Milan-based AI venture builder FoolFarm Spa has secured €2.55 million, with a pre-money valuation of €30 million. Using the funding, it plans to support around 20 new investments in AI startups.
- Established in 2020 by Andrea Cinelli, FoolFarm operates as a startup incubator, leveraging its proprietary industrial-style process and rapid prototyping platform called FoolCore. Specializing in intellectual property, it engages in corporate environments through open innovation, providing solutions under the brand FoolFarm Solutions.
- With offices in Lecce and Milan, FoolFarm manages over €15 million in assets by launching five startups with industrial patents: Voiceme, IIO, Fragmentalis, AidaMask, and Snaproof.
Details of the deal
- Crédit Agricole Italia, along with CEO Andrea Cinelli, will join FoolFarm’s board, enhancing their collaboration through the Village by CA innovation network. Additionally, FoolFarm’s expansion into the US will be supported by Add Value, Italian family offices, and an American holding company. The company is planning to open a new office in Miami in 2025.
“We believe in the potential of advanced artificial intelligence solutions and in the work of FoolFarm, which will be able to access our international Village by CA system by developing important synergies with the various players in our ecosystem,” Head of capital markets at Crédit Agricole Italia, Andrea Riva, stated.
- The new funding will enable FoolFarm to execute its 2024–2028 business plan, which includes investing in 20 AI startups over the next few years. The company aims to reach break-even by 2026 and plans to pursue a stock exchange listing.
“We are really proud of the entry of these new partners, companies, and profiles of absolute excellence, who have shown full confidence in our project and thus consolidated our growth path at a European level, which wants to lead us to the IPO soon,” CEO of FoolFarm SpA, Andrea Cinelli, commented.
