Italy startup ecosystem
Italy's startup ecosystem is gaining momentum, led by Milan's fintech and fashion-tech clusters and a growing community in Rome. Strong design heritage, a large domestic market, and increasing government incentives for innovation — including tax credits and the Italian Startup Act — are helping founders overcome historically fragmented capital markets. The directory currently lists 65 organisations across 18 cities.
Showing 1–20 of 65 Italy
Cities in Italy
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Italy results
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4th International Summit on Non-Renewable and Renewable Energy (ISNRE2026)
The 4th International Summit on Non-Renewable and Renewable Energy (ISNRE2026), held on August 24-25, 2026 in Venice, brings together researchers, industry experts, policymakers and innovators around energy transition, renewable technologies, smart grids, storage and sustainability. The programme spans around 30 scientific sessions with plenary talks, keynotes, technical presentations and networking. Submitted via the site suggestion form.
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AI Week 2026
Billed as Europe's largest AI event, at Fiera Milano Rho with 700+ speakers, 250+ AI exhibitors, and 25,000+ attendees. Strong for founders selling AI tooling into enterprise and meeting corporate innovation buyers.
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AI*Festival
Organizer of Italy's AI*Festival, an annual event hosted at Bocconi University in Milan bringing together AI researchers, startup founders, and industry leaders. The festival features keynotes, panel discussions, and demos exploring applied artificial intelligence, machine learning, and responsible AI development within Italy's growing tech ecosystem.
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AI*Festival 2026
International AI festival in Italy connecting the Italian tech ecosystem with global markets through keynotes, demos, and pitch sessions. Attracts AI researchers, enterprise buyers, and investors exploring opportunities in Southern Europe. Valuable for AI startups seeking visibility in the growing Italian AI market and European expansion.
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AI*Festival 2027
AI*Festival returns for its 4th edition 11-12 February 2027 at Superstudio Maxi in Milan. Organised by WMF - We Make Future, the festival is Italy's main international event dedicated to artificial intelligence, connecting companies, big tech, startups, investors and researchers around B2B matchmaking, technical training and open-innovation opportunities.
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AIKO
AIKO develops flight-proven AI software that enables satellites and spacecraft to operate autonomously — detecting anomalies, replanning missions, processing payload data, and executing maneuvers without ground intervention. Founded in Turin in 2017 by Lorenzo Feruglio, AIKO became the first European company to demonstrate deep learning algorithms in orbit. The company's modular product suite (GENE for anomaly detection, OLIVER for onboard planning, CLEAR for payload processing, DANA for maneuvering) serves commercial operators and space agencies. With offices in Turin and Toulouse, AIKO has raised €7 million and is leading the ASIMOV proximity-operations project funded by the Italian Space Agency.
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Algorithmiq
Quantum software company relocated its global headquarters from Helsinki to Milan in May 2026, marking Italy's largest-ever quantum computing investment round of €18M. Develops quantum algorithms and classical-quantum hybrid software targeting drug discovery and industrial optimisation, with a focus on near-term quantum hardware.
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AWS Summit Milano 2026
Amazon Web Services' free one-day cloud conference at Fiera Milano Rho. Keynotes, technical breakouts, hands-on labs and a partner expo covering generative AI, data, security and serverless for builders, architects and startup founders.
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Bending Spoons
Bending Spoons acquires established digital products — apps, platforms, and SaaS tools — then applies AI-driven transformation to dramatically improve their performance. Founded in 2013 by Luca Ferrari and co-founders, the Milan company now owns Vimeo, Evernote, Eventbrite, WeTransfer, AOL, Remini, and StreamYard, among others. Its portfolio serves over 400 million monthly active users and 7 million paying customers. Targeting a $20 billion US IPO in 2026 with projected adjusted EBITDA of $1.4 billion, Bending Spoons has become Italy's most prominent tech success story and the world's most unusual acquirer.
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Boost Heroes
Boost Heroes is a Milan-based early-stage micro-VC and syndicate founded on 17 July 2015, focusing on seed and early-stage investments across consumer internet, marketplace, impact, and fintech sectors. The firm has made over 57 investments across Europe, North America, and Asia, with portfolio companies including Satispay, Homepal, and GoodBuyAuto. Typical startup valuations at entry range from $1–5 million.
