Premio 2031, formerly Premio Gaetano Marzotto, is a national competition for innovators and start-ups that offers some of the most renowned awards in the world of Italian innovation. On December 12th, 2023, the culminating event of the 13th edition of the initiative was held at the MEET Digital Culture Center in Milan, with the award ceremony for the best new business proposals selected from over 400 applications received.
The five finalists had the opportunity to present their pitches during the event, in front of a selection committee made up of over 40 members from the innovation network. The winner of the coveted 2031 Startup Award was then announced to be U-Care Medical, a young company from Turin that intends to become a global leader in the development of digital medical devices, based on AI and analytics, to revolutionise the management of patients in resuscitation through a predictive and personalised approach.
Enrico Perpignano, Co-Founder & COO of U-Care Medical, said: "We are very happy to have received the 2031 Startup Award, as it is further confirmation of the important achievements the team and the start-up have made over the last few years. In addition, we are delighted that the jury and our sponsor were able to see how the technology has evolved from our first application in 2018 to a full-fledged digital medical device that uses artificial intelligence to help resuscitators manage clinical complications. We now aim to take a further step forward in 2024 and expand our commercial activities in Europe with our first product on kidney complications."
By winning the 2031 Startup Award, U-Care Medical gained access to a coaching course at the CUOA Business School worth 25,000 euro.
Among the 17 special prizes offered by the corporate partners of this year's Premio 2031, the Lifegate Way Special Prize was awarded to Ummy, an entrepreneurial team supported by I3P. The award is aimed at companies operating in the ESG segment with a willingness to position and transition to benefits. Omar Fulvio Bertoni, CEO & Co-Founder of LifeGate Way, said: "We chose Ummy because it is essential to be able to listen to the voices within your company."
From 2010 to date, the initiative has totalled over seven thousand participating start-ups, hundreds of awards and pathways launched, tens of millions of euros of investment generated with hundreds of partners involved. The initiative is promoted by Associazione 2031, a third sector organisation, and organised by Agenzia del Contemporaneo.
Cristiano Seganfreddo, President of Premio 2031, said: "A special thank you to all those who participated in the final awards evening of Premio 2031, the culminating event of a journey dedicated to Italian innovation and start-ups. An evening dedicated to recognising those who have distinguished themselves in creating innovative solutions and driving towards a more sustainable future, a unique opportunity to bring together the great Italian innovation network through the sharing of ideas and mutual inspiration. Finally, thank you to our main partners, Lendlease, Repower and UniCredit Start Lab, for their fundamental support in the success of the 2031 Prize. Together, we have transformed the Italian innovation landscape, uniting start-ups, accelerators and incubators in an extraordinary impact for the future."
Primo Round and the innovation centre awards
Last September, during the Italian Tech Week 2023 held at the Officine Grandi Riparazioni (OGR) in Turin, Associazione 2031 held the awards ceremony of the first edition of Primo Round, the prize created to identify and help grow the best Italian early-stage start-ups. Chosen from the projects submitted to the call of Premio 2031, the 51 best start-ups nominated in 10 different categories - including technologies for the future, for the climate, for finding solutions to health problems and new lifestyle habits - had the chance to pitch in front of a jury of 11 investors and business angels.
The final award ceremony, hosted by Riccardo Luna and Cristiano Seganfreddo, decreed the Best Start-up of the Year: the award was won by Astradyne, an innovative company founded by Alessia Gloder and incubated at I3P within the ESA BIC Turin program.
Born in 1992, Alessia Gloder impressed the audience with her ambitious aerospace project: Astradyne develops deployable structures for the space industry by integrating rigid-flexible electronics with textile material. This technology gave rise to SolarCube, a solar panel that unfolds like origami and is lighter, more compact and more powerful than solutions currently on the market. The start-up's goal is to raise investment in order to get the technology demonstrated in orbit, but given the versatility of the project, the team is also working in the green energy sector.
The Primo Round event also involved Italy's top innovation centres, each of which brought to Turin a start-up selected from those that applied for the 2031 call, contributing to the formation of their team and helping them to arrive prepared for the pitch competition. Enrico Ghia, Head of Operations at I3P, also took the stage at the event.
Among the young innovative companies selected and rewarded by Italian innovation centres with development paths, many are already supported by I3P:
- Clevi, chosen by TechStars, makes a virtual personal shopper that helps saving time and money thanks to its artificial intelligence capabilities;
- Focoos AI, chosen by Romagna Tech, facilitates the creation and automatic training of frugal and efficient neural networks, specifically created for devices with low computing power, for the aerospace industry;
- Plino, chosen by LUISS EnLabs - LVenture Group, has designed a financial co-pilot for SMEs that makes it easier and faster to analyse costs and revenues, offering a system that supports entrepreneurs in making data-driven strategic business decisions;
- Safher, chosen by Sellalab, has designed a mobile application that combats gender-based violence and offers a solution to protect women during their journeys on foot, through a navigation and video call service with instant support in case of emergency;
- Ummy, chosen by Seedble, is a digital platform that uses artificial intelligence, continuous feedback and gamification to improve the psychological and emotional well-being of workers by predicting turnover in real time and reducing stress and burnout;
- ZEDS – Zero Emission Driving System, chosen by Kilometro Rosso, combines electric motors and a revolutionary magneto-rheological braking system to permanently eliminate particulate emissions and achieve 'zero delay, zero maintenance, zero pollution' mobility;
- The PAAC, awarded by I3P with an incubation path, offers subscription fashion leasing services that allow users to wear an unlimited wardrobe at a fraction of the cost and environmental impact, with B2C and B2B2C "white label" distribution for fashion brands and retailers.
