According to Bloomberg, Italian artificial intelligence startupiGeniusCEO Uljan Sharka said on Monday that the company is seeking to raise €650 million (about $698 million) in new funding to achieve a post-money valuation of about €1.7 billion.
iGenius is headquartered in Milan, Italy, and the company has launched a product called "Italia," which Sharka describes as an open-source foundation large language model designed for use by organizations such as those in the financial services industry.
The startup has already received support for a pre-money valuation of €1.05 billion from investors including Angel Capital Management—the family office of Angelo Moratti—and Eurizon Asset Management, a subsidiary of Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo SpA. Sharka said the company is also in ongoing negotiations with other potential investors.
iGenius partners with companies including Allianz SE, Aon Plc, Enel SpA, and Intesa Sanpaolo. Sharka added that the company aims to achieve €20 million in annual recurring revenue by the end of 2024.
Italy's privacy regulator temporarily banned the use of ChatGPT in the country in 2023 due to concerns about OpenAI collecting user data. The regulator concluded in January that OpenAI violated the privacy of Italian users.
(Source:Bloomberg）