MILAN, 15 April 2026 — BlackSheep SGR has been incorporated. The new independent venture capital fund manager specialising in vertical AI is established to back high-growth Italian and European technology companies. Its incorporation marks the natural evolution of BlackSheep I — MadTech Fund, a EuVECA-registered fund active for four years in AI technologies applied to marketing and advertising, announced alongside the imminent launch of BlackSheep II — Domain-Specific AI, the platform’s second fund.
Headquartered in Milan, BlackSheep SGR was established by three co-founders who also form the core of the Board of Directors: Umberto Bottesini (CEO), Marco Caradonna (Chairman), and Sandro Moretti Cane (Director), joined by Marialiliana Conte as an independent director with extensive expertise in finance and private equity.
The decision to establish an independent manager was taken with the full support of the existing investor base, which — four years after the launch of BlackSheep I — MadTech Fund — has seen the fund deliver a strong track record: 3 exits, a TVPI of 1.65x and a DPI of 0.21x — metrics placing the fund above the 90th percentile of VC funds of the same vintage year according to the latest Carta data (sample of over 2,900 funds, Q4 2025). These results have reinforced conviction in the founding team and encouraged its evolution towards a proprietary investment platform with four defining characteristics:
- A strong vertical focus on AI, Big Data and Automation sectors
- An entrepreneurial approach to venture capital, built on over 25 years of experience as founders in enterprise technology services and products, and three international exits
- A marked alignment of interests with investors, through a founding team co-investment level significantly above market average
- An international market positioning, reinforced by the management of funds with a pan-European scope
“We want to build a specialised European operator capable of supporting technology scaleups in sectors that are critical to the continent’s competitiveness, with a model that combines capital, operational expertise, and market access.”
Umberto Bottesini, CEO, BlackSheep SGR
BlackSheep II — Domain-Specific AI
The new SGR is targeting €170 million in assets under management, building on BlackSheep MadTech Fund (Fund I) and the launch of BlackSheep II — Domain-Specific AI. The second fund represents a strategic evolution: a shift from an AI-as-Optimizer model to an AI-as-Transformer model, with the aim of bringing artificial intelligence to the heart of European industry’s core operational processes.
BlackSheep II is a European venture capital fund focused on domain-specific AI applications across six data-intensive verticals:
- Finance
- Cybersecurity
- Identity, Privacy & Data Governance
- Commerce & Retail
- Media & Telco
- MadTech (the historical vertical)
The fund targets B2B companies with market-ready products, where AI is a structural driver of operational transformation and growth. Its positioning is explicitly revenue-first, operational and vertical — combining deep technological expertise with a thorough understanding of European regulation (GDPR, DSA, DMA, AI Act) and strong go-to-market execution. The approach is firmly entrepreneur-led, with the team actively supporting portfolio founders through their scaling phases, and industrial partners represented among the fund’s LPs.
A Note of Thanks
In this journey of growth and transformation, BlackSheep SGR and its founders wish to express particular gratitude to Eureka! Venture SGR and its CEO Stefano Peroncini, who supported the BlackSheep project from its very earliest stages, believing from the outset in its industrial vision and growth potential. The support of Eureka! Venture SGR was instrumental in providing a solid, competent and highly professional framework, enabling BlackSheep SGR to build its track record, consolidate its investment model, and develop the conditions necessary for its transition to an independent manager.