Turin's New Altitude launches with €200K–€400K checks for early-stage startups
What's the deal? New AltitudeDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → — Torino Scaling Platform launched on October 28, 2026, offering early-stage startups investments of €200,000 to €400,000 plus 12 months of hands-on support. It is backed by Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, Fondazione Sviluppo e Crescita CRT, and Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation CenterDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, with Neva SGRDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → as investment partner.
Who runs it? The programme is operated by Pronto Ventures, a new Torino-based venture platform founded by Martin Olczyk, who spent eight years as managing director running Techstars' European accelerator work in Berlin, Amsterdam, and Turin. Techstars shut its Italy operations in February 2026; Pronto Ventures keeps the Turin programme running under new ownership.
How it works: New Altitude invests directly into each selected pre-seed and seed startup, scaled to maturity, rather than drawing from a single closed-end fund. Pronto Ventures recommends companies and delivers the support; New Altitude's investment committee makes the final call. The target is up to 30 companies over three years.
Why now? Italian startup investment rose sharply in the first nine months of 2026, but the number of funding rounds fell — a sign that capital concentrated in fewer companies and left an early-stage gap. The platform is based at OGR TorinoDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and backs founders from Italy and abroad.
What's the endgame? The model targets growth-stage readiness, not survival capital. New Altitude frames its ambition as preparing startups for their next round with international venture and corporate investors — bridging Italian early-stage capital and the larger rounds that still mostly bypass Italy.
What backs it: Founding partners Compagnia di San Paolo and Fondazione CRT are among Italy's largest banking foundations. Neva SGR has raised roughly €600 million across six venture funds since 2020 and deployed €273 million into more than 50 companies — a deeper balance sheet than most regional platforms can claim.
The signal: Turin already has a deep-tech base and active incubators. New Altitude's significance will hinge not on the launch, but on whether its portfolio secures follow-on funding and scales beyond the region.
Read more: compagniadisanpaolo.it
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
