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Andrea Romagnoli, project manager for Startup Internationalisation at Lazio Innova, identified Qatari venture capital funds and private investors as potential partners for Italy’s innovation ecosystem. Speaking on the sidelines of Maker Faire Rome, Romagnoli noted that the Lazio region excels in academic research and startup creation but faces a significant domestic capital gap for scaling ventures. He suggested that international co-investment models involving Qatari capital could address this shortfall and foster success stories with global reach. The region surrounding Rome produces strong innovation output yet local companies often cannot secure the scale-up funding required to grow.
Lazio Innova estimates place the two-year survival rate for Italian startups at only about 9 percent, according to Romagnoli. To counter this, the organisation runs public accelerators under the Spazio Attivo banner and oversees a co-investment fund valued at around €6 million. Romagnoli emphasised that facilitating foreign investment, particularly from Qatar, represents a strategic priority for the agency. Such support could help translate research excellence into sustainable businesses.
“Our goal as Lazio Innova is to facilitate investment in our region. There’s no better way than having a success story, for example, a Lazio region company which has been invested in by a VC fund in Qatar, and this company is opening a branch there and working at an international level,” Romagnoli said. The approach aims to create mutual benefits, with Italian firms gaining capital and Qatari investors accessing cutting-edge European technology. Romagnoli added that a single high-profile success could open doors for broader collaboration.
The comments arrive as Italy and Qatar expand cooperation in strategic technologies. In early October 2026 Italian Enterprise Minister Adolfo Urso met Qatari counterparts in Doha and agreed to create an operational task force with the Qatar Investment Authority to speed identification of investments in artificial intelligence, data centres, quantum computing and advanced robotics, Il Sole 24 Ore reported. The initiative followed technical talks with Italian financial institutions including FSI, Tamburi Investment Partners and SACE.
Qatari interest in Italian innovation has already produced concrete deals. The Qatar Development Bank joined a $7 million extension of a Series B round for the Milan-based AI platform Contents, an investment the bank characterised as its first direct stake in an Italian-headquartered company, Corriere della Sera noted. The funding will help Contents establish a Doha hub to serve the Middle East and expand Arabic-language AI capabilities.
Analyses of Italy’s quantum sector underscore the funding disparity that Romagnoli described. A Quantum Computing Report overview found that three native Italian quantum companies raised a combined €56 million between 2024 and 2025 while six comparable French firms secured €235 million in the same period. Qatar Science and Technology Park meanwhile launched a $30 million Tech Venture Fund in May 2026 to back early-stage deep-tech startups at home, according to Entrepreneur Middle East, signalling Doha’s parallel push into the same technology domains.
