Simest, the internationalisation arm of Italy's Cassa Depositi e Prestiti group, has opened a €200 million financing facility to accelerate artificial intelligence adoption among Italian small and medium-sized enterprises. Applications opened on September 21, and the move is one of the most concrete state-backed commitments to AI investment Italy has made to date.
Europe has a well-documented gap in digital transformation spending compared to the United States and China. Italy sits near the bottom of that European gap, and the Simest facility is a direct attempt to close it, at least for the SME segment that drives most of the country's industrial output.
€200 Million Earmarked for Artificial Intelligence
The fund is designed to push Italian SMEs into AI investment. According to the Artificial Intelligence Observatory at Politecnico di Milano, Italy's AI market reached €1.8 billion in 2025, a 50% increase on the 2024 figure. Yet only 8% of small and medium-sized businesses had launched even a single AI project by the end of that year, against 71% of large Italian corporations. That 63-point gap is precisely what the Simest facility is designed to address.
The importance of closing this divide has been signalled at the highest European level. Ursula von der Leyen referenced digital competitiveness and AI positioning in her State of the Union address in mid-September, delivered as the European Commission resumed work after the summer recess. Simest's timing was deliberate: applications opened the same week.
Financing Structure, Terms, and Conditions
The total envelope is €200 million, with 10% of each intervention structured as a non-repayable grant. The loan component carries preferential interest rates over an eight-year term. Approved applicants can receive an advance of up to 50% of the financed amount within a short processing window, which matters for companies that cannot sustain long capital-deployment delays.
The facility draws on the Revolving Fund 394/81, managed by Simest in agreement with Italy's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The non-repayable portion distinguishes this scheme from a standard development loan and makes it genuinely attractive for companies with limited balance-sheet headroom.
Access requires registration on the Simest portal at simest.it. The AI investment window sits within the broader Digital and Ecological Transition instrument. Once logged in, businesses can apply through the new AI Investments section, which was activated alongside the September 21 opening date.
The State of AI Adoption in Italy
The numbers from the Politecnico di Milano Observatory frame the challenge clearly. As of December 31, 2025, there were 1,010 Italian companies on record as offering AI solutions or services. Most of these are startups focused on vertical applications in specific sectors, with healthcare and fintech leading the way, alongside office automation and business support tools.
The divide between large corporations and SMEs is stark. Large Italian firms have moved quickly: 71% had at least one active AI project by year-end 2025, according to Politecnico di Milano data. SMEs, which account for roughly 99% of Italian businesses by count, sit at just 8%. That figure has not shifted materially for two consecutive years, which is why targeted public financing is entering the picture now.
An estimated 84% of large companies based in Italy had purchased licences for generative AI tools produced outside Europe by the end of 2025, a 31% year-on-year increase. The practical consequence is that Italy's AI spend is currently flowing predominantly to US platforms rather than building domestic or European capability. For British and US readers familiar with similar debates around AI sovereignty, the dynamic maps closely to discussions around cloud concentration and GDPR-driven data localisation.
If the Simest facility achieves the uptake its architects are targeting, all the percentages above should shift noticeably within two to three years. SME participation in AI adoption could move from single digits into the teens or beyond. More ambitiously, sustained investment at this scale might finally create conditions for European-origin AI products to compete in sectors where Italian industry already holds a comparative advantage, from precision manufacturing to agri-food. The €200 million is not a solution by itself. But for thousands of Italian SMEs currently locked out of AI investment by cost and complexity, it is a meaningful first step.
