Founder mafias · Italy

Former employees of 26 Italian companies have founded 591 startups

Each dot is a startup, placed at its founding year: based in Italy, or abroad with a founder who studied at an Italian university. Logos mark startups valued at $100M or more and selected founder stories. A line links a startup to its own row.

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Source: Dealroom.co, October 2026. Counts founders who worked at the company (a team listing without a title counts) and started the new company after leaving. A startup is a company Dealroom classes as a startup or that has recorded funding; investment firms are excluded. 2026 is to date.