Milan's DeepTree raises €2M to build AI for private markets
What's the deal? DeepTree, a Milan-based startup building an AI-powered intelligence platform for private markets, has closed a €2M seed round led by CDP Venture Capital through its Digital Transition fund. International strategic private investors also participated.
Founded in 2024 by Lorenzo Ferretti and Claudio Arione, DeepTree offers a natural-language interface that unifies financial filings, ownership data, and M&A activity. Investment banks, PE funds, M&A boutiques, and wealth managers use it to screen targets, analyse companies, and build buyer lists faster. More than 100 clients already use the platform.
The fresh capital will fund product development, hiring, and the company's first international push — starting with a London office in the second half of 2026.
Why now? Private markets dealmaking still relies heavily on manual research across fragmented data sources. As AI tools mature, firms handling M&A workflows are under growing pressure to adopt automation or fall behind competitors that move faster on deal sourcing and due diligence.
DeepTree plans to scale its team from 14 to roughly 20 people and double its client base by year-end. Its roadmap includes deeper coverage of European jurisdictions and new modules for portfolio monitoring and buyer discovery.
What could go wrong? The AI-for-finance space is getting crowded. Larger incumbents with deeper pockets — from Bloomberg terminals to specialised fintech players — could build or acquire similar capabilities. DeepTree will need to prove its data coverage and accuracy are strong enough to win trust from institutional clients that demand precision.
Expanding from Italy to London also brings regulatory and competitive complexity. The UK market is home to established financial data providers, making differentiation critical.
The signal: CDP Venture Capital's backing reflects growing institutional confidence in European AI startups tackling vertical enterprise problems rather than building general-purpose models. The deal fits a broader pattern: investors are betting that the real value in AI lies not in foundation models but in domain-specific applications layered on top of them.
For private markets — a sector long resistant to digitisation — AI-native tools like DeepTree signal that even the most relationship-driven corners of finance are starting to embrace automation.
Read more: deeptreeai.com
