Founders Factory partners with Mediobanca to boost fintech investment

Founders Factory is partnering with Italian investment bank Mediobanca to launch a new fintech venture studio and accelerator.

Through its partnership with Aviva, the early-stage investor has already backed more than 50 fintechs as part of its 300-plus strong portfolio of startups, including Acre, Hammock, ClearGlass and Qumata.

In a big fintech-focused push, Founders Factory will build and invest in another 35 fintech companies over the next five years with Mediobanca’s support and a €12m investment from the bank.

“Mediobanca is one of Italy’s leading financial institutions with reach extending throughout Europe,” Founders Factory CEO Henry Lane Fox said.

“It makes them the ideal partner for Founders Factory as they recognise the importance of technology’s role in the future of financial services and the systemic change it can bring.”

The two companies are specifically looking to build, finance and launch new ventures that make use of advanced technologies like AI or blockchain.

“Combining our venture building capabilities and fintech experience with Mediobanca’s heritage, financial prowess and global ambition creates a powerful platform to back fintech founders,” Lane Fox added.

Founders Factory and Mediobanca are also launching a new accelerator programme specifically investing in and support more established early-stage fintechs both in Italy and internationally.

Through this, startups will have access to capital, Founders Factory’s network, operational support and fintech knowledge, alongside the investment bank’s commercial access.

“The systematic collaboration with some of the most interesting startups in the international market will allow us, on the one hand, to contribute to the growth of an extremely high-potential market such as fintech, and, on the other, to transform existing systems by developing distinctive and highly innovative solutions,” Mediobanca Group COO Marco Pozzi said.