25 Feb 2026Citrini’s Market, META gets OpenClaw’d, Gokul Joins Us
Diala (Vento CEO): Wave Rebrand, Dario Amodei Headliner & €75M Fund II
Diala, CEO of Vento, explains the rebrand from Italian Tech Week to Wave by Vento (October 7–9), saying the event outgrew its national framing, and announces Dario Amodei as headliner alongside names like Jony Ive and Joe Tsai of Alibaba, following past editions with Jeff Bezos and Ursula von der Leyen. She traces the event's origins to 2016, when John Elkann wanted to support Italian entrepreneurs, and early conferences featuring guests like Peter Thiel, Xavier Niel and Daniel Ek. She also details Vento's €75M second fund backing early-stage Italian founders anywhere in the world — 65 deals last year, roughly 160 portfolio companies, half outside Italy — and shares the €100 launch ticket price at wavebyvento.com.
16 Feb 2026Giorgio Chiellini joins us LIVE at the Juventus Stadium
Federico Smanio: Backing Italian Founders & Italian Tech Week
Federico Smanio joins for an impromptu chat about an Exor-backed fund that only invests when there is at least one Italian founder, with 160 portfolio companies since 2022 on a Kima Ventures-style, sector-agnostic pre-seed model. He describes kick-starting Italy's startup flywheel, organizing Italian Tech Week — with Jeff Bezos and Sam Altman among recent speakers — and plans for around 85 deals in 2026 while visiting founders in Zurich, New York, San Francisco, Paris and London.