Francesco Fontana holds a PhD studying venture capital itself, has published research on social impact venture capital and on blockchain's long-term effects on business and society, and at Neva SGR he focuses on climate and life science breakthroughs like geothermal, fusion, energy storage, and grid technology, while serving as Reference Person for the Neva II Parallelo Lombardia Fund and speaking on panels like one at the Italian Chamber of Deputies. Outside of work, he is training his Golden Retriever, Crêpe, to become a rescue dog.
About their Fund
Neva SGR is a venture capital fund backed by Intesa Sanpaolo that connects Italian entrepreneurs to global investors and helps international founders enter Italy's industrial and scientific network, drawing on the bank's connections to help portfolio companies with customer introductions, coaching, governance, fundraising, and debt access, while also running a separate fund that invests in the infrastructure of the startup ecosystem itself and a Lombardy-focused fund for cleantech companies with proven technology. It focuses on companies already generating at least €5M in revenue in fields like life sciences, energy, digital transformation, and aerospace, has built a portfolio spanning areas such as fusion energy, quantum computing, and biotech, and offers access to its funds to both institutional investors and, through Fideuram and Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking, private banking clients.
















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