A global platform for building the future: this is how the Italian and international trade fair We Make Future, or WMF, presents itself. In three days - from Thursday 13th to Saturday 15th June 2024 - it will offer more than 100 events and a unique format combining exhibition area, training, B2B meetings, networking, culture, concerts, shows and entertainment, this year within the spaces of BolognaFiere.
The 2023 event was attended by more than 60,000 people from 89 countries around the world, 670 exhibitors, 2,000 start-ups and investors, and 130 institutional guests. The 2024 edition will also be packed with a parterre of brands and companies, as well as global players already announced between the exhibition area and open stages, including Google, Microsoft, TikTok, Intel, ESA, Lenovo, Ford, Monge, Aruba, Qonto: realities that will populate together with hundreds of others the exhibition districts dedicated to artificial intelligence, start-ups, robotics, martech, e-sports & gaming, e-commerce and much more.
In addition to business opportunities and moments of entertainment, one of the main focuses of the WMF will be education, which will be enriched in this edition with contributions from around the world thanks to the authoritative voices that will fly to Italy from the five continents for the occasion. More than 1,000 experts and speakers from all over the planet will be present in Bologna to address the major themes of technological, digital and social innovation, with a special focus on the evolution of AI. Vertical and thematic events are also on the programme, including the World Startup Fest, the Open Innovation & VC Fest and the AI Global Summit, as well as the E-commerce Fest, Koders Fest, Digital Job Fair and GovTech Summit.
The I3P start-ups at WMF 2024
This year I3P, the Incubator of Politecnico di Torino, which since 1999 supports the birth and development of innovative start-ups with high technology intensity and growth potential, will also be back at the WMF. Representing the galaxy of entrepreneurial talents who have passed through the Politecnico di Torino campus over the years will be nine young companies from the I3P network, who will be present at the Bologna festival together with the incubator to talk about their innovative projects and take advantage of the numerous meeting opportunities offered by WMF 2024.
The nine start-ups that will populate the exhibition area dedicated to I3P - stand B34-A31 in Pavilion 30 - are Barter, Deplotic, DichiaroFacile, Dropper, Midori Connect, RarEarth, Spoat, Syllog and Talkkit. Their projects range across very different sectors, but are all united by their high degree of innovativeness.
- Barter is a simple and intuitive B2B matching platform designed for the retail world, created to allow retailers to network with each other in total anonymity, drawing on products they need and placing surplus products in a huge virtual warehouse, with which they can interact to optimise stock inefficiencies and thus increase profits.
- Deplotic offers robot-based solutions to optimise the exploitation of space devices, increasing their service life and economic and environmental sustainability. The start-up's service enables the inspection, maintenance and servicing of medium to large satellites, through a device - an inflatable robotic arm - that is installed on board and therefore immediately deployable when the need to verify the integrity of the system arises.
- DichiaroFacile is a web and mobile platform for the simplified management of domestic helpers: search, management and payments, all just a click away. The core service of the project, called Domestico, allows the monthly pay slip of the domestic helper to be prepared and made available for consultation with a totally online procedure and through a simple guided path, without queues or waiting.
- Dropper is an innovative start-up specialising in AI-supported solutions for people flow monitoring and space optimisation. The sensors produced by Dropper make it possible to collect meaningful metrics that can be used in different contexts, for a variety of applications, and all data that is collected by the sensors is completely anonymous, as the devices do not use cameras but alternative technologies that do not identify users.
- Midori Connect analyses energy data and transforms it into innovative services for controlling energy consumption and electrical safety within the home. The company helps utilities, insurance, financial and proptech companies to have customers who are aware and happy with their choices. Ned is the only Italian energy coaching service that trains people to know their domestic consumption and manage it better by monitoring energy and household appliances.
- RarEarth has developed a unique process to recycle rare-earth elements from the motors of micro-mobility electric vehicles. Starting with an engine, the young company succeeds in recover the metals contained in the casing and the elements that make up its magnets. RarEarth's goal is thus to create an alternative, sustainable and domestic source of supply that can further free Europe from the import of rare-earth metals from abroad.
- Spoat is the first application to invest in emerging tennis players and get a percentage of their earnings. The project answers two needs: the desire of fans to be closer and more involved with their sporting idols, and the need of up-and-coming tennis players to financially cover the first years of their careers. What makes the app unique is not only the innovative way to invest in athletes, but also the development of AI algorithms to predict which tennis player will make it to professionalism.
- Syllog provides companies with a native AI platform that allows them to drastically reduce time and costs in creating training processes, such as onboarding, continuous training and offboarding, for their employees and customers. The start-up has developed a Cloud Learning Management System (LMS) that employs generative artificial intelligence to automatically create training paths from disaggregated documentation and adapt them to requirements.
- Talkkit aims to revolutionise language learning by offering students and professionals an engaging and effective tool to become fluent in speech, thus opening doors to new professional and personal opportunities worldwide. Using artificial intelligence, the start-up offers an environment in which users can engage in authentic conversations with virtual, lifelike avatars and get instant feedback.
From June 13th to 15th, at stand B34-A31 in Pavilion 30 of BolognaFiere, the incubator I3P and its nine start-ups will be happy to meet visitors, other young companies, corporate entities, investors, institutional bodies, journalists and technology experts to exchange information, contacts and possible collaboration opportunities. To stay up-to-date on the matter, you can follow the incubator's social channels, such as LinkedIn, Facebook and X (ex-Twitter), or subscribe to I3P's weekly email newsletter.
