DIGITAL MAGICS, LAVA AND ICE TOGETHER TO PROMOTE USA INVESTMENTS IN THE ITALIAN STARTUPS

DIGITAL MAGICS, LAVA AND ICE TOGETHER TO PROMOTE USA INVESTMENTS IN THE ITALIAN STARTUPS

The incubator of innovative startups and digital scaleups partners with Los Angeles Venture Association and with the Italian Trade Agency

 

Milan, March 2, 2015 – During the Global LAVA – Italy Restarts Up, held in February 2015 in Los Angeles, Digital Magics – venture incubator of innovative startups and digital scaleups, listed on the AIM market of the Italian Stock Exchange (symbol: DM) – Los Angeles Venture Association (LAVA) and ICE –  Agency for Overseas Promotion and the Internationalisation of Italian companies – have partnered to promote and develop funding for Italian innovative startups, by major US institutional investors.

The Global LAVA – Italy Restarts Up (organized by LAVA, ITA in addition to the Italian Ministry of Economic Development and dedicated to entrepreneurs, managers, startups, business angels with a focus on international markets), involved over 60 venture capital funds and important speakers including TyltLab, Canyon Creek Capital, Global Strategic Capital Group and Digital Magics. The success and interest in this event has led to an agreement between LAVA, ICE and Digital Magics that provides for the organisation of a series of meetings, in Los Angeles and in the United States, to promote Italian innovation excellence to the US market.

Leonard Lanzi, Executive Director di LAVA, stated: “LAVA is thrilled to highlight the globalization of Start-ups. Our ‘Global LAVA’ programming focuses on ‘thinking outside the states’. The recent collaboration between the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), Digital Magics, Canyon Creek Capital, Tylt Labs and the Global Law Capital Group illustrates LAVA’s commitment to Internationally focused financing and growth of startups around the globe. Italy has always been a center of innovation and its strong startup community is note worthy”.

Carlo Angelo Bocchi, Italian Trade Commissioner – ICE Los Angeles Office, said: “Italian startups serve as the beginning of the two guiding principles of our strategy for overseas markets: to present the tips of technological and innovative excellence with a legislative and unprecedented support of incentives for American investors in Italy. Soon our Trade Agency will also set up a Department of Investment Attraction and at that point we’ll add ‘real’ companies to startups, all the ones seeking financial cooperation in order to address the international competition in a more solid fashion”.

Gabriele Gresta, Co-Founder and Board Member of Digital Magics, said: “We are very proud of having made this strategic partnership with LAVA and ICE. Our goal is to support the Italian startups in the United States and to promote ‘digital Made in Italy’ in the world. This is the first of a long series of initiatives aimed to further expand the network of Digital Magics investors in the US market, after the important relationships built with European companies and venture capitalists”.

Digital Magics – www.digitalmagics.com

Digital Magics is a certified venture incubator of innovative digital start-ups that offer content and services with a high technological value. Digital Magics is listed on AIM Italia, the Alternative Capital Market dedicated to small and medium-sized Italian enterprises with high growth potential, organised and managed by the Italian Stock Exchange. Digital Magics builds and develops Internet start-ups, working alongside their founders, investing its capital and providing acceleration services. Starting from talents and ideas, it transforms them into successful disruptive businesses in the Italian and international digital economy. The incubator promotes a culture of entrepreneurship and risk, contributing to economic growth and employment for young people. Digital Magics offers services to support the innovation, creation and development of digital start-ups, and it supports them in the search for new Italian and international private and public investors to fund the successive stages of development. The Digital Magics model is unique in Italy and is based on the Digital Magics LAB: the team that identifies, analyses and launches new initiatives, providing innovative start-ups with digital business acceleration services for company development. Digital Magics has a track record of over 40 investments in start-ups. It has achieved 7 exits, and 6 write-offs. To date, the incubator has invested approximately €16.53 million, of which 5 million comes from exits. Currently, the average investment is around €300,000.

For further information:

Digital Magics – Press Office

Giorgio Bocchieri – Mail: giorgio.bocchieri@digitalmagics.com

Tel. 02 52505202 – Mob. 334 6853078

IR Top – Investor Relations

Floriana Vitale – Mail: f.vitale@irtop.com

Domenico Gentile – Mail: d.gentile@irtop.com

Tel. 02 45473884