Rome, 20 July 2022 - Wallife, the Italian insurtech startup that protects individuals from new risks originating from technological and scientific progress in the areas of genetics, biometrics and biohacking, today announced the close of a €12 million investment round led by United Ventures, the Italian venture capital firm specialising in digital technology investments. The new round saw participation from a pool of selected Italian and international investors and business angels, including Aptafin.
With this result, the company ranks seventh in Europe in the insurtech sector by value of Series A investment round in 2022, according to Crunchbase, one of the leading global databases of financial information on private companies, particularly start-ups.
Founded in 2020 in Rome by Fabio Sbianchi and Maria Enrica Angelone, Wallife focuses on protecting individuals from new and emerging risks arising from technological innovation and scientific progress. Areas of interest include genetic manipulation (e.g. the preservation of biological material and genetic identity), biohacking (the use of technologies inside the human body, such as prostheses and implantable medical devices) and the use of digital data (such as fingerprints and facial recognition). Wallife's goal is to develop innovative insurance products for existing and unknown risks that traditional insurance has not covered.
The funding will drive the company's international growth process, the development of new insurance products, and the strengthening of the technological infrastructure. Wallife also plans to expand its team by hiring highly skilled global talent.
"We are proud of the results achieved in this second funding round and thrilled to have United Ventures at our side, who shares our vision for technology-driven innovation”, comments Fabio Sbianchi, Founder and Chairman of Wallife. "The newly secured funding will enable us to continue working on the activities that we started and will support the launch on the market of the insurance products we have been developing. Additionally, "The funding obtained will be essential to continue the research activities of Wallife's community of innovators and risk hunters and to invest in human capital, strengthening our team of professionals in Italy and abroad.”
Massimiliano Magrini, Managing Partner of United Ventures, comments: “Scientific and technological progress introduces changes in our lives at an extremely fast pace. In this context, we were attracted by Wallife's pioneering vision to build the world's first company capable of providing answers on safety and protection from emerging and unknown risks. This investment represents United Ventures' entry into the Insurtech sector, a highly innovative and fast-growing market. We believe that Fabio and Maria Enrica have the experience and ambition to scale the company internationally, investigating the new boundaries of risks originated by technological progress, linked to the very existence of the human being, biologically and digitally".
Wallife was legally assisted by the Orrick team led by Attilio Mazzilli, Head of Orrick Italy’s Tech Company department, alongside of Counsel Livia Maria Padron, Managing Associate Pietro Fazzini and Lawyer Claudia Francesca Micol Cirinà, while United Ventures was advised by EY Tax & Legal, acting with a team supervised by the M&A and private equity leader Partner Renato Giallombardo and coordinated by Senior Manager Luca Spagna and Manager Annachiara Mastellone.
About Wallife
Wallife is the first company in the world that provides answers on the safety and protection of the individual from unknown risks, which to date operates in three research areas (Biometrics, Genetics, Biohacking). Wallife’s goal is to protect the individual throughout their life and beyond. Studying the changing landscape, given the incremental potential of science and technology, Wallife investigates the new risks, problems and criticalities to which humans could - or may - be exposed. Areas of solid interest include genetic manipulation, biohacking and the use of digital data. In addition to investigating new and emerging risks, Wallife also aims to develop innovative insurance products to address existing and known risks that are not covered by currently available offers.
About United Ventures SGR SpA
United Ventures is an independent Venture Capital firm. Since 2013, it has partnered with over thirty technology startups, supporting their growth and international expansion process.
For more information visit www.unitedventures.com
UV2's investment in Wallife is participated by United Ventures II Lazio, a closed-end Italian reserved alternative investment fund (AIF) co-financed by the Region of Lazio through the FARE Lazio fund of funds - LAZIO Venture section managed by Lazio Innova S.p.A., as part of the programme to encourage investments in the venture capital of start-ups and SMEs through the POR FESR 2014-2020. United Ventures II Lazio co-invests alongside the UV2 fund in entrepreneurial projects based in the Lazio region with technological solid innovation potential.