Paolo Privitera

Paolo Privitera is a seasoned technology entrepreneur and investor with over 30 years of experience. He has founded six companies and invested in more than 200 startups, raising over US$300 million from venture capitalists, limited partners, angels and private equity. Paolo holds an MBA from MIT and is known for identifying emerging technologies, building world-class teams, and executing complex fundraising and M&A transactions. In 2016 he co-founded Evensi, an AI-powered events discovery platform, and served as CEO. Over four years he helped scale Evensi to host 250 million events worldwide and raised significant growth capital. In 2020 he negotiated the sale of Evensi to Events.com and continues to serve as Executive Vice President of Corporate Development at Events.com on top on being one of the company's largest shareholder, leading M&A initiatives and global expansion. Paolo is also General Partner and Founder of 1521 Ventures, Fund of Funds and Direct VC. He joined the board of Streamplay Studio (ASX:SP8) as a non-executive director in October 2024, advising on growth and fundraising strategy. He mentors at several accelerators, including 500 Startups, Google Launchpad, Alchemist Accelerator, and Berkeley SkyDeck, and remains an active investor and advisor in the global startup ecosystem.