Bologna sets pace in Europe’s tech race with record investor–founder meetings

Bologna has cemented its place in Europe’s tech landscape, with the third edition of The Bologna Gathering closing on a record 1,000 investor–entrepreneur meetings in under eight hours, as €39bn-backed venture funds, scale-ups and corporates converged to chart the future of Italian and European innovation

More than 1,000 one-to-one meetings were held between investors, founders and corporates in less than eight hours as The Bologna Gathering wrapped up its third edition, reinforcing the city’s claim to be one of Europe’s leading innovation hubs.

The international investor conference, held on 17–18 September, brought together 300 decision-makers from across Europe, the Americas and Asia, with participating venture capital and private equity funds managing over €39bn in assets. 

Scale-up founders and unicorns from more than ten sectors including AI, cybersecurity, fintech and space joined executives from corporates including Leonardo, Intesa Sanpaolo and Fincantieri.

Many set out competing priorities for Europe’s technology sector, underscoring the pressure on the continent to retain talent, attract capital and nurture risk-taking ventures as it seeks to narrow the gap with the U.S and Asia.

Alec Ross, the technology policy adviser and entrepreneur, said Europe risked losing ground unless it could match the salaries and equity incentives on offer elsewhere. Luca De Angelis, chief executive of the Tech Europe Foundation, called for “patient capital” to support disruptive innovation, while Massimiliano Pellegrini, head of Italian software group Namirial, stressed the need for founders to remain agile in the face of shifting markets.

Alessandro Scortecci, chief investment officer at CDP Venture Capital, said European investors needed to give greater visibility to domestic successes and treat channeling funds into venture capital as a strategic priority rather than a discretionary choice.

The event also brought a major announcement from IT4LIA AI Factory, which pledged more than €400m over three years for a Bologna-based supercomputer dedicated to artificial intelligence. The facility will provide free access to GPUs and specialist expertise, including for start-ups and early-stage projects.

The programme was staged across Bologna’s landmark venues, from the Salaborsa Library to Bologna Business School and Palazzo De Rossi. Organisers said the choice of venues was intended to underscore the city’s ambition to anchor itself as a hub for innovation and international investment.

Vincenzo Colla, Vice President of the Emilia-Romagna Region, said: “These two days of work and meetings with top-tier investors confirm that our region is increasingly recognised as an attractive ecosystem and one of Europe’s foremost hubs of innovation.

“The more than 1,000 meetings testify the maturity of this ecosystem and its ability to connect the best talents, the most disruptive ideas, and international capital.”

The Bologna Gathering was organised with the support of CTE COBO and was co-founded by ART-ER, the Municipality and Metropolitan City of Bologna, and the Emilia-Romagna Region. Partners included the Houses of Emerging Technologies, the BI-REX Competence Centre and IT4LIA AI Factory.

READ MORE: ‘The coolest city in Italy you’re not visiting‘. Far from the selfie-stick swarms of Venice or Florence, Bologna has quietly held onto something the rest of Italy risks losing: authenticity.

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_{Main photo: Speakers on stage at The Bologna Gathering debated the future of Italian and European tech, with investors and founders setting out competing priorities for growth. Credit: The Bologna Gathering}