PLAI, Mondadori Group's start-up accelerator aimed at transforming ideas based on the use of generative artificial intelligence into successful entrepreneurial realities, closed its first acceleration cycle with its Demo Day, held on February 6, 2025 in the setting of the WPP Campus in Milan, Italy.
The event was dedicated to the presentation of the most innovative solutions developed by the start-ups that participated in the first edition of the program and that stood out for their transformative potential in the generative artificial intelligence landscape.
“With only a few months of activity behind us, PLAI is already considered a program of excellence and a pioneer of its kind, including through awards and recognition,” stressed Antonio Porro, CEO of the Mondadori Group and chairman of PLAI. “We established PLAI because, as leading multimedia publishers, we wanted to create a technology hub capable of identifying initiatives with a strong innovative character in the sectors in which we operate. We also wanted to play a central role in the Gen AI ecosystem to preside over the industry as a trendsetter, attract talent, and offer new products and services to our customers. At the conclusion of the first acceleration cycle, we can confirm our choice and commitment for the duration of the program, which has already enabled the first young companies to take a strong step forward in their growth and development path. At the same time, it has put our Group in touch with innovative ideas and prestigious partners.”
The participating start-ups
The Demo Day represented the conclusion of the 4-month acceleration journey during which Gen AI applications were explored and developed in four strategic areas for the Mondadori Group with the Batch 2024 start-ups:
- “Education” with Equal Education, Paperbox Health and Pathway;
- “Books & Publishing” with Aidamask e Istory;
- “Retail” with Olivia and Stip;
- “New Media & Advertising” with AD cube, Ahilab and Similar.
During the first edition of the program, more than 25 workshops, 20 master classes, 6 testimonials of successful founders were organized for a total of more than 50 plenary sessions totaling more than 100 hours; in addition, 15 hours of one-on-one coaching sessions, more than 40 hours of champion support were dedicated and 35 speakers were involved.
“We selected the 10 start-ups in the first batch, from more than 500 applications received, highlighting the fierce competition and high quality of the projects submitted, and paying attention to the operating segment in order to ensure that they could share our professional experience,” commented Stefano Argiolas, PLAI CEO. “It has been very engaging to work together with the leaders from different sectors partnering in the initiative, whom I take this opportunity to thank together with the members of the Advisory Board and the Mondadori Group, and with the individual teams we have assisted in transforming their ideas into successful business realities. Today's event, however, does not represent a point of arrival, as we will continue to support the development of the start-ups as partners, observe their ability to grow, and verify future joint business interests.”
The future of AI start-ups
In a day of meetings dedicated to AI, Demo Day created synergies and strategic collaborations between startups and established companies, promoting positive contaminations and supporting the future of innovation. Startups, on the one hand, presented the evolutions of their companies that occurred through the acceleration program and showed innovative technologies applied to concrete solutions; on the other hand, entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders have the opportunity to nurture connections with start-ups and discover new opportunities for integration and innovative development.
Demo Day also offered a unique moment to delve into two central themes of the current scenario, with distinguished guests in two panel discussions.
- The first panel discussion, titled “AI and Start-ups - An Opportunity for Business Transformation”, focused on the opportunities and challenges offered by AI, how start-ups are using it to accelerate business transformation and redefine markets, the discussion outlines an overview of emerging dynamics, the impact of AI in innovation and value creation. Participants included:
- Massimo Beduschi, President & CEO of GroupM and President of WPP Italy;
- Antonio Porro, CEO of Mondadori Group;
- Walter Renna, CEO of Fastweb + Vodafone;
- Francesco Ubertini, President of IFAB Foundation and Professor at the University of Bologna;
- Fabio Vaccarono, CEO of Multiversity, President of Mercatorum, Pegaso and San Raffaele Roma.
- Focusing on the main investment and financing models in the artificial intelligence start-up sector and how the market is evolving to support innovation, the second talk - “Financing Innovation - The Future of AI Start-ups” - built a discussion on winning strategies for the future, featuring:
- Paola Bonomo, Non-executive Director, Advisor, Business Angel;
- Francesco Cerruti, General Director of Italian Tech Alliance;
- Andrea Di Camillo, Founder of P101;
- Lisa Di Sevo, Managing Partner & CEO of PranaVentures;
- Alceo Rapagna, CEO of Startupbootcamp and Innoleaps Italy, Senior Global Partner of Innoleaps.
The accelerator PLAI, with the occasion, thanked the Italian and international partners who decided to join the project: I3P, Startupbootcamp, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Fastweb, GroupM, PwC Italia, Codemotion, Datapizza, Startupitalia, also welcoming the new entry IFAB among them.
Moreover, PLAI is set to launch its second call for start-ups in the coming weeks to collect applications for the second acceleration round starting in June. Priority will be given to the quality of ideas and readiness to meet market challenges, while also opening up to more areas of interest.