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CDP Venture Capital SGR
Founded in 2015 as the National Innovation Fund (Fondo Nazionale Innovazione) and wholly owned by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, CDP Venture Capital SGR is the largest venture capital operator in Italy and one of the biggest in Europe, deploying capital through a family of direct and fund-of-funds vehicles with a combined target allocation of over €3.3 billion in its 2024–2028 business plan. It operates across the full lifecycle — from seed (Italia Venture I/II) through growth (Large Ventures, target €700 million) and ecosystem development (VenturItaly II FoF, target €700 million) — covering deep tech, life sciences, digital transition, and sustainability. The portfolio spans 246+ companies, with notable names including Everli and Arduino; its fund-of-funds arms back virtually every significant Italian VC manager. As a state-backed anchor LP and direct co-investor, CDP acts as the cornerstone of the national innovation ecosystem.
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Cibus Tec 2026
International trade fair for food and beverage technology at Fiere di Parma. Hosts World Pasta Day 2026 alongside new Bakery and Beverage districts, showcasing AI, automation, robotics, traceability and energy-efficiency solutions for the food industry.
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Codemotion Milan 2026
One of Italy's largest developer conferences, bringing together 2,000+ software engineers for talks on cloud-native, AI/ML, DevOps, and frontend. Strong venue for developer tool startups and engineering employer branding.
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Comune di Milano (Milano Digital Week)
The Municipality of Milan, with implementation partner TIG – The Innovation Group, organises Milano Digital Week, a city-wide festival on digital innovation, AI and smart-city themes. It curates hundreds of largely free events spanning business, technology, digital citizenship, culture and education across the city.
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Cortilia
Cortilia is Italy's leading farm-to-home e-grocery platform, connecting consumers directly with small and medium Italian producers — sourcing fruit, vegetables, meat, dairy, and artisan products from vetted farms and delivering across Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont, and six other regions covering 800+ municipalities. Founded in Milan in 2011 by Marco Porcaro, Cortilia has raised €53 million and became a certified B-Corp in 2022 following construction of a LEED Gold-certified green headquarters. Targeting EBITDA breakeven in 2026 and full-year profitability by 2027, the company carries a 2,500-product catalog with a strong focus on sustainability and local supply-chain traceability.
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Cybertech Europe 2026
The leading European edition of the Cybertech conference series, at La Nuvola Convention Center, Rome, gathering cyber industry leaders, enterprises, and policymakers. Relevant for security founders seeking enterprise and government buyers.
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D-Orbit
D-Orbit is an Italian space infrastructure company focused on in-orbit transportation and services for satellites. Its best-known product line is built around orbital transfer and deployment: rather than leaving smaller satellite operators constrained by the primary mission of a launch vehicle, D-Orbit helps place payloads into more precise target orbits after launch. That changes the economics and flexibility of access to space for customers who need better control over deployment profiles. The company also reflects a broader trend in European deep tech, where success increasingly depends on integrating hardware, software, mission operations, and long sales cycles into a single commercial platform. D-Orbit therefore matters beyond aerospace alone. It shows that European startups can participate in the frontier infrastructure layer of the space economy instead of limiting themselves to downstream software or research projects. In this directory, D-Orbit helps extend coverage into spacetech and aerospace logistics, while also connecting naturally to the ecosystem's support organizations, accelerators, and cross-border industrial networks that often help hard-tech companies reach early validation and partnerships.
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DigithON 2026
DigithON is Italy's largest digital and startup pitch marathon, held annually in the coastal town of Bisceglie in Puglia. The 2026 edition brings around one hundred selected startups for 48 hours of pitches, mentoring and networking in front of investors, venture funds, business angels and institutions, with a total prize pool of roughly €50,000.
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ETHMilan 2026
Italy's largest Ethereum and Web3 conference, with 2,000+ attendees and 100+ speakers at the Leonardo da Vinci museum. A useful wedge event for web3 and crypto founders targeting the Italian and Southern-European builder community.
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Everli
Everli is Italy's leading online grocery delivery marketplace, connecting shoppers with over 100 supermarket chains — including Lidl, Esselunga, and Carrefour — across 60+ Italian provinces. Founded in 2014, personal shoppers physically select products at partner stores and deliver to customers' homes within two hours. With 237 employees and a 23% take rate, Everli signed a $180 million business combination with Nasdaq-listed SPAC Melar Acquisition Corp in mid-2025, targeting a Nasdaq listing in early 2026. The company secured an additional $10 million in bridge financing ahead of the expected public debut.
