DEEP BLUE VENTURES

Venture Capital Fund

Deep Blue Ventures

is our first Venture Capital fund

DBV is an early stage deep tech fund, investing in outstanding deep technologies, and people able to harnessing them to great global success.

Deep Blue Ventures investments are focused in that stage where companies find product- market fit to the point where they start to scale, across multiple industry sectors where market opportunities are clearly at international scale.

DBV adopts an ecosystem investment approach where each stakeholder is engaged from the earliest stage of development to spur the value creation process, up to the Exit.

Investment Thesis

WE STRONGLY BELIEVE

that the main limit to success of deep tech / Technology Transfer (TT) funds so far has been the broken process of transforming research into entrepreneurial ventures, and limited or no control on the process. This is the reason why Deep Blue Ventures has opted for a different operational model, similar to the one known as venture building, that we call the Deep Tech Factory Model.

The Deep Tech Factory Model, from the setup standpoint, is made up of two components, a deep tech venture capital fund (the financial component) and a deep tech startup factory (the industrial component).

Deep Blue Ventures will play the role of the deep tech venture capital fund, acting as a catalyst of the whole innovation process and investing when the target has substantially gone through the technology de-risking process. While the deep tech startup factory – that can be a private or public professional venture builder or even a corporate venturing unit – focuses on the TT broken process accelerating startups development.

Deep tech startup factories will therefore work as a source of deal flow for Deep Blue Ventures.

This model enables the sustainable development of deep technology businesses providing long term value by combining at best key strengths of financial and industrial domains.

The outcome are fully fledged, entrepreneurs-led companies.

Portfolio’s Companies

Investment Strategy

DBV IS GOING TO FOCUS

on seed stage investments where it is willing to play as lead investor, and selected Series-A opportunities, across multiple industry sectors where market opportunities are clearly at international scale.

Specifically, Deep Blue Ventures will focus on the following industry verticals:

Aerospace
Exponential technologies linked to Healthcare
Sustainable Mobility
Synthetic Biology

Technology-wise, our VC fund will invest mainly in Artificial Intelligence and other software deep technologies linked to it, like NLU/NLP and Visual Computing, and innovative computing platforms (edge computing, ASICs computing, Quantum computing).

Portfolio’s Companies

What Is Unique Of DBV

Deep Blue Ventures Unique Features

TEAM

Complementary team skills. DBV team and advisory board have strong and diverse skills in strategic and relevant areas, such as business and financial skills, with consolidated experience in VC, and technical skills in the domain of Deep Technologies, consolidated over many years of hands-on experience. As for the latter ones, specifically the team has got a long-standing experience in IP-related matters, so crucial in a patentbased business

DEEP TECH FACTORY

De-risking technology through the Deep Tech Factory Model. DBV is going to build a different operational strategy in getting into the market. We call it the Deep Tech Factory Model. This innovative setup is made up of two components, a VC fund (the financial component) and a deep tech startup factory (the industrial component). This model enables a smoother development of disruptive
businesses, allowing the possibility to manage the tech de-risking phase in a shorter than usual timeframe. Indeed, thanks to the partnership with deep tech startup factories, ie. venture builders, corporates venturing units and other similar players, DBV will uplift the enabling environment for KETs companies by fostering “joined-up innovation ecosystems” and regional clusters

ECOSYSTEM INVESTMENT

Investment process is inclusive of all stakeholders’ ecosystem. DBV aims to build an ecosystem approach to deep tech investing, engaging from day one to the exit phase all concerned stakeholders. Case studies from across Europe highlight the value of fully “joined-up innovation ecosystems” and regional clusters, connected through systematic information exchanges, for the development and commercialization of deep technology products and services. Local innovation ecosystems enable R&Dintensive companies to benefit from positive externalities resulting from the geographic proximity of public institutions, RTOs, as well as large corporate and private sector investors

KET

Focus on KETs, as they intersect DBV target sectors. DBV is focused on investments in deep tech startups that present a high value in terms of development of Key Enabling Technologies, as they are applied to its core investment sectors. DBV will therefore carefully select its deal flow not only based on potential market applications, but also considering potential impact of KETs to each investment target industry. This approach will allow to identify in a unique fashion a better selected deal flow. AI and related software and computing technologies will receive a special attention by the DBV team, as being a domain where profound disruption is occurring

TIMING

Right time to market. starting
from now, next 5 years DBV will seize new emerging opportunities, in a favorable context given by current Italian and European governments focus on post-Covid growth. This time to market is particularly positive for a VC fund such as DBV, because it will allow to identify an interesting deal flow in its initial phase of development and to have, in a short time, the necessary push by public and private stakeholders. This will accelerate the growth phase and, doing so, will maximize DBV fund profits