The new three-year programme will bring global smart mobility excellence to Turin and see the start-ups involved in a development and growth process during which they will be guided to success with over 1,500 meetings, training sessions and mentorship activities involving 150 international mentors. An ecosystem that will contribute to creating virtuous collaborations stimulated by the network established by the main partners involved in the initiative: Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, Fondazione CRT and Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center. The programme will last 13 weeks and end with the Demo Day on 22 April 2021, when the results will be presented to an audience of venture capitalists, business angels, investors, entrepreneurs and institutions.
Of the 12 start-ups selected by Techstars – a leading global accelerator that has supported over 2,300 start-ups around the world – 4 are Italian, 3 British, 2 Israeli, 1 American, 1 Portuguese and 1 Latvian: Blink, Cargofive, Crispify, Deliverart, Duet, eTEU, Imperium Drive, Kedeon, Latitudo 40, Prognostic, Trailze and Wiseair. The proposals cover a very wide range of industrial sectors: supply chain, logistics, automotive, air quality, industry 4.0, micromobility and satellite monitoring.
At the launch of the 2021 Techstars Smart Mobility Accelerator programme, Martin Olczyk, the programme’s Managing Director, said: “We are very proud of our first class established in Turin, which has already set an extremely high standard, despite the global pandemic. The class has achieved extraordinary progress, thanks to our mentors and partners, and has benefited from having as its headquarters the OGR – Officine Grandi Riparazioni, the biggest and most innovative technological hub in Italy. Turin’s support ecosystem offers a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and connect with the smartest people on the planet. I am extremely excited to be working with exceptional founders and 12 international companies this year. We are bringing together the best founders in the world and we hope to bring them all to Turin very soon. Even after the first programme in Turin, I am still impressed by the support that the founders receive from all our stakeholders, including our three partners: Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, Fondazione CRT and Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, as well as the mentors involved in the programme and the City of Turin, with the Torino City Lab, and access to new testing opportunities. The ecosystem of Turin and Italy has made tremendous progress over the past 18 months and we look forward to seeing the companies grow and benefit from this booming market in the coming years.”
“The first Techstars Smart Mobility Accelerator in 2020, albeit marred by the outbreak of the pandemic, achieved very significant results in terms of quality and quantity.” – said Francesco Profumo, Chair of Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo – “Of particular value are the solid links established between the accelerated start-ups and Turin’s industrial fabric, including the decision taken by a US company to open an office in Turin to bring their business to Europe. The 2021 programme, with 12 new start-ups selected worldwide, presents an opportunity for further growth for Turin’s innovation ecosystem. Our Foundation, as ‘ecosystem developer’” – continues Mr Profumo – “strongly supports this initiative with the aim of strengthening Turin’s strategic positioning as an international hub for innovators that can exercise a centripetal force, attracting excellent human capital and new entrepreneurial initiatives to settle here and develop the local area.”
“The Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, the Group’s engine and promoter of innovation for customers and the local area, has brought the most promising start-ups in smart mobility to Turin from all over the world. Our goal is to work with Techstars and the other partners to strengthen a unique ecosystem where new collaborations and projects can grow” – says Maurizio Montagnese, Chair, Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center. “Last year’s programme, despite the health emergency, demonstrated that, by joining forces and skills, and involving the local area, significant results can be achieved. This year we expect the excellent companies selected from all over the world to be able to grow and implement new projects in Italy, particularly thanks to the involvement of the big companies we have invited to take part in the programme, such as FCA, Iren and Cisco Italia. If the pandemic continues to impose social distancing, we still have the ability and the determination to connect people and innovative ideas. We will work, as always, focusing on people and the talent of the young.”
“Green, safe, bespoke, interconnected: transforming the way people, goods, services and data are transported is again the goal we have set for Techstars at OGR Tech, Turin, to manage one of the greatest post-COVID challenges globally – says Massimo Lapucci, Director General of OGR and Secretary General of Fondazione CRT –. We’re investing in 12 of the best start-ups in the world in the strategic sector of smart mobility, to open up further innovation prospects for the country and improve our quality of life with projects that have a positive social and environmental impact, in line with the sustainable development goals of United Nations 2030 Agenda.”
The 12 start-ups selected:
1. Blink
Origin: Italy (Milan)
A sustainable and innovative, immediate and personalised, direct-to-customer e-commerce delivery.
2. Cargofive
Origin: Portugal (Lisbon)
Cargofive offers e-pricing and sales automation software for container shipping.
3. Crispify
Origin: Israel (Tel Aviv)
Crispify offers in-car air quality monitoring and management systems, particularly for car sharing and rental systems.
4. Deliverart
Origin: Italy (Rome)
The all-in-one software solution for home food delivery.
5. Duet
Origin: USA (San Jose, CA)
Duet offers an SaaS (Software as a Service) solution to support fleet operators in the digital era by reducing the complexity of operations.
6. eTEU
Origin: United Kingdom (London)
eTEU provides a solution for digitising paper-based documentation in the freight industry using blockchain technology.
7. Imperium Drive
Origin: United Kingdom (London), based in Berlin – Germany
An instant car-hailing system to support car sharing operators optimise the availability and accessibility of fleets using remote driving technology that brings the cars directly to your home.
8. Kedeon
Origin: Latvia (Riga)
Kedeon enables transparent logistics quality monitoring for companies of any size through the implementation of IoT devices.
9. Latitudo 40
Origin: Italy (Naples)
Detecting satellite data and using AI/ML algorithms, Latitudo 40 returns useful information about our planet from images.
10. Prognostic
Origin: United Kingdom (London)
Edge-based artificial intelligence platform for real-time asset management that brings together people, processes and machines.
11. Trailze
Origin: Israel (Tel Aviv)
Trailze is transforming micro-mobility with machine-learning based navigation and ride experience optimisation.
12. Wiseair
Origin: Italy (Milan)
Wiseair creates a community for the detailed mapping of air quality in cities by transforming the concept of the sensor into a completely autonomous IoT device, a vessel, and the IDO digital platform.
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