The Venture Codex

Participated · Series A · Aug 2026

Golgenia develops therapeutic strategies that target biological processes in the Golgi apparatus to counteract tumor growth and chemotherapy resistance. Its lead compound is being advanced toward a first pilot clinical trial following the Series A financing. The company has an expanded collaboration with Istituto Nazionale Tumori Regina Elena to explore Golgi-related biology and resistance mechanisms. Golgenia recently raised €1.5 million in a Series A round led by Creadd Ventures with participation from Indaco Venture Partners (via Indaco Bio Lombardia / Lombardia Venture STEP) and Ruby Direct Opportunity Fund SCSP. The funds are earmarked to support clinical development activities for its lead program.

Participated · Series D · Jun 2026

WISE develops implantable, stretchable electronic electrodes using its proprietary Supersonic Technology to create ultra-thin elastomeric foils that aim to improve tissue conformability, softness, adhesion and signal sensing versus rigid electrodes. Its lead product in the round, the Heron lead, is a spinal cord stimulation device designed to deliver targeted directional stimulation via a minimally invasive percutaneous implant technique and to combine the precision of paddle leads with the procedural ease of cylindrical leads. WISE also markets the WISE Cortical Strip, a soft and stretchable electrode for intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring that has CE marking under MDR, FDA clearance, and is commercially available in Europe, the U.S., and Australia. The company plans to use the Series D proceeds to complete the Heron lead’s regulatory certification pathway, fund a first-in-human study, and scale commercialization of its electrode portfolio across target markets. The company positions its technology to support higher energy efficiency, improved anatomical coverage, better neural signal sensing, and reduced lead migration. The financing coincided with governance updates, including the appointment of Laura Iris Ferro as Chairperson and the addition of Giuseppe Corvino to the board.

Participated · Equity · Feb 2026

Newcleo positions itself as the only company with an advanced project to produce nuclear fuel from recycled material and to deploy that capability in the United States. The company has built in Italy a 10 MW electrically heated demonstration machine that mirrors the complexity of a future SMR and recently installed a Fincantieri turbine. Newcleo has formed a U.S. partnership with Oklo and says recent U.S. policy changes have enabled acceleration of its U.S. plans. It is pursuing a U.S. listing via a SPAC merger to access larger pools of innovation capital. Financially, Newcleo reported approximately €209 million of existing capital and has secured €220 million in new subscriptions tied to the proposed merger, with an implied valuation of about €2.4 billion. The company plans to use the proceeds to progress licensing, move toward construction, build its American fuel facility and reactor, and advance projects in Slovakia and France.

Led · Series A · Mar 2025

Founded in 2018 as a spinout from the Cambridge Graphene Centre, CamGraPhIC develops graphene-based optical interconnect technology aimed at increasing bandwidth density while reducing latency and energy consumption versus silicon photonics. The company is part of the 2D Photonics SpA group and focuses on applications in AI accelerators, high-performance computing and data centres. Its roadmap includes industrialisation through a pilot manufacturing facility near Milan to enable device qualification, early runs and transfer to high-volume foundry processes, with the pilot line slated to be operational in 2028. The recently approved €211 million state-backed package is intended to fund that industrialisation and scale-up. The project is expected to create over 150 highly skilled jobs across photonics engineering, materials science and semiconductor manufacturing. 2D Photonics, the parent group, raised €25 million in a Series A in February 2025.

Led · Equity · Mar 2025

Valo Therapeutics develops tumor antigen-coated replication-competent oncolytic viruses as therapeutic vaccines (its lead platform is PeptiCRAd) and a microchip-based neoantigen identification tool (PeptiCHIP). The company is led by David Hinton and is focused on advancing its lead tumour antigen-coated oncolytic virus candidate through clinical development. It received €19M in funding to expand and complete a Phase 1B clinical study of that lead candidate. The financing will also fund creation of an Italian operating company, Valo Therapeutics Italy Srl, based in Naples to enroll and treat patients in Southern Italy. Part of the investment will support initiation of large-scale manufacturing of the virus-supporting product to advance development toward the commercial phase. Funds will additionally support research activities at institutions in Naples and southern Italy. Valo Therapeutics is a Helsinki-based developer of adaptable immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases. Led by CEO Paul Higham, the company focuses on antigen-coated oncolytic viruses and vaccine vectors as therapeutic vaccines. Its lead platform, PeptiCRAd (Peptide-coated Conditionally Replicating Adenovirus), was developed out of Professor Vincenzo Cerullo’s laboratory at the University of Helsinki and aims to activate systemic anti-tumor cytotoxic T-cell immunity without the need to generate multiple genetically modified viruses. Valo is developing several neoantigen strategies including PeptiCHIP, a novel microchip-based technology that rapidly identifies a tumor’s antigen presentation profile to drive personalized immunotherapies, as well as PeptiENV and PeptiVAX. The company intends to use the €2.23M EIC grant to progress a project named "Pre-clinical validation and demonstration of PeptiCHIP." The EIC award is a 100% non-dilutive grant and also provides Business Acceleration Services including coaching, mentoring, and partnering events. Valo Therapeutics develops antigen-coated oncolytic adenoviruses and adaptable vaccine vectors — its lead platform is PeptiCRAd (Peptide-coated Conditionally Replicating Adenovirus) derived from the University of Helsinki. The company is advancing its lead candidate, PeptiCRAd-1, and also develops anti-infectives platforms including PeptiBAC, PeptiVAX and PeptiENV. Proceeds from the recent financing will be used to finalise preparations and initiate a Phase 1 clinical study of PeptiCRAd-1 and to continue development of the anti-infectives programs. Valo plans to use part of the funds to support preparation for an IPO in 2022. The company reported it raised €11M in the most recent Pre-IPO funding, bringing total funding to date to over €22M. Valo is led by CEO Paul Higham and recently promoted co-founder Dr. Sari Pesonen to Chief Scientific Officer. Valo Therapeutics develops peptide‑coated conditionally replicating adenoviruses (PeptiCRAd) to turn oncolytic adenoviruses into targeted cancer vaccines without creating multiple genetically modified viruses. The company also develops PeptiENV and other neoantigen strategies in collaboration with Professor Vincenzo Cerullo to improve responses to enveloped oncolytic viruses. Its PeptiCRAd platform was developed out of Professor Cerullo’s laboratory at the University of Helsinki. Led by CEO Dr Michael Stein, Valo plans to progress PeptiCRAd into first‑in‑human clinical trials, with the initial clinical program targeting melanoma, lung cancer and triple negative breast cancer. The company has operations linked to Oxford, UK and Helsinki, Finland. Financially, the company has raised a total of over EUR 10m to date, including recent additional funding.