Milan, Italy · Venture Capital Founded in 2016 by Davide Turco, Elizabeth Tosto, Antonella Grassigli, and Alvise Bonivento, Indaco Venture Partners SGR is Italy's largest independent venture capital management company, with over €350 million in assets under management across six funds. The firm specialises in proprietary-technology companies at Series A and B, with deep expertise in electronics, robotics, medtech, advanced materials, and digital sectors. Notable portfolio companies include Newronika (adaptive deep brain stimulation), Sibylla Biotech, Almawave, and Codasip; exits include Silicon Biosystems and Directa Plus. Indaco's differentiated focus on hardware-intensive and science-driven startups sets it apart from Italy's mostly software-focused VC landscape.
Osijek, Croatia · Startup Orqa is an Osijek-based hardware company that builds high-performance FPV (first-person-view) goggles, video transmission systems, and drone software used by professional drone racers, industrial inspection teams, cinematography crews, and — increasingly — military users in Ukraine and elsewhere who need low-latency remote flight at scale. The company's flagship FPV.One family of goggles became a reference product in the high-end racing scene for its micro-OLED displays, refresh rates, and firmware openness, and the team has since expanded into digital HD video links and open FPV platforms. Orqa runs a full electronics design and manufacturing operation out of Slavonia, which is unusual in a region better known for software, and has become a visible example of defense-and-dual-use hardware built on a European open supply chain. For the directory it rounds out Croatia's industrial-tech picture alongside Rimac's automotive deep tech and Infobip's telecom infrastructure.
Manchester, United Kingdom · Person Thomas Anthopoulos is a professor at the University of Manchester specialising in printed and large-area electronics, semiconductors and optoelectronic devices for energy and sensing applications. He is a keynote speaker at NANOTEXNOLOGY 2026 in Thessaloniki.