Skip Navigation LinksMETA > Investment

​​​​​​​​​Investment: Financing Entrepreneurialism

META Investment has so far invested 100 m€ in over 100 high-growth startups across Europe.

META Investment builds customized solutions for early stage funds and has developed a unique range of public-private partnerships between business incubators & accelerators, business angels clubs, corporate ventures, regional development authorities, national governments and EU Institutions.

How we help​

Currently we manage either directly or through joint ventures a number of early stage funds across Europe. We divide these funds into three basic categories:

  • Science funds:  dedicated to creating a 'missing link' between academia and industry, providing much-needed seed capital and business counselling for academic researchers, start-up companies and potential entrepreneurs. See more: Xplorer fund and Eureka! TT Fund

  • Angel funds:  co-investment funds focused on working with Business Angels to increase the number of successful startups. See more: INGENIUM

  • Regional funds : co-investment funds specifically designed to introduce early stage venture capital in different regions across Europe. See more: INGENIUM Emilia Romagna & APERVENTURES

These are not rigid and exclusive categories, of course: INGENIUM Emilia Romagna II Fund, for example, is a Regionally-oriented Angel fund.

For more information on any of our funds, please click on the relevant links to the right 


What are Science Funds? ​

Exploit the intellectual capital of your Universities  and Research Centres.

META's Science fund category focuses on helping universities and research centres better exploit their intellectual capital and make the most from their research results. 

These funds help researchers with promising technologies to bridge the gaps preventing them reaching the market, providing:

  • Seed financing to sustain the inventors in turning patented/patentable ideas into a sellable product 

  • Intellectual Property commercialization support: helping researchers patent their research, projects and products, and take their intellectual property to market

  • better understanding of knowledge exploitation, including dedicated training programmes specifically oriented to scientists and their organisations (see Research Helicopter).

  • Knowledge exploitation and transfer services, delivered in the framework of R&D projects.


What are Angel Funds? 

Angel Funds are a co-investment fund for Business Angels Clubs and Networks, bridging the equity gap in the risk capital market which holds new innovative companies back. 

Angel Fund aims at creating a more dynamic environment for new companies. It was created based on the experience and results reached in the United States of America, The Netherlands, France, and in the United Kingdom.

  • fastest and safest way to intercept early stage investment opportunities at relatively low cost.

  • despite the fund's small size, it still allows to devote the majority of the resources to companies, as the main costs of due diligence are shared pro quota by Business Angels.

  • It offers the possibility of increasing the global investment capacity for the selected companies and the involved Business Angels, while at the same time reducing the risks taken.

The main difference between Angel Fund and a traditional capital fund is that Angel Fund invests exclusively in transactions identified by Business Angels, and by doing so, the capacity of informal investors to intercept and to evaluate interesting investment opportunities is exploited to the maximum. Thanks to its collaboration with Business Angels, an Angel Fund also strengthens the quality managerial support to companies after the investment has been made.


Regional Funds 

Regional Funds are built to increase the number of successful startups in a specific territory, favouring:

  • Growth of knowledge intensive regions;

  • Economic development;

  • Entrepreneurial culture.

Learn more about our regional funds through META Ventures' Ingenium funds. 

To learn more about Science Funds, Angel Funds, or Regional Funds, drop us a line right here.