360 Capital Reaches €85M in Poli360 2 Fundraise, Eyes €100M Final Close

360 Capital, the European venture capital firm, has successfully closed an €85 million raise for Poli360 2, its latest technology transfer vehicle, as it works toward a hard cap of €100 million. The fund is purpose-built to back early-stage deeptech ventures at the critical juncture between laboratory research and commercial viability.

Poli360 2 carries an Article 8 classification under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), signaling a structured commitment to environmental and social characteristics alongside financial returns. The fund has assembled a notably diverse LP base, drawing capital from the European Investment Fund, CDP Venture Capital, Italian pension funds, family offices, and a cluster of industrial corporates — including Brembo, MBDA, and Lucchini RS — whose operational expertise spans advanced manufacturing, aerospace systems, and materials engineering.

The new vehicle builds directly on the playbook pioneered by its predecessor, Poli360 1, which has cultivated a portfolio of 20 companies to date. That roster includes Energy Dome, Isaac, Phononic Vibes, PhotonPath, Inxpect, and Equixly — a cohort that reflects the fund's appetite for technically differentiated, research-derived businesses. Poli360 2 will sustain this model, investing in close partnership with leading universities and research institutions, with a target of 20 to 25 portfolio companies. A minimum of 80 per cent of deployed capital will be concentrated in Italy, with the balance earmarked for compelling opportunities across the broader European ecosystem.

The fund's thematic architecture is organized around two strategic pillars: Industry Automation and Sustainability. The former encompasses robotics, Industry 4.0 technologies, semiconductors, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, IoT, industrial infrastructure, and enterprise IT. The Sustainability pillar, meanwhile, trains its focus on advanced materials science, energy transition technologies, and circular economy innovations — sectors where deeptech breakthroughs are increasingly defining competitive differentiation on a global scale.

For Alessandro Zaccaria, Partner at 360 Capital, the fund represents a natural extension of the firm's core conviction: that Europe's research institutions harbour world-class scientific talent capable of producing globally competitive companies, provided the right capital and commercialization infrastructure exists to bridge the gap between discovery and deployment.

By working side by side with universities, research centres, and founders, we aim to support the next generation of deeptech companies shaping the technological landscape of the coming decade.

said Zaccaria.

Established in 1997, 360 Capital operates across dual hubs in Milan and Paris, deploying capital into early-stage European startups spanning deeptech, climate tech, and digital sectors. The firm has backed more than 170 companies throughout its history, and continues to demonstrate exit momentum — most recently with the acquisition of AI-driven intelligence platform Preligens by Safran in 2024, alongside the notable trajectory of warehouse robotics specialist Exotec.