Tech investments and potential of the secondary market with Alberto Chalon

Alberto Chalon has gained over 20 years of experience in the venture capital sector and specializes in investments in digital technologies.
Among his most successful operations as a professional and investor stand out Deliveroo, SumUp, Lyst and Stepstone, but in the world of innovation he also stood out for being one of the founders of the Qwant search engine in which the Axel Springer group invested, EIB and the French Cassa Depositi e Prestiti.
With experience as an investor and entrepreneur, Alberto Chalon is clear about the dynamics that drive the growth potential of tech companies and in the autumn of 2020 he created the Giano Capital fund with the aim of investing, mainly through secondary transactions, in startups that generate at least 30 million euros in revenues in the digital and technological space.
The Money.it editorial team interviewed him at the 0100 Conference Mediterranean after his speech on the focus «Unlocking Value in Single Asset Secondary Late-Stage Investments».
read also 0100 Conference Mediterranean: appointment in Rome for private equity and venture capital With artificial intelligence becoming an increasingly protagonist in various sectors, what is the state of investments in technology in Italy and Europe? Investments in technology are growing steadily both in Europe and in Italy; however, we still face a significant gap compared to the United States.
In Europe there are several structural inefficiencies that currently prevent us from closing this gap.
As for Italy, despite the significant efforts made in recent years by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), we are still significantly behind Germany and France.
Artificial intelligence is a sector in which the United States has invested billions of dollars, thus marking its dominance in this field.
Also for this reason, most of the opportunities related to artificial intelligence are currently linked to North America.
What is the state of the art of Italian technological start-ups and what are the major critical issues they face? The Italian digital ecosystem has experienced notable growth in recent years.
The primary challenge now is to position ourselves competitively not only at a national level, but also at a European level, in order to reach a relevant dimension in the digital field and, ultimately, to generate exits of significant value.
To achieve this goal it is necessary to seek foreign capital, attract talents that are not only Italian in order to broaden skills.
What is the potential of the secondary market between now and the next few years at a European level? The direct secondary market in venture capital in Europe has become a unique opportunity to invest in profitable, high-growth companies that are still private, with the aim of achieving an exit within 3-4 years, offering very attractive returns with “private risk”.
equity and return from venture capital”.
This opportunity manifests itself thanks to a series of factors, such as high interest rates which reduce the liquidity available for an exit, however there are shareholders who need to sell, both for personal reasons in the case of managers, and for professional reasons in the case of funds or business angels, creating a window in which, if able to carefully select the companies in which to invest, very high returns can be obtained.
read also Artificial intelligence, a revolution that began with the voice The secondary market in an advanced stage is the best opportunity to seek high returns similar to those of medium and long-term investments with limited risk, similar to that of private equity, and yes will establish itself as a new growth market among early-stage private companies and public markets in the coming years.