Ti-Ventures

Empowering the high-tech path

TiVentures is a seed investment fund owned by the Fondazione Centenario Banca Stato that invests in early stage companies with innovative
technologies and high growth potential, principally in southern Switzerland. TiVentures has a diversified portfolio of companies and is mainly active
in the life science, medical, high-tech and IT sectors.

About us

TiVentures is managed by hands-on entrepreneurs
with international experience in venture-capital funded companies
in the biomedical and high-tech areas

Lorenzo Leoni
Managing partner

Lorenzo is a serial entrepreneur and founder of several biomedical companies in the US and in Europe. He has deep experience and extensive network in drug development, academic research, venture capital and strategic innovation.

Lorenzo was the founding managing director of the innovation agency of southern Switzerland (Agire) and started Agire Invest (now TiVentures). He holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from University of Lausanne and was Assistant Professor at the department of Medicine of UCSD, San Diego, working in immunology and oncology.

Paolo Orsatti
Managing partner

Paolo has many years of experience in building, advising and investing in growing technology businesses. He loves supporting founders as they build and scale their start ups.
Paolo joined Agire Invest (now TiVentures) as Managing Partner in 2011. Prior to that he founded TChip Semiconductors and NemeriX, both active in the development of integrated circuits for satellite navigation. NemeriX was acquired by Qualcomm Inc. in 2009. Paolo also recently founded Oculox
Technologies, a start-up active in the ophthalmology domain. He holds a Ph.D. Degree in Microelectronics from ETH Zurich.

Martina Cossutti
CFO

Martina has a strong financial and management background.
Martina’s unique entrepreneurial attitude and strong communications skills are essential in the operational and strategic activities of TiVenture.
She holds a Master Degree in Management and Finances at Bocconi University (Milan).

The Board of Director adds leadership and expert advice with 360 °
in growing highly successful companies

Gabriele Zanzi​

President of the Board of Directors

Head Corporate Finance and Retail, BancaStato Ticino

Sergio Magistri

Member of the Board of Directors

Founder and CEO of an exited
unicorn company

Fabio Selmoni

Member of the Board of Directors

Former head of internationalization of one of the most valuable and profitable digital company

Our Roadmap

TiVenture was born in 2016 from Agire Invest, the “investment arm” of the Fondazione Agire, the Innovation Agency of Ticino Canton that started investing in early innovative companies in 2012. Dr. Lorenzo Leoni was the founding CEO of Agire and Dr. Paolo Orsatti managed its investment activities. During the next 4 years, they invested in more than 15 early-stage companies and expanded the network of private and institutional co-investors that supported the growth of the companies. Due to the success of these activities and to allow further expansion, in 2016 the Cantonal Bank of Ticino (BancaStato, www.bancastato.ch) created the Fondazione del Centenario and acquired 100% of Agire Invest changing the name into TiVenture. Since 2016 TiVenture has operated as an independent early-stage technology investor, investing in Ticino-based companies, and collaborating with Agire, the State Government, the local Universities and contributing to the growth, diversification and innovation of the economy in the Ticino territory. Today, TiVenture represents a success story: its companies are rapidly growing, with aggregate annual revenues exceeding CHF 35 Mio (average of 30% increase annually) and a total number of employees exceeding 390, demonstrating very well the potential for economic innovation of Ticino.early-stage companies and expanded the network of private and institutional co-investors that supported the growth of the companies.

Due to the success of these activities and to allow further expansion, in 2016 the Cantonal Bank of Ticino (BancaStato, www.bancastato.ch) created the Fondazione del Centenario and acquired 100% of Afire Invest changing the name into TiVenture. Since 2016 TiVenture operates as an independent early-stage technology investor, investing in Ticino-based companies, and collaborating with Agire, the State Government, the local Universities and contributing to the growth, diversification and innovation of the economy in the Ticino territory.

Today, TiVenture represents a success story: its companies are rapidly growing, with aggregate revenues exceeding CHF 17 Mio and a total number of employees exceeding 160 and demonstrate very well the potential for economic innovation of Ticino.

2016

Agire Invest SA
becomes part of
Fondazione Centenario BancaStato changing name into TiVenture SA, 15 companies in portfolio

2017

Creation of Business Angels Club (TiVenture Club)

2017

Seed investment in Gain Therapeutics

2018

Succesfull exit from Sailogy

2018

Partial Exit 4BASES

2018

Seed investment in Delvitech SA

2018

Series A round Gain Therapeutics SA

2019

Series A round DAC System

2019

Series A round Xfarm with United Ventures

2019

IBI SA obtains European Approval for SmartBONE

2019

Overall revenues for portfolio companies >CHF10Mio

2019

Total number of employees in companies >100

2020

Succesfull exit from 99 Technologies SA

2020

Series B round Gain Therapeutics US investors

2020

Series A round Delvitech with Helvetica Partners

2020

Series A round Artificialy

2020

Total number of employees in companies >150

2020

Overall revenues for portfolio companies >CHF 17Mio

2021

Seed investment BigOmics Analytics

2021

IPO Gain Therapeutics (GANX) at NASDAQ GLOBAL

2021

Seed round Hoxell, CHF 1.2Mio

2022

Series B round xFarm, CHF17Mio

2022

Seed round Hive Power, CHF550k

2022

Series A round BigOmics, CHF1.9Mio

2022

BancaStato invests additionally CHF5Mio in TiVentures

2023
Hoxell seed funding CHF 1.0m
2024
xFarm Technologies, Series C round EUR 36m
2024
Hive Power Seed Funding of CHF 3.5m
2025
Jaipur Robotics Pre-Seed funding CHF 800k
2025
Gaia Turbine Seed funding CHF 1.1m
2025
Delvitech awarded SEF.Growth High Potential Label
2025
Gain Therapeutics starts Phase 1 clinical trials in Parkinson's Disease

Why TiVentures?

Experienced and succesful
entrepreneurs

Hands-on coaching and
mentoring

World-wide network
of experts

Specialized in early stage
investments

Swiss precision and
latin agility

Institutional
support

News

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