On Italy's "Untapped" AgriFood Market & Private Equity Exit Strategy - David Bassani, Maia Ventures

Episode 84: Maia Ventures: David Bassani on Italy's "Untapped" AgriFood Market and the Private Equity Exit Strategy

In this episode, I sit down with David Bassani, Founding Partner of Maia Ventures, an Italy-based VC fund rapidly approaching its €60M hard cap. David details why he believes the Italian ecosystem is severely underfunded despite Agri-Food accounting for 15% of the nation's GDP. He reveals how Maia acts as a powerful bridge, bringing global AgriFoodTech startups to Italian corporates while simultaneously taking localized Italian innovation to the world stage. We also unpack David's highly contrarian strategy: dedicating a specific portion of the portfolio to "traditional" businesses with strong EBITDA (like their sous-vide vegetable company, Capellini) to explicitly target early Private Equity buyouts rather than relying solely on the elusive FMCG corporate acquisition. 🎧 Listen to the full episode to hear how a cold intro from a fellow VC led to their first US investment in the GLP-1 space (Lombos) and why Maia Ventures refuses to fund CapEx projects.

Key Facts Maia Ventures:

• Goal: To invest globally in Seed-stage AgriFoodTech startups focusing on health, efficiency, and resiliency, while acting as a strategic bridge to the Italian corporate and CDMO ecosystem.
• Milestone: Currently managing €55M with a final close of €60M targeted by the end of the year; writing initial checks between €500K and €1.5M.