A Milan-based startup just raised €12 million, locked in a major acquisition two years ahead of schedule, and is now chasing a €100 million revenue target by 2028. Cosmico is not just growing. It is quietly building one of Europe’s most ambitious future of work holding companies, and the growth numbers behind it are hard to ignore.

Fresh Funding and a Lead Investor Doubling Down

Cosmico has completed a €12 million Series B funding round led by P101 SGR, with continued support from existing investor Prana Ventures. The round combines both equity and debt, reflecting a structured approach to capital that matches the company’s multi-vertical growth model. This is not just a routine funding announcement. P101 SGR went from a previous investor to stepping in as the lead, which says a lot about their conviction. The thesis that convinced P101 from its very first investment in 2024 was that the market would reward those able to support workers and companies in constantly adapting to changing dynamics, and the results of the last two years confirmed both that thesis and the capability of the management team, which is why they decided to double down and become lead investor of the Group, said Stefano Guidotti, Partner at P101. Francesco Marino, CEO and co-founder of Cosmico Group, described the shift clearly: “Cosmico is no longer a scale-up with a single product: we have become a Future of Work holding company, with five verticals today and a growth ambition that also runs through strategic transactions like this one.”

future of work holding company Italy Spain digital talent

Why Cosmico Snapped Up Flatmates Ahead of Schedule

Alongside the funding, Cosmico made a move that nobody expected this soon. The company completed the full acquisition of Flatmates two years earlier than originally planned. Flatmates was co-founded by Michele Pagani and Marcello Ascani and applies the Talent-as-a-Service model to the creator economy across Italy, Spain and the USA. Flatmates has a roster of more than 60 clients including Ducati, NordVPN, Google, Xiaomi, Trade Republic, and Generali, and operates across four business areas: Factory for talent representation, Agency for brand and creator talent matching, Studio for original content production, and Originals for proprietary editorial channels such as FuoriBrief and Clickbait. **This acquisition is a strategic fit, not just a financial one.** A brand working with Cosmico can now hire digital professionals for a tech project and commission content creators for a campaign, all within the same group. Michele Pagani, CEO of Flatmates, welcomed the full integration. “Joining the Cosmico Group at 100% means multiplying the tools and opportunities for the creators we represent and the brands we work with. We share with Cosmico the same mission: putting talent at the centre. For us, this transaction means being able to scale even faster in Italy, consolidate our growth in Spain, and continue to produce content that tells the story of the present and anticipates the future of communication,” said Pagani.

Four Business Verticals, One Holding Company

Understanding how Cosmico is structured matters. This is not a single product company anymore. The Group’s ecosystem is now organised around four verticals: Cosmico for Talent-as-a-Service for digital professionals, Flatmates for Talent-as-a-Service for the creator economy, Creative Harbour for community-as-a-service for employee engagement, and Play New for talent process design focused on building teams of AI-augmented professionals. Unlike traditional freelancer marketplaces, Cosmico uses AI-powered managed services to match clients with talent, which is a key differentiator against larger European competitors. Here is how each vertical serves a distinct purpose:

• Cosmico Core: Talent-as-a-Service for digital professionals across Italy and Spain
• Flatmates: Creator economy talent and brand partnerships across Italy, Spain and the US
• Creative Harbour: Community-driven employee engagement for corporate clients
• Play New: Building AI-augmented “SuperAgent” teams for enterprise clients

On the competitive side, platforms like Malt and Worksome run large freelancer marketplaces across Europe, while traditional staffing firms such as Gi Group and Adecco still hold a strong presence in Italy and Spain. Cosmico stands out by focusing on mergers and acquisitions and adding new business areas that cross-sell to the same clients, rather than just increasing the number of freelancers.

The Revenue Numbers That Tell the Real Story

The growth trajectory here is not modest. Cosmico generated €24 million in revenue during 2025, representing 109% year-over-year growth. **That kind of growth in a single year is rare, and what happened in the first four months of 2026 suggests the momentum has not slowed down at all.** The company already contracted €20 million in sales in the first four months of 2026, of which €1.5 million is in Spain. The year-end target is €40 million in revenue from organic business, with three M&A deals in the pipeline expected to add further contribution, and the company’s growth trajectory points to reaching €100 million by 2028. Notable clients across the group include NTT Data, Accenture, Deloitte Digital, Huawei, Scalapay, Publicis Sapient, Capgemini, Inter, Sisal, EssilorLuxottica, Dolce and Gabbana, Levi’s, Facile.it and A2A. The company employs around 110 people in Milan and Madrid.

Three More Deals Before the End of 2026

The Flatmates acquisition is just the start. Cosmico has made it clear that M&A is central to how it intends to grow from here. The capital will support three new acquisitions expected by the end of 2026, including new business units that expand the group’s presence in the future of work sector as well as the strengthening of existing business units through competitor acquisitions. The company’s M&A strategy equally targets Italy and Spain, where the group is already organised with dedicated operating companies. What makes this approach credible is the foundation already in place. Cosmico today operates across Italy and Spain with a network of more than 35,000 digital professionals, more than 300 clients and teams based in Milan and Madrid. The ambition is direct and the CEO says it plainly. The €20 million already contracted in the first four months tells the story of a machine moving at full speed, and the €40 million from organic business is the foundation from which the company will build the €100 million of 2028. From a single product startup to a multi-vertical future of work holding company in just a few years, Cosmico has written a growth story that is difficult to replicate. The combination of strong organic revenue, a disciplined acquisition strategy, and an expanding client base of global enterprise names gives this company real momentum heading into the second half of 2026. For European digital professionals, creators, and the brands that work with them, Cosmico is positioning itself as the default ecosystem for how talent and work connect. Whether it can hit that €100 million target by 2028 will be one of the more interesting things to watch in European tech. What do you think: is Europe’s future of work market ready for a holding company model like this? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.