The Cysero Euveca fund, promoted by AVM Gestioni SGR, jointly with Kilometro Rosso, a science and technology park in Bergamo, is the lead partner of a €2.6 million investment in ALBA Robot, the Italian start-up which develops a micro-mobility platform able to trasform the transportation of people within structures using fleets of self-driving vehicles, to support the development of the robotics and cybersecurity sectors. Alongside Cysero, which invested €2 million, the round featured RoboIT, the Italian National Technology Transfer Pole for robotics and industrial automation of CDP Venture Capital SGR, and Techstars, the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed.
ALBA Robot is an innovative start-up born in 2019 and specialized in the design and implementation of technologies to support people with reduced mobility, make them more independent and provide autonomous/assisted mobility solutions and services for structures such as hospitals, airports and museums. With a team of about 20 people, mostly a mix of senior engineers and under-30 talents, ALBA Robot is incubated in I3P, the Innovative Companies Incubator of Politecnico di Torino, and in 2020 was selected into the Amazon Alexa Next Stage acceleration program, organized by Techstars.
With the capital raised in this round, ALBA Robot will have the resources to complete the development of its first product for the market, the self-driving vehicle which is currently being tested at some Italian airports, and to strengthen the team from a commercial and operational point of view. Following the investment round, Cysero, RoboIT and Techstars will hold a relevant minority stake in ALBA Robot, with the rest of the company's shareholding remaining in the hands of the founders of the start-up and of a group of business angels.
“ALBA Robot embodies the prototype of the company in which we want to invest both as Cysero – as a technology transfer enabler and accelerator of the development of innovative startups – and as AVM Gestioni, the first asset management company for securities investments to become a benefit company”, states Giovanna Dossena, CEO of AVM Gestioni SGR. “Technology can and must have an important social impact on people's lives, simplifying it and contributing to a better future”.
"Kilometro Rosso's commitment to the development of Italian robotics continues", adds Salvatore Majorana, Director of Kilometro Rosso. "When we set out with AVM on the beautiful adventure of Cysero, we had a clear vision and knew that a platform like the Science Park could offer support and connections to young companies with cutting-edge technologies. With ALBA Robot, the first steps are being taken in the indoor transportation of people, a frontier that promises to change our lives for the better."
According to Luca Todesco, keyman at Cysero fund who led the team in this transaction, "ALBA Robot is one of the world's first-movers in a market that – we are sure – will grow in the years to come. Cysero fund boldly invests in technology transfer initiatives that we believe are highly disruptive in their sectors and, also on this occasion, has the privilege of leading a group of relevant investors."
Andrea Bertaia, CEO of ALBA Robot, says: "This investment made by an Italian fund such as Cysero, which is specialized in robotics and cybersecurity, together with the RoboIT National Technology Transfer Pole and Techstars, is a great recognition of the technological level we have reached and the social impact we intend to generate. The whole team is highly motivated to work on the next goals that this operation enables."
“ALBA Robot shows us how robotics can help improve people's lives, as well as make manufacturing processes and supply chains more efficient", comments Claudia Pingue, Technology Transfer fund Manager at CDP Venture Capital SGR. "This is one of the reasons why we founded RoboIT, the National Technology Transfer Cluster on Robotics and Automation, industries that have untapped potential to respond to the challenges of our time.”