Dedagroup Invests in Istella to Boost AI-Driven Solutions

Dedagroup, a leading Italian technology group operating internationally and accelerating the business and digitalization of more than 4,000 clients, has announced its entry into the share capital of Istella, a company specialized in data analysis and the development of generative artificial intelligence models. 

With the acquisition of an initial 39% stake and an option to increase, the transaction forms part of Dedagroup’s strategy to develop and oversee the most advanced artificial intelligence solutions to support their market adoption and help client companies (financial institutions, businesses, and public administrations) evolve toward an AI-driven model. This strategy is implemented by Dedagroup through continuous investments (over €50 million in the last year alone) and through the work of its subsidiary Deda AI. The strategy also includes constant scouting for solutions that ensure data sovereignty, algorithm transparency, and full process control. 

Founded by Renato Soru and Domenico Dato — who retain 45.4% and 14.7% of the company’s capital, respectively — Istella has built over the years a unique technological asset in the European landscape, based on a proprietary infrastructure dedicated to large-scale data collection and analysis. Over time, the system has indexed more than 6 billion web pages — about half of them in Italian — more than 4 billion social media interactions, and hundreds of millions of multimedia contents, generating a massive knowledge graph, a “map” that interconnects millions of data points and enables AI not only to understand them but also to use them more accurately.

A&O Shearman assisted Dedagroup on the legal aspects with a team led by partner Emanuele Trucco, supported by senior associate Greta Dell’Anna, associate Mara Cagnana and trainee Duccio Cangioli. Partner Livio Bossotto and associate Paolo Astarita were involved in the employment law aspects, senior associate Margherita Banfi in the intellectual property matters, and associate Arianna Fletcher in the antitrust profiles.

Studio Scozzi, with a team composed of name partner Maurizio Scozzi and directors Daniel Frizzera and Caterina De Faveri, acted as advisor to Dedagroup, handling contractual negotiations and the tax and financial due diligence.

LEAD Studio Legale assisted Istella in negotiating the transaction with a team composed of partner Giuseppe Carteni and junior partner Marcello Moreo, overseeing the preparation of the contractual documentation and all phases of the negotiation.