ToSeed & Partners Research
Investment Thesis
ToSeed & Partners is an Italian venture builder and investment platform dedicated exclusively to the agrifood sector, with a mission to "support innovative solutions for a better agrifood system" and "birth and shape the entrepreneurs of tomorrow." Founded in 2022 by entrepreneurs Luigi Galimberti and Giovanni Ferri and based in Siena, Tuscany, the firm positions itself as a domain-focused, hands-on partner rather than a passive capital allocator. It combines direct investing with venture-building services (technical incubation, business creation programs, and specialist network access) aimed at converting Italian university research into commercially viable agrifood and deep-tech startups.
In 2023, ToSeed became the operating and entrepreneurial partner of Farming Future, Italy's national technology transfer hub for agrifood tech, launched by CDP Venture Capital (the venture arm of Italy's state investment bank, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti) in collaboration with seven Italian universities. Farming Future has an overall target budget of roughly €20 million, with €10 million already committed by CDP Venture Capital's Technology Transfer Fund for deployment over three years. ToSeed runs scouting, due diligence, and the Technical Incubation Programme for this vehicle, effectively acting as the specialist agrifood underwriting desk for a public-private fund.
Stage Focus
ToSeed and Farming Future invest across the earliest stages of the agrifood pipeline: proof-of-concept/research-project stage (pre-institutional, spinning technology out of university labs), pre-seed, and seed. Farming Future's stated plan is to back "more than 20 technologies at the prototyping stage (POC investments) and more than 18 start-ups at the seed stage." Of ToSeed's disclosed portfolio, several companies (LEDA, Dewy, Agri-E, Impollitech) are still at "research project" stage, one (Snelix) is pre-seed, and the more mature companies (Visioning, Glutensens, Kinsect) have closed seed rounds.
Check Size
ToSeed does not appear to write large solo checks; it operates as a co-investor and scouting partner inside syndicated rounds alongside Farming Future/CDP Venture Capital and other funds (e.g., Maia Ventures, the Fund for Female Entrepreneurship, Toscana Next). Observed round sizes for companies it has backed range from roughly €600K (Saturnalia) to €1.4M (Biorsaf), implying individual ToSeed/Farming Future allocations in the low-to-mid six figures per deal. No standalone check-size range is publicly disclosed.
Lead Tendency
Ambiguous/blended. Press coverage consistently describes rounds as "guidato da Farming Future" (led by Farming Future) "con ToSeed & Partners," indicating ToSeed operates as the deal-sourcing and underwriting partner behind a lead investor identity (Farming Future) rather than leading independently under its own name. Best characterized as "both" — ToSeed effectively co-leads via the Farming Future vehicle.
Recent Activity
Farming Future/ToSeed has been steadily active through 2024-2025, with confirmed rounds in:
- Glutensens (September 2025, €1.05M seed) — food-safety biosensor for gluten detection
- Saturnalia (May 2025, €600K capital increase) — AI/satellite crop and insurance risk monitoring
- Biorsaf (March 2025, €1.4M seed) — food/water/workplace safety compliance platform
- Kinsect (December 2024, €1M capital increase) — black soldier fly insect farming technology
As of April 2025, Farming Future had completed its twelfth investment since its July 2023 launch, suggesting a steady, methodical pace rather than high-velocity deployment.
Portfolio Highlights
Confirmed portfolio/backed companies span the full agrifood value chain:
- Kinsect — scalable black soldier fly insect-protein production technology
- Glutensens — electrochemical biosensor for real-time gluten detection in food
- Biorsaf — digitized food/water/workplace safety compliance platform
- Saturnalia — AI and satellite-data platform for crop monitoring and agri-insurance
- Visioning — wastewater treatment and recovery systems
- LEDA (Leda Biotech) — sustainable duckweed cultivation systems
- Dewy — bio-based hydrogel inputs that improve irrigation efficiency
- Agri-E — cost-effective bio-fuel production from agricultural waste
- Impollitech — mechanized pollination tools for olive groves
- Snelix — indoor, de-seasonalized snail-farming systems
No exits or unicorns have surfaced yet; the portfolio is young (oldest confirmed rounds date to late 2024) and skewed toward deep-tech, hardware-adjacent, and biotech solutions rather than software.
Team
- Luigi Galimberti, Chairman — handles networking, identifies target companies, engages investors, and builds strategic partnerships, drawing on prior entrepreneurial experience across the investment lifecycle.
- Giovanni Ferri, CEO — oversees strategy and operations, manages capital deployment and portfolio monitoring, with decades of entrepreneurial experience guiding startups.
- Giacomo Preite Martinez, Principal — manages the investment lifecycle, due diligence, portfolio management, and strategic partnerships, with a financial-analysis background.
- Leonardo Paradisi, Investment Associate — sources investment opportunities and supports early-stage startup growth strategies.
- Matteo Galimberti, Investment Associate — specializes in agritech, applying agricultural domain knowledge to opportunity identification.
- Marco D'Angelo, Investment Associate — leads marketing, sales strategy, and portfolio management initiatives.
Decision Process
Small partner-led team (a Chairman/CEO pairing plus a Principal and three Investment Associates) consistent with a partnership-style decision process rather than a solo-GP or formal investment-committee structure.
Founder Preferences
ToSeed favors technical/research-originated founding teams — frequently university spinouts (e.g., Glutensens from the University of Milan) — building deep-tech and hardware-adjacent solutions for concrete agrifood problems (food safety, sustainable protein, precision agriculture, irrigation efficiency). The firm's own positioning as an ex-entrepreneur-led venture builder suggests an affinity for scientifically grounded founders who need hands-on commercialization support alongside capital.
Geographic Focus
Italy-only, with a concentration in Tuscany (headquartered in Siena) and Farming Future's university partnerships spanning multiple Italian research institutions. No evidence of investments outside Italy.