A new fund explicitly built around artificial intelligence applied to enterprises has arrived in Italian venture capital. On September 8, Techshop SGR announced the first closing of Techshop II at 43 million euros, exceeding its initial target and setting an overall fundraising goal of 100 million by 2027.
CDP Venture Capital is participating as a cornerstone investor through FoF VenturItaly II and the Fondo Digital Transition. The new vehicle will invest in Italian and European pre-seed and seed startups applying AI to B2B software and business processes.
Why the B2B focus is compelling
The artificial intelligence boom has primarily been told through consumer products: chatbots, image generators, personal assistants. Yet a huge share of the potential economic value lies inside much less visible processes: administration, finance, procurement, logistics, compliance, customer service, sales, and operations.
This is where Techshop II intends to concentrate its capital. The thesis is that AI does not necessarily need to create a new market to generate value; it can redesign software companies already purchase or automate tasks that currently require significant amounts of manual labor.
A seed fund, not a mega-fund
The 43 million first closing is significant in the Italian context, but Techshop II remains a fund focused on early stages. The point is not to compete with major American funds in nine-figure rounds, but rather to enter when startups are still building their product, team, and first customer base.
This is one of the segments where local capital can make the most sense. In the pre-seed and seed phases, proximity to founders, the ability to evaluate still-small teams, and access to a network of early customers and partners carry immense weight.
The precedent of Techshop I
CDP Venture Capital reports a portfolio of 23 companies for Techshop I and, just over four years after launch, a MOIC of 1.8 and a TVPI of 1.5. These metrics reflect the ratio between portfolio value and invested capital, though naturally a portion of that value remains unrealized until exits or distributions take place.
Techshop II therefore emerges as the evolution of an already tested strategy, turning the SGR into a multi-fund platform with the stated goal of reaching 150 million euros in total assets under management.
The crux of Italian capital
Italian venture capital has grown considerably compared to a decade ago, but it continues to operate at a smaller scale than leading European ecosystems. Consequently, many Italian startups manage to raise capital in early stages but must look abroad once rapid growth kicks in.
Because of this, the increase in the number and size of seed funds is positive, but not enough. A pipeline is needed where promising companies can transition smoothly from pre-seed to Series A, B, and growth rounds, without being forced to move their decision-making center outside the country too early.
Why CDP remains central
The presence of CDP Venture Capital as a cornerstone investor highlights once again how much the Italian industry relies on public intervention as a catalyst. This characteristic can be interpreted in two ways: on the one hand, it activates funds and investments that the private market alone might not finance; on the other, it underlines that the base of private institutional investors remains relatively narrow.
Techshop II was also structured to meet the regulatory definition of a Fondo di Venture Capital, thereby facilitating investment from pension funds and welfare funds. If this type of capital were to enter venture more steadily, the market could become less reliant on a handful of public entities.
B2B AI will be crowded
The risk, naturally, is crowding. In 2026, virtually every new software startup describes at least part of its product as AI-driven. For a specialized fund, it will not be enough to simply select “AI companies”: it must distinguish between easily replicable features and products that build defensible moats through data, distribution, proprietary workflows, and deep integrations.
The real challenge for Techshop II will be precisely this: finding companies where artificial intelligence is not an add-on feature to existing software, but the very reason an entire business process can be re-architected.
