During the annual Startup Fest 2021, held on Monday 20 December at I3P on the Campus of the Politecnico di Torino, the Innovative Enterprise Incubator of the Politecnico di Torino shared its record-breaking numbers for 2021: more than €37 million in funding raised, 900 ideas accepted, more than 110 projects launched, 22 startups admitted to the incubation process, and 52 companies established or attracted, best result in the last five years. With these results the incubator celebrated the end of 2021, which, despite the difficulties related to the current health emergency, proved to be a year full of achievements and new long-term collaborations.

Certifying the work and success of the Italian incubator are also the numerous new initiatives that I3P has launched in collaboration with strategic partners and innovation networks, not only on a regional and national level, but also internationally:

• together with Politecnico di Torino and Links Foundation, I3P has won the selection made by ESA, on behalf of ASI, for the creation and management of ESA Business Incubation Centre Turin, the center to support the birth and growth of new Italian startups in the aerospace sector;
• together with Fondazione CRC, I3P also landed in the Cuneo area with GrandUP! Tech Academy, the new training course dedicated to aspiring entrepreneurs in the province aimed at supporting high-tech startups and the launch of open innovation processes;
• with the aim of engaging innovative startups and SMEs on the technologies of the future, I3P is also a strategic partner of the four-year project CTE NEXT, the House of Emerging Technologies launched by the City of Turin which operates in the field of smart mobility, Industry 4.0 and innovative urban services;
• I3P took part in the Inclusive Energy call for proposals promoted by Compagnia di San Paolo in collaboration with the Snam Foundation, dedicated to social innovators and aimed at finding scalable and sustainable solutions with which to address energy poverty.

During the event the incubator also named Evo Startup of the Year, as the company that has most distinguished itself through its achievements after the three-year incubation period.

Record funding for young companies

Although a number of important transactions are still in progress in these last days of the year, among the financing rounds that have already been completed are those of around €5 million each of Enerbrain (smart building), EasyRain (road safety), and Epicura (healthcare). In addition to these, there are the €3.5 million transactions of Young Platform (fintech) and Anubi Digital (fintech).

Giuseppe Scellato, President of I3P, commented: "Rounds and funding are fundamental for startups that, by winning over investors, can develop their products and realize their projects. This year's record-breaking numbers are also a fundamental reflection of the work we do at I3P: the interest of investors certifies the validity of entrepreneurial projects and, at the same time, the work of the incubator, both in the selection phase and in supporting and mentoring the development of startups. Our mission is to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem and generate economic development and employment in areas and industrial sectors with a high intensity of innovation. We are able to do this also thanks to a network that expands year after year and that sees the active participation of private individuals, companies, and institutions".

Evo, the I3P Startup of the Year 2021

Evo, the I3P Startup of the Year 2021 based in Turin and London, is a technology company that uses Artificial Intelligence to optimise supply chain and pricing decisions. In particular, Evo supports customers in using Big Data to increase the efficiency of supply chain decisions, thereby reducing waste, optimising market efficiency, improving product availability and raising service levels.

The Evo's algorithm has now become an effective tool to address the limitations of traditional pricing software: its applications have grown in sophistication and precision, as well as in scope, with autonomous solutions covering price management, promotions, forecasting, scoring and supply decisions. In 2021, Evo was also chosen to become part of Facebook AI's Open Loop project as one of ten companies selected by Mark Zuckerberg's company to lead the European task force tasked with defining governance to reduce AI risks.

"Artificial Intelligence is the present and realities like Evo prove it", emphasizes Giuseppe Scellato. "We chose to award it as Startup of the Year for its truly innovative solutions, in a sector with enormous potential, which have already been validated by the market and recognized at high levels".

(Source: press release I3P)