Smartwage Raises $2.1M to Revolutionize Corporate Welfare

Jan de Vries · 2026-04-15

An Italian startup is rethinking how companies and employees handle welfare benefits. Smartwage just closed a $2.1 million pre-Seed round, and their idea is simple but powerful: let workers spend their welfare credits anywhere, not just at a handful of approved vendors. ### The Core Problem with Corporate Welfare You've probably seen this before. A company gives employees meal vouchers or wellness credits, but they're locked into a tiny network of restaurants or gyms. If you don't like those options, too bad. And here's the kicker: over 20% of those budgets go completely unused every year. That's a lot of money that could be helping people but just sits there. Smartwage wants to change that by turning welfare into actual spending power. Instead of forcing employees into a closed ecosystem, they let people use their credits at any merchant. Think of it like a prepaid card that works everywhere your regular debit card does.  ### How the Funding Breaks Down The round was led by Step Fund, a venture capital firm managed by Alternative Capital Partners SGR. The deal includes an initial $1.05 million, with another $1.05 million committed from Step Fund. That second chunk will be released in stages based on how Smartwage's development and cash needs evolve. ### The Tech Behind the Magic Felice Cupane, Smartwage's CTO, describes their platform as a "scalable technological infrastructure." In plain English, that means they've built a system that handles regulated payments and artificial intelligence together. Their AI acts like a personal "welfare coach" for both employees and employers. It helps workers pick the best ways to use their benefits while giving companies data on what's actually working. ### Why This Matters for Companies Here's the part that gets business owners excited. According to Smartwage's press release, companies with structured welfare programs see: - Productivity jumps of up to 30% - Revenue per employee growing by 2.1% for each new service introduced - Better tax efficiency since welfare credits often have tax advantages The broader European welfare market is worth about $84 billion, which makes up nearly a third of the global market. Italy alone has a $7.4 billion market across benefits and meal vouchers, but less than half of employees are covered. ### The Human Side of the Story Michele Novelli, a partner at Step Fund, put it bluntly: "20% of corporate welfare budgets remain unused and 50% of workers still lack a dedicated plan." He called it a paradox, especially in a country where 62% of employees struggle to make ends meet. That's a huge gap that a simple, user-friendly tool can start to close. ### What's Next for Smartwage Founded in 2024 by Marco Gambardella (CEO), Felice Cupane (CTO), and Francesco Varuzza (COO), the company is still young. With this fresh capital, they plan to speed up platform development, strengthen their go-to-market strategy, and keep training their AI models. They're also getting support from Zest, an Italian pre-Seed investor, who's helping with governance and financial planning. ### The Bottom Line Corporate welfare doesn't have to be a rigid, frustrating system. Smartwage is proving that with the right mix of AI and digital payments, you can turn those unused benefits into real spending power. For employees, that means more freedom. For companies, it means happier workers and better returns on their investment.