Once again in 2023, Startup Genome has acknowledged the capital of Piedmont as playing an important role as a “laboratory” for innovators. This great success is the result of the joint work of the main stakeholders in the ecosystem, including the Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo.
Once renowned as one of the world’s major automotive centres, the city of Turin can now boast a major new record for Italy as an international hub for innovators, specifically in terms of the fields of AI, Big Data & Analytics and Smart Cities.
Having achieved significant results last year as part of the Global Report on the Startup Ecosystem (GSER) – which saw the city ranked among the Top 40 European Ecosystems and in the Top 35 European Emerging Ecosystems in Funding – the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2023 has also acknowledged Turin as playing a growing and increasingly important role in the European landscape. The capital of Piedmont has risen by 14 places in the rankings of “emerging ecosystems” compared to 2022, with an improvement of 25 places since 2020.
This great success is the result of the joint work of the main stakeholders in the Piedmont ecosystem – including the Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Centre and the Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo – in which qualified investors play a fundamental role in the prosperity of these projects.
“We are moving fast in positioning Turin on the world map of innovation ecosystems. A series of tangible results show that we are now one step closer to our goal”, noted the President of the Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, Francesco Profumo.
This transition that features Turin as a major player is clearly shown by the significant evolution experienced by the start-up web directory ToTeM – Torino Tech Map, a project aimed at connecting entrepreneurs, investors and all the main stakeholders that make up the city’s innovative fabric.
In 2022, ToTeM kicked off a new series of monthly events aimed at bringing together the local start-up community and thus increasing connections at a local level.
A central role in this transformation is also played by LIFTT, the venture capital firm operating in the “Not Only Profit” field, created at the behest of the Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, the Polytechnic University of Turin and the LINKS Foundation to bring investment opportunities closer to research findings.
The LIFTT endowment focused on technological investment amounts to €90 million for the next five years, whereas the Company has already ensured 36 investments. The organisation also guarantees extensive visibility for the ideas and start-ups involved with respect to potential national and international investors. This action is aimed at attracting capital and ensuring maximum impact in local areas and across the country.
Startup Genome also appreciated the commitment of the City of Turin in the development of projects based on AI, a technology that is contributing to the transformation of various sectors all over the world.
The “Artificial Intelligence, Humans and Society” call promoted by the Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo forms part of this context. Now in its second edition, it has awarded five successful projects with a total contribution of €4 million.
The initiative – which in its second edition also witnessed a collaboration with the CDP Foundation – has set itself the ambitious goal of supporting innovative research projects aimed at advancing scientific knowledge in the field of artificial intelligence, aiming at having a concrete impact on the local area and its economy and society.
The data reported by Genome regarding Turin’s ability to attract talent are also significant: the city hosts over 110,000 students, from Italy and abroad, at its prestigious universities. These include the University of Turin, which offers 159 degree courses, and the Polytechnic University of Turin, recognised as one of the best universities in Europe to study engineering. I3P, the Polytechnic’s start-up incubator, has also been named the best public incubator in the world by UBI Global.
Another major result for the Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, which since 2006 has actively contributed to supporting these two institutions and more generally to the development of higher education, using a wide range of tools such as a system of conventions with universities.
To read the report, go to this link.