Exceptional launches a second 50 million fund focused on ‘Happy Longevity’

Exceptional Ventures, a venture capital fund founded by former Cisco Systems executive Paolo Pio and American guru Matt Cooper , is launching a second fund, entirely dedicated to the sectors of health, ageing and well-being. The fund aims to raise 50 million pounds, all of which will be allocated to new ‘Joyspan’ companies – a neologism coined specifically for this purpose, combining the English words lifespan (the duration of life) and joy (happiness).

In 2022, the fund launched EV Fund 1, the capital of which was fully invested in 41 cutting-edge start-ups in the United Kingdom, the European Union and the United States. The initial results were remarkable: many of the portfolio companies completed Series A and Series B funding rounds, whilst the portfolio’s total revenue doubled year-on-year. Building on this solid foundation, in September 2025, Pio and Cooper set in motion the launch of EV Fund 2, with a fundraising target of £50 million and an even more focused investment strategy centred on three areas: prevention, early diagnosis and risk assessment, as well as smarter treatments and healthcare delivery. The fund is backed by major institutional investors, including the British Business Bank and three of Europe’s leading banking foundations: Turin-based Compagnia di San Paolo (which is also the anchor investor), the Milan-based Fondazione Cariplo and the Fondazione CRC. Private investors also include Simone Cimminelli, the son of the late president of Torino FC and an entrepreneur in the automotive industry.

Europe’s population is ageing: by 2050, more than half of its citizens will be over 55. In the coming decades, an ageing continent will require an ever-increasing number of services, and this explains why the wellbeing economy will be worth nearly 10 trillion dollars by the end of the decade. Harvard University has calculated that one additional year of healthy life – that is, with people who are well and able to enjoy their old age – contributes an additional 38,000 billion dollars to global GDP. In the first half of last year, venture capital fundraising in the wellbeing sector reached $7 billion, surpassing the financial industry (fintech and cryptocurrencies).

Exceptional Ventures is a London-based organisation whose aim is to help as many people as possible around the world to live longer, healthier and happier lives. The financial and entrepreneurial concept behind Exceptional Ventures greatly appealed to John Elkann, the heir to the Agnelli family, who, as well as being the head of Exor and the Stellantis group, is also passionate about start-ups: Pio and Cooper’s fund has been invited to take part in Wave by Vento, the innovation and finance event held annually in Turin, under the umbrella of Exor.