Qomodo, the Italian fintech that brings digital payment solutions, including the buy now pay later (BNPL) formula, to shops, raises new capital 12 months after its commercial launch and its 34.5 million pre-seed phase. Founders Gianluca Cocco and Gaetano de Maio, Entrepreneurs who returned to Italy after developing several international ventures, announce the closing of the EUR 13.5 million Series A round.
The deal is led by RTP Global, an international early-stage venture capital fund making its first investment in Italy, and LMDV Capital as co-lead investor. Also participating are Proximity Capital and Primo Capital, already investors in the previous round. Also part of the investment are the founders of Faceit (Niccolò Maisto and Michele Attisani) Fiscozen (Vito Lomele) and Smartpricing (Luca Rodella). Davide Fioranelli (co-founder Freetrade) also reinvests with the Lumen Ventures fund. These names join those of Italian industrial families such as Elkann-Agnelli, Berlusconi and Moratti who entered with their own family offices that supported Qomodo in the first pre-seed round, and are now joined by Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio.
Significant is the presence of RTP Global, a fund that has invested in many future unicorns in the past, from Delivery Hero and Datadog to SumUp and Qonto, and which is investing in an Italian company for the first time. Also fundamental was the synergy with LMDV Capital, with whom a new cash injection was agreed to accelerate growth at a time when Qomodo was not looking for new investors on the market.
Within a few months, Qomodo gained the trust of national and international investors by raising a total of EUR 48 million, of which EUR 18 million in equity and EUR 30 million in credit facilities.
With this operation, Qomodo will be able to develop the next phase of growth, which includes: the addition of new products to create an ecosystem of solutions that meet the needs of physical merchants to become the point of reference for the management of all customer administration processes; the implementation of new artificial intelligence applications to increase scalability and support thousands of merchants throughout Italy; and the attraction of new tech talent to join the workforce, which is fundamental to the development and growth of our services and technologies.
From the commercial launch in November 2023 to the settlement of this investment round, just over 12 months have passed. During this time, Qomodo has achieved the following milestones: more than 500% growth in customer base; Qomodo has experienced exponential growth, quadrupling its customer base in less than a year. Today, more than 2,500 physical merchants in Italy rely on Qomodo for their payment solutions; comprehensive product suite, 20% of Qomodo’s customers use both BNPL and smart point-of-sale (POS) services, which simplify payment processes and reduce financial risks for small businesses; next-generation solutions, Qomodo’s buy now pay later (BNPL) product has transformed the way merchants interact with their customers, enabling interest-free, flexible instalment payments. This solution has proven particularly useful for consumers facing unexpected expenses, such as veterinary bills or large purchases, while reducing credit risk for small businesses.
Gianluca Cocco, CEO and co-founder of Qomodo (pictured here with the team) says in a note: “The experience gained abroad in the creation and development of international start-ups prompted us to return to Italy to provide a concrete response to the needs of micro enterprises. The smarter and more flexible management of cash, payments and collections through digital technologies. This transaction shows that in addition to our customers, which have increased fivefold in just 12 months, investors also recognise Qomodo’s enormous potential. This support is the result of the confidence and dynamism of the Italian investor ecosystem and, as the entry of RTP Global and LMDV testifies, also of the growing interest of international investors in the Italian market’.
“In little more than 12 months we have raised over EUR 48 million,” added Gaetano de Maio, COO and co-founder of Qomodo, “a real record, driven by the strong need for innovation that the Italian market now demands: i.e. digital payments and BNPL. Today, we support over 2,500 affiliated physical businesses, entrepreneurs and professionals, handling millions of euros in transactions every month. In particular, our solution enables physical shops to take advantage of innovative payment solutions, offering benefits that were previously reserved only for the online world. At the same time, it allows consumers to complete both essential and unavoidable purchases as well as services that they would otherwise not have been able to obtain, thanks to flexible payment options and BNPLs offered directly by their merchant of choice, with a response that arrives in 45 seconds at most. This new financing will allow Qomodo to continue to bridge the gap between online and physical retail with a smart, integrated payment system that enables physical merchants to offer their customers the same convenience and flexibility as the e-commerce giants.
Louis Dussart of RTP Global, comments “The Italian market has been waiting for a B2B fintech champion. There are huge development opportunities for Qomodo, given the size of the domestic market and the fact that it is mostly made up of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. The founders’ extensive experience in introducing international scale-ups in Italy puts them in an ideal position to conquer this market. We are excited to accompany them at every stage of their success by offering our experience as RTP Global in supporting market leaders and by supporting some of the largest Italian families with this investment, the first one we make in Italy.
Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, Chairman of LMDV Capital concludes: ‘We are thrilled to announce this investment, a step that represents not only an important strategic operation, but also a tribute to the talent and excellence of Made in Italy. We have closely followed Gianluca and Gaetano’s journey from the beginning, admiring their ability to transform an idea into a concrete project, able to validate the product in record time and scale the business with determination and vision. The decision to co-lead this round with RTP Global, one of the most respected international funds, underlines our philosophy: to identify and support Italian champions, local realities that not only reflect the excellence of our country, but also have all the credentials to become protagonists on the global stage. With Qomodo we are not just investing in a promising enterprise, but in a model that combines innovation, quality and the best of Italian ingenuity. This is our commitment: to enhance national excellence, to support them in their growth, and to accompany them in bringing the prestige and authenticity of Made in Italy to the world.”
Qomodo’s shareholders include RTP Global, LMDV Capital, Fasanara Capital, Proximity Capital, Primo Capital, other Italian family offices and institutional investors, such as Exor Ventures, Ithaca Investment, Lumen Ventures, The Techshop, Alecla7; Notion Capital, Octopus Ventures and Plug and Play Tech Center, which will support the growth of the fintech alongside private angel investors: Mark Ransford, Luca Ascani, Attilio Mazzilli, Simone Mancini (Scalapay), Benedetta Arese Lucini, Kai Hansen (Lieferando), Stiven Muccioli (BKN301), Freddy Kelly (Credit Kudos), Christer Holloman (Divido), Raffaele Terrone (Desia), Andrea Gennarini and Pietro Invernizzi.
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