Takeoff Accelerator, the acceleration program of CDP Venture Capital’s National Accelerator Network for aerospace and advanced hardware startups managed by Plug and Play in Turin, which in the past three years has supported the growth of 27 startups with a total investment of over 6.2 million euros, was successfully concluded again this year.

Alpha Impulsion, Capsule Corporation, Delta Space Leonis, Meta Futura Aerospace, Spaider, SpaceVerse-AI, Space 11, P2M are the 8 startups that have concluded the 5-month acceleration program and that during the Takeoff Expo event that took place at OGR Torino told their stories in front of investors, partners and members of the local and international ecosystem, confirming the long tradition and solid reputation that Italy boasts in the aerospace sector.

In Italy alone, in fact, there are about 198 companies, for a total of 49,000 employees, operating in various aspects of this sector, including design, production of aerospace systems, maintenance and support services.

The event was attended by 200 people including corporate partners, startups, investors and leaders in the field of aerospace innovation. On stage, in addition to the presentations of the 8 startups, Stefano Serra, President of Takeoff Accelerator, underlined the crucial role of the accelerator in strengthening the value chain of aerospace companies, making them more competitive on the global scene thanks to an innovative offer. Serra highlighted that Turin maintains a prominent position in the sector thanks to a system of cutting-edge financial instruments and scientific support that promote efficient technological development through shared innovation practices.

This was followed by a panel dedicated to investments and trends in the aerospace sector with speeches by Stefano Molino, Senior Partner of CDP Venture Capital and Head of the Accelerators Fund, Raffaele Mauro, Partner of Primo Space, and representatives of two startups from previous Takeoff batches: Marco Sala, CEO of Revolv Space, and Jonathan Polotto, CEO of Involve.

This was followed by a keynote speech by Raphael Roettgen, Founder of E2MC Ventures, who highlighted the importance of placing space at the center of deep tech, as a horizon for verticals such as AI, advanced computing, innovative materials and biotechnology. He highlighted how reduced costs and emerging synergies will offer new opportunities for businesses in non-space sectors, with a call for potential entrepreneurs to take advantage of this unique moment.

In addition, Salvatore Grimaldi, VP Innovation & Technology of Leonardo’s Aircraft Division, underlined how the Takeoff Accelerator programme is confirmed as the context in which the strategic vision of the large company and the dynamism of startups can create the ideal industrial and technological symbiosis to develop frontier innovation in a sector characterised by factors of great complexity. and outline the aerospace of the future.

Finally, the speech by Paolo Bellomi, Chief Technical Officer of Avio, offered valuable insights into how space startups act as catalysts within the space economy, facilitating interaction with a wide range of companies, which, although not automatically ready, represent excellence.

Takeoff Accelerator is the acceleration program dedicated to pre-seed and seed startups that develop solutions in the aerospace and advanced hardware sectors. Takeoff Accelerator is an initiative of CDP Venture Capital, promoted by the co-investors UniCredit and Fondazione CRT, through the operating arm Fondazione Sviluppo e Crescita CRT, by Plug and Play Tech Center as co-investor and operational manager of the acceleration program, and by OGR Torino as Innovation and Networking Partner, by Leonardo, AVIO and Unione Industriali Torino as Corporate Partner, by the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency as members of the Scientific Committee.

The startups accelerated during this year have developed projects such as a virtual reality aerospace simulation and an innovative 2-thruster attitude and orbit control system. The best startups will be able to access a second investment (after the first worth up to 150,000 euros) up to 800,000 euros to scale their business model.

Eugenia Forte, Director of Takeoff Accelerator and Plug and Play Tech Center, said: “We are proud to have accelerated 27 startups to date, among the most promising in the aerospace sector. During these three years we have witnessed incredible growth, both technologically and entrepreneurially. The startups benefited from the skills and experience of our partners Leonardo, Avio and Unione Industriali Torino, undisputed leaders in their sector in Italy. This programme has already produced concrete results, with a significant increase in investment and the creation of new jobs. We are excited to continue supporting startups in their brilliant path of entrepreneurial growth together with CDP Venture Capital and the other co-investors”.

Stefano Molino, Senior Partner and Head of the Accelerator Fund at CDP Venture Capital, added: “Today we see the result of months of work, commitment and growth by the startups that participated in Takeoff. We are proud to support the journey of 27 new businesses and to see the extraordinary progress they have made. As CDP Venture Capital, we are committed to creating a robust ecosystem that accompanies these startups, opening up new opportunities for them and contributing to a positive impact on the space economy market.”

Startups Accelerated by Takeoff’s 2024 Program

The 8 accelerated realities are:

• Alpha Impulsion, a startup based in Toulouse and Turin and specialized in hybrid autophagy space propulsion technologies;
• The Milan-based Capsule Corporation, active in the field of water propulsion systems for satellites;
• The Roman Delta Space Leonis, which connects IoT sensors from all over the world using innovative satellites;
• From Southampton, also based in Turin, Meta Futura Aerospace, which has designed a 2-thruster attitude and orbit control system that replaces the 8-thruster mechanisms;
• Padua-based Spaider, which develops artificial intelligence algorithms for engineering design and simulation processes;
• Based in Turin, SpaceVerse-AI, which has created an aerospace simulator based on LLM and virtual reality technology;
• The Capitoline Space 11, a platform that merges space technologies, drones and robots to create Digital Twins for smart cities and industry 4.0;
• And finally the Forlì-based P2M, which creates hardware and software dedicated to the management, storage and tracking of technical information.

(Source: Takeoff Accelerator press release)