A2A has formed a corporate venturing arm with $78m in funding, including a commitment from Polytechnic University of Milan’s university venture fund Poli360.
Poli360, the university venture fund of Polytechnic University of Milan, yesterday made a commitment to A2A Horizon, a newly formed corporate venture capital unit of utility company A2A.
Backers further include venture capital firm 360 Capital Partners, which also manages Poli360.
A2A Horizon has a target size of €70m ($78m) and will invest in startups with strategic value to the corporate’s business.
Sectors of interest include the circular and sharing economy, artificial intelligence, blockchain-based control systems for grids and remote plant management, home automation and smart micro-mobility services.
A2A Horizon is the culmination of an innovation strategy dubbed Innova2a and launched in 2017. Innova2a consists of a team of approximately 20 staff, who seek out innovative ideas across the group and help them grow through proof-of-concepts and pitches.
To date, Innova2a has looked at hundreds of ideas, moved more than 60 forward and implemented 15 projects.
Poli360 was created in September 2018 to invest $70m in the university’s spinouts and members of its incubator PoliHub. It is the first dedicated university venture fund in Italy.
