Thanks to the transaction, which also saw participation from United Ventures, Futura accelerates its growth and internationalization path and aims to become the next Italian unicorn.
Milan, Paris, London, Madrid, April 30, 2024 - Klecha & Co. an independent pan-European investment bank specializing in the tech sector, assisted Eurazeo and Axon Partners Group as financial advisor in the investment in Futura, an Italian company leading in AI-based digital education solutions.
Eurazeo, a leading European investment group, led the €14 million Series A round. Axon Partners Group, a global investment and consulting firm, and United Ventures, a venture capital firm, also invested alongside Eurazeo.
With the new capital, Futura aims to expand across Europe, further invest in its technology and AI systems, and develop new lines of business, with the goal of accelerating its development path to become the next Italian unicorn. Futura aims to establish itself as the largest European EdTech company within the next 5 years, aiming to support 100,000 individuals in AI-enabled learning, with a team that will double in size over the next year, mainly in Italy and Spain.
Founded in 2020 by Andrea Chirolli, Francesco Salvatore, and Lorenzo Pinto, Futura has developed an algorithm that personalizes and optimizes students' learning paths, replicating the experience with a highly qualified private tutor. The use of such systems has yielded impressive results, with students having a 3.5 times higher chance of passing tests. Since raising €1.8 million in 2022, Futura has experienced strong growth, with revenues tripling every year, while achieving profitability.
"The global value of the EdTech sector exceeds $300 billion, of which around 70 billion generated in Europe, and it still constitutes only 4% of the global education market. These numbers show the tremendous potential of further growth of EdTech, a high-potential sector that I am convinced will attract increasingly more investments, essential for technological development, the evolution of education and training, and the creation of a solid ecosystem, especially in Europe", commented Stephane Klecha, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Klecha & Co. "We are therefore particularly pleased to have contributed to the largest investment round in Italian EdTech, an operation that will contribute to Futura's fast development and international growth, transforming it into a key player in Europe and the next Italian unicorn."
In a recent Insight Report by Klecha & Co. dedicated to EdTech, it is highlighted that approximately €30 billion has been invested in the sector in Europe over the last 5 years, with €8 billion from venture capital. Nowadays there are over 12,000 EdTech companies operating in Europe across various technological segments such as hardware, software, and content. The ecosystem appears to be still fragmented and, according to Klecha & Co., will continue to attract not only growing investments but will also undergo significant consolidation. By November 2023, deals in the European sector had reached a value of $11 billion, up from $9 billion in 2022.