The 7th edition of the ANGI National Award, dubbed “the Oscars of Innovation”, was held on December 4th, 2024, at the historic Temple Hall of Vibia Sabina and Hadrian in the Chamber of Commerce of Rome, Italy.
The event, organized by the National Association of Young Innovators (ANGI), was an important moment of celebration of Italian excellence in the world of innovation, with the awarding of more than 30 prizes. The ceremony was attended by more than 15 start-ups and numerous opinion leaders from the institutional, entrepreneurial and research sectors, who were the protagonists of a day dedicated to progress and talent.
As was the case in 2023, two young companies from the network of I3P, the Incubator of Politecnico di Torino, were selected among the ones awarded for their innovative value: Synchropal, proclaimed first prize winner in the “Cybersecurity” category, and UTwin, which took first place in the “Digitization and Future Scenarios” category.
The ANGI Award 2024
ANGI is the first Italian non-profit organization entirely dedicated to the world of innovation, in each of its forms. Its annual Award aims to recognize the best initiatives of national innovators in order to promote excellence in social, scientific and technological research, education and culture, youth entrepreneurship and digital innovation.
The event obtained prestigious institutional sponsorships, including: Presidency of the Council of Ministers, European Commission, European Parliament, AGID - Agency for Digital Italy, ENEA, AIDP - Italian Association for Personnel Management, Lazio Region, Roma Capitale, Assintel and Anitec-Assinform. There were also numerous main sponsors - Gruppo FS Italiane, Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, Tinexta Cyber, TeamSystem, TNotice, Bayer - and official sponsors, including FlixBus, Mama, Errebian, Ciù Ciù, Cottorella, Marzullo, Ephemera, Farmogal, Caffè Milani, Electo, Ypsilon, T3 Group, DoubleYou.
Gabriele Ferrieri, President of ANGI, said: “This morning allowed us to remember how talent and meritocracy must be at the center of the economy for the next generation. Our efforts must aim to enhance this growth, working to expand the tools dedicated to research and development. We address this appeal to the Italian government led by Giorgia Meloni and to the European Commission to continue investing in a future based on expertise and innovation.”
The technology of Synchropal
Founded in 2022 and welcomed into the ESA BIC Turin incubation program run by I3P, the young Piedmontese company Synchropal offers a solution for time and frequency certification through its cutting-edge technology, based on satellite data for timing and synchronization, which provides protection against hacker attacks on critical infrastructure. The start-up is developing an innovative system, MODO (Multichannel Optical Disciplined Oscillator), which will be available to companies in the telecommunications, energy and finance sectors.
The ANGI Award was presented by Andrea Monti, General Manager of Tinexta Cyber, to Simone Tozzi, SW & GNSS Processing Engineer at Synchropal, who commented: “Once again, Synchropal proves itself up to the challenges in cybersecurity with its solutions based on open data technologies, which are robust and cost-effective to counter spoofing and jamming, offering timing certification and precise synchronization also suitable for mobile sectors such as UAVs and Telematics.”
Ibrahim Osmani, Founder & CEO of Synchropal, said: “It was a great honor to receive the ANGI National Award for the Cybersecurity category. For us, it represents an award that celebrates our technological innovation. This success was made possible thanks to an exceptional team and prestigious partnerships that share our vision.”
UTwin's project
Founded in 2020 under the first name Strategic BIM and incubated in I3P since 2022, UTwin is a Turin-based proptech company that enhances building and infrastructure data through digital twins. The start-up supports building owners, property managers and operators in using data in a more sustainable and collaborative way through its digital twinning solution for real estate and infrastructure. In 2023 UTwin received a €400,000 investment led by CDP Venture Capital, after receiving backing and support from Intesa Sanpaolo and Techstars.
Roberto Demarchi, Founder & CEO of UTwin, said: “Today I was honored in Rome with the ANGI Award for young Italian innovators. It was a fantastic moment of sharing, with distinguished protagonists including the Mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri, Isybank President Francesco Profumo and Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara. I thank Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center and ANGI President Gabriele Ferrieri for the invitation. It is great to reap the fruits of the work we are doing with the entire UTwin team to accelerate the digitization of the real estate sector in our country.”
