Tech

Italy’s largest vertical SaaS round: Smartness raises €47M to scale AI operations

Italy's largest vertical SaaS round to date has been secured by Trentino-based startup Smartness, which has raised €47 million in a Series B funding round combining primary and secondary equity and debt investments. The company, specializing in B2B Software as a Service (SaaS) for hospitality businesses, will use the funds to scale its AI operations. This strategic injection will further accelerate Smartness's growth trajectory. AI-assisted, human-reviewed.

Eva H (AI-assisted) May 4, 2026 1 min read EN

Trentino-based Smartness has raised €47 million in a Series B round that combines primary and secondary equity and debt, marking the largest round ever completed for an Italian vertical SaaS company. The company provides B2B software-as-a-service (SaaS) products for hospitality businesses, covering automation in customer service, bureaucracy, day-to-day operations, marketing, accounting, and other workflows.

The round

The funding was led by United Ventures and CDP Venture Capital, with participation from Partech, which had previously invested in Smartness's €13 million Series A in 2023. This latest injection brings Smartness's total funding to over €60 million. CEO and co-founder Luca Rodella told EU-Startups that the company has already hit the €10 million revenue milestone and has the "ingredients in place" to scale toward €100 million and eventually become a €1 billion category leader.

What Smartness does

Founded in 2020, Smartness started as a dynamic pricing software company but has since expanded into CRM, property management systems, and operational AI solutions. The company now serves more than 5,000 customers across 41 countries. Smartness reports 10% organic growth each month (excluding contributions from acquisitions) and says it has grown more than 6x overall.

Competitive landscape

Smartness operates in a crowded European hospitality tech market. Several startups have recently raised significant rounds: Amsterdam-based Mews secured €255 million in Series D to invest in AI and automation across hotel workflows; German-based Nesto raised €11 million for its AI workforce management platform for restaurant groups; and happyhotel raised €6.5 million in Series A for AI agents in hotel revenue management. Total funding in the European hospitality tech space has reached €343 million.

Plans

Smartness has completed several M&A deals and states its long-term goal is to build the world's first Agentic System for hotels and vacation rentals. With this round, the company plans to further strengthen its competitive advantage by capitalizing on current demand for AI-powered operational systems in hospitality.

Bottom line

Smartness's €47 million Series B is a signal that vertical SaaS for hospitality is attracting serious capital. The company's growth metrics—10% monthly organic growth, 6x overall growth, and 5,000+ customers across 41 countries—suggest the product-market fit is real. The challenge will be executing on the agentic system vision while competing against well-funded European rivals.

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