund the best DeepTech technologies and support their entry into the market. In parallel, the fund invests in sector-specific funds to enhance the growth of the best companies on the market. A systemic approach that leverages the most promising opportunities in Italian research to create new generations of entrepreneurs and investors.

As seen in the cases of Robotics with RoboIT, Environmental Sustainability with Tech4Planet, the development of new therapeutic approaches in the biopharmaceutical field with Extend and the creation of new companies dedicated to the Aerospace sector with Galaxia, the Hubs are formed when public and private actors collaborate to transform research findings into innovation. 

To submit potential investment opportunities and obtain further details on Farming Future, please visit https://www.farmingfuture.vc/it/