Moonstone Fund Research
Investment Thesis
Moonstone is a Milan, Italy-based venture capital firm founded in May 2023 by Jacopo Mele and Chiara Castelli. The firm's stated mission is "unleashing human potential to transform our future," built on the belief that individuals have the transformative power to drive systemic change. Moonstone backs pre-seed and seed founders "addressing humanity's most critical challenges over the next 30 years," and describes itself as sector- and geography-agnostic, though its actual portfolio skews heavily toward ClimateTech, Healthcare, DeepTech, and Digital.
Stage Focus
Moonstone invests exclusively at Pre-Seed and Seed stage. Public sources describe the fund's model as backing a very large number of very early companies rather than concentrating capital: reporting from 2024 noted the firm had already invested in roughly 30 startups in its first year and aimed to close about 120 investments over four years, with a stated goal of supporting up to 60 startups per fund vintage.
Check Size
Typical checks are small, in the $10,000-$50,000 range per investment (consistent with third-party investor-database listings). This spray-style approach is consistent with a syndicate/scout model rather than a traditional lead-investor fund.
Lead Tendency
Given the small check sizes relative to typical pre-seed/seed round sizes, Moonstone appears to write follow-on/participation checks alongside other investors rather than leading and pricing rounds itself.
Recent Activity
Third-party trackers (Tracxn, as of an April 2026 snapshot) describe Moonstone as an active investor with roughly 36 portfolio companies and 6 new investments in the trailing 12 months, indicating the fund continues to deploy steadily rather than having gone dark. In July 2024, Moonstone announced an expanded Board of Directors, adding Vittorio Tatangelo, Eleonora Mantovani, and Lodovico Sella alongside co-founders Jacopo Mele and Chiara Castelli, a signal of the firm professionalizing its governance as it scaled deal volume.
Portfolio Highlights
Moonstone's portfolio spans more than 40 companies across four internal categories it uses on its own site: ClimateTech, Healthcare, DeepTech, and Digital. Notable names include Cubbit (EU decentralized cloud storage infrastructure), Rubedo Life Sciences (AI-driven longevity biotech), Hephaestus Technologies (AI tools for nuclear fusion reactor design), Clerkenwell Health (psychedelic-assisted therapy clinical trial infrastructure), Kelpi and Jiva Materials (seaweed- and biomass-based alternatives to fossil-fuel plastics and e-waste materials), Limenet and CyanoCapture (ocean and synthetic-biology carbon capture), and BE Therapeutics (iPSC-based engineered brain tissue). The firm's own portfolio page flags InSilicoTrials and an unnamed stealth self-healing-concrete startup as having reached an "Exit," and LessCO2 as a "Write Off," though no further public detail on either outcome was found during this research pass.
Team
- Jacopo Mele - CEO, General Partner, and Co-Founder. Chairman of the board; widely described in Italian press and podcasts as the public face and visionary behind the firm.
- Chiara Castelli - Co-Founder, Dealflow Manager, and Board Member. Recognized on a Forbes 30 Under 30-type list per her own public profile; sources sourcing and evaluating deal flow for the firm.
- Vittorio Tatangelo - Portfolio Manager and Board Member (joined the board mid-2024). Supports portfolio companies and works closely with founders post-investment.
- Alessandro Pugliese - Administrative Officer, managing the firm's operational and back-office processes.
- Eleonora Mantovani - Board Member (joined mid-2024). Former Principal at PROfounders Capital and co-founder of investment syndicate Elementary, bringing outside VC operating experience to governance.
- Lodovico Sella - Board Member (joined mid-2024), providing additional governance and strategic direction; also active as a startup co-founder in his own right.
Decision Process
Investment decisions run through a partnership structure headed by Jacopo Mele as General Partner, with Chiara Castelli driving dealflow, Vittorio Tatangelo overseeing the existing portfolio, and a Board of Directors (Mantovani, Sella, Tatangelo alongside the co-founders) providing governance oversight, consistent with a firm that has scaled beyond a single-GP structure.
Founder Preferences
Moonstone's public messaging emphasizes backing "visionary" and "ambitious" founders tackling large, systemic problems (climate, health, deep tech) rather than incremental consumer or software plays, and the firm explicitly invites founders to apply directly via an open online application form in addition to proactive sourcing.
Geographic Focus
While Moonstone describes itself as investing "regardless of geography," the realized portfolio is concentrated in Italy, the UK, and the US, with additional companies in Germany, Spain, France, Sweden, and Norway - consistent with a Milan-headquartered fund with a pan-European plus transatlantic reach.