Z_One Fund Reaches Initial €35 Million Close to Accelerate Early-Stage AI and UrbanTech Startups

Italian investment vehicle Z_One Fund, managed by Eureka! Venture SGR, has announced an initial closing exceeding €35 million toward an overall fundraising goal of €60 million to finance early-stage startups in artificial intelligence and UrbanTech. The capital round secured backing from top-tier institutional financiers, with state-backed CDP Venture Capital SGR serving as a cornerstone participant through its newly formed Fondo Acceleratori 2, alongside Euronext Milan-listed Zest, regional development agency Lazio Innova, Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, and several private family offices.

Operating out of Rome and Milan, Z_One Fund was established to back and scale technology ventures operating where computational intelligence converges with physical city environments. The fund focuses across two intersecting growth verticals: foundational AI applications designed to streamline enterprise workflows, and UrbanTech platforms engineering sustainable infrastructure, automated mobility, and modern municipal systems.

Focusing on smart cities and AI-driven urban infrastructure

The vehicle’s investment strategy prioritizes early-stage operators, deploying pre-seed and seed tickets to teams building scalable hardware and software architectures. By addressing municipal bottlenecks, the fund targets innovations in clean resource management, power grid resilience, carbon abatement, and intelligent multimodal transport.

Beyond financial commitments, portfolio companies will plug directly into Italy's Rete Nazionale Acceleratori network. This integration gives early-stage teams dedicated commercial testing grounds, regulatory guidance, and go-to-market assistance to validate their business models ahead of larger institutional funding rounds.

Specialized venture leadership and institutional backing

Z_One Fund is led by Italian innovation pioneer Luigi Capello, alongside partner Giulio Montoli and junior partner Giulia Fazzini. Montoli has developed an extensive track record in pre-seed acceleration and startup portfolio oversight, having managed one of the nation’s largest early-stage books, while Fazzini is among the youngest women to attain a partner-level role within an Italian venture capital firm.

Stefano Molino, Head of Fondo Acceleratori at CDP Venture Capital, highlighted that cultivating a mature innovation ecosystem depends on empowering specialized operators capable of guiding founders through the earliest validation hurdles. The investment marks the inaugural deployment for CDP's Fondo Acceleratori 2, combining institutional funding with operational execution and mentorship.

Targeting a €60 million final close to expand European reach

Having locked in more than half of its total corpus at first close, the management team is working toward a €60 million final hard cap. In parallel, a dedicated vehicle backed by Lazio Innova will channel co-investments into high-potential ventures established across the Rome and Lazio tech hubs.

The successful first close reflects expanding institutional confidence in Southern Europe’s venture landscape, where dedicated early-stage vehicles are providing structured pathways to commercialize applied AI and sustainable urban technologies.