28 June 2021

BG4Real: a new investment to support innovation

We are stepping up our commitment to supporting Italian businesses by participating in the growth process of one of Italy’s most interesting AI companies.

Through the 8a+ Real Innovation fund, the investee management company 8a+ Investimenti SGR is acquiring an interest in Datrix, a company that operates in the fields of Augmented Analytics and Machine Learning, developing proprietary solutions for businesses.

The transaction involved the 8a+ Real Innovation fund as lead investor subscribing for a €2 million share of the total capital increase of €2.5 million and we acted as advisor to the management company with the goal of which is to finance Datrix’s ambitious growth plan to be developed in the coming months according to both an organic and non-organic approach.

Our Head of Equity Private Investments Maria Ameli commented: “We are pleased to have contributed to supporting Datrix in this development process, which we hope may lead Italy to play a leading role in the major global challenges relating to digital evolution, such as fintech, machine learning and monetisation. Datrix’s strength lies in its nature as a digital-native company capable of combining the technological expertise of its professionals with a natural focus on sustainability elements that are integrated into its business model and range of services. These are all reasons for which this is a target company in line with our BG4Real project and that allow us to increase the quality of the fund portfolio in which our customers are able to invest”.

“We are delighted to work with Banca Generali and 8a+ Investimenti SGR, which have an extensive network of national and international relationships that are fundamental to robust, lasting, long-term growth. Today, our great challenges are expansion on foreign markets with a particular focus on the United States and Northern Europe and the extension of the customer base to SMEs, including through strategic acquisitions of tech companies with businesses complementary to our current operations. We want to ensure that Italy is known not just for fashion and food, but also for advanced digital technology with a direct, substantial impact on the returns of the companies that adopt it,” stated Fabrizio Milano d’Aragona, Co-Founder and CEO of Datrix.

Private Banking for the Real Economy

Launched in June 2020, BG4Real is our investment instrument programme to bridge the gap between private investors and the real economy. The project has a twofold objective: on the one hand, meeting households’ needs to seek out value in long-term investments, and, on the other, meeting the growing demand for credit and private capital from businesses and the economic system.

To identify the most interesting and deserving investment opportunities in Italy and Europe, we created an ecosystem of partnerships with research centres, venture capital funds and companies that is capable of promptly identifying trends and changes.