It is called Inflant (INFLammasome Acting Novel Therapeutics) and creates innovative drugs active on the NLRP3 inflammasome, an intracellular multi-protein complex that acts as a “sensor” of the innate immune system and plays the role of the main promoter of the inflammatory response. This is the cutting-edge life sciences project supported by the 2I3T incubator that won the Start Cup Piedmont Aosta Valley 2024.

Now in its 20th year, funded by the Piedmont Region with ESF+ resources, the Business Plan competition is organized as part of the PNI – National Award for Innovation and promoted by the incubators I3P e 2i3T to spread the culture of innovation locally, promote the economic development of the Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta region and support the birth of innovative and knowledge-intensive startups in the Life Sciences, ICT, Cleantech & Energy, Industrial, Tourism and Cultural and Creative Industries.

Winners were chosen from about 190 business ideas , of which 43% related to ICT, i.e., innovative products and/or services in information technology and new media, such as e-commerce, social media, mobile, gaming, etc. Industrial (16 percent) and Cleantech & Energy (17 percent) are also liked. On the other hand,11 percent belong to the Tourism and Cultural and Creative Industriessectorand 13 percent to Life Sciences.

The generation of innovation

“We are proud to celebrate the 20th edition of Start Cup, an event that grows and evolves from year to year, contributing to the development of our region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem,” commented the Start Cup Piemonte Valle d’Aosta organizing committee, composed of representatives of the two Piedmont incubators I3P and 2i3T. “The variety and high level of the projects presented demonstrate not only the interest in rapidly evolving sectors such as ICT and Cleantech, but also the ability of our universities and incubators to generate significant innovations in complex fields such as Life Sciences and Industrial. This year, with Inflant’s win, we celebrate the potential of new technologies in therapeutics, a field that not only addresses global health challenges, but also highlights the importance of research-business collaboration for future prosperity.”

Elena Chiorino, vice president of the Piedmont Region with delegations to Labor, Training, Education and Merit, and University, said: “The Piedmont Region strongly believes in the enhancement of innovative ideas and the creation of opportunities for young talents, which are fundamental elements for a dynamic and competitive economy: this is evidenced by the 5 million euros allocated in 2023/2024 that allowed the accompaniment of 6 of the 10 startups that participated in the competition. The Start Cup Piemonte Valle d’Aosta – fully funded by the Region – represents a unique opportunity to cultivate ingenuity and promote technological progress. The projects awarded this year confirm how investment in knowledge and collaboration between institutions, universities and entrepreneurs is the development engine we want for our region, with tangible benefits for both the region and the international research scene. Convincingly supporting innovative start-ups means giving concrete answers to stop the brain drain.”

Andrea Tronzano, Piedmont Region’s Councillor for Development of Productive Activities, Internationalization and Investment Attraction, added: “Start Cup means creating, getting involved, promoting an idea and evaluating its economic and implementation sustainability. Start Cup means believing in one’s own potential and putting it to work for the benefit of the community. Start Cup means enterprise. Twenty editions of Start Cup give the idea of a painstaking attention to an evolving world, to a system that seeks and creates new markets and new proposals. The interaction with incubators and academia reinforces a unique potential and one that we need to look at carefully because this is where our future is at stake.”

Luigi Bertschy, vice president of the Autonomous Region of Valle d’Aosta with delegations to Economic Development, Training and Labor, Transportation and Sustainable Mobility, stressed, “The Start Cup awards ceremony is a key moment to enhance the commitment of startups and to emphasize the importance of innovation for the economic development of territories. As a region, we are committed to building an ecosystem favorable to the birth and growth of new businesses, and this Award is one of the actions we continue to support to confirm this commitment. The synergy with the Piedmont Region on this award confirms the interest and willingness of our Region to continue and expand collaborations in order to join our efforts to support our neighboring productive fabrics particularly on the issues of research and innovation in the industrial sector.”

Candido Pirri, Vice Chancellor for Model Development and Research Infrastructure, Polytechnic University of Torino, he added, “Innovation and Technology Transfer constitute priority missions of the Politecnico di Torino. Over the years, the University has invested resources in training new generations of young entrepreneurs and supporting them, including through support for Incubators, funding Proof of Concept and access to the University’s Research Infrastructure. Events for contextualizing and comparing proposals for new business ideas are an essential part of enlivening the area from the perspective of creating new entrepreneurship.”

The winners of Start Cup Piemonte Valle d’Aosta 2024

Thanks to the endowment made available by the Promoting Entities and Supporters and ESF+ resources, the total prize pool this year was more than 75,000 euros, disbursed in cash and services. The winners were announced and awarded at the event hosted by the Polytechnic University of Turin at the Energy Center.

The startup Inflant, pertaining to the Life Sciences category and supported by the 2i3T incubator, thus won the €7,500 first prize. It is a breakthrough project for clinical practice, the pharmaceutical industry and academia. The goal of the Inflant (INFLammasome Acting Novel Therapeutics) team is to create innovative drugs active on the NLRP3 inflammasome, an intracellular multiprotein complex that acts as a “sensor” of the innate immune system and plays the role of the main promoter of the inflammatory response.

In second place, for a 5,000 euro prize, is another startup afferent to the Life Sciences field. It is Colemus, which, supported by the 2I3T incubator, develops a genetic system to be able to expand a huge number of stem cells at very low cost by removing very expensive growth factors from the growth medium, and subsequently differentiate them into muscle cells in just 7 days homogeneously, to be able to produce meat.

Closing the podium and winning the third prize of 2,500 euros is the project supported by the I3P incubator MediaMiner, in ICT. It provides its clients with the necessary tools to protect their data and prevent cyber attacks, ensuring comprehensive and proactive security. Through constant monitoring of the web, including social media, forums, dark web and other sources of online information, the technology, along with ML and AI techniques, can detect potential threats before they can cause significant damage.

In fourth place, three runners-up ex aequo with Industrial projects:

• Deplotic (supported by I3P) develops IDRA, a deployable and retractable robotic manipulator for space applications that, when installed on satellites, enables self-maintenance operations, extending their operational life and improving their economic and environmental sustainability;
• Point Zero (I3P) develops ZEDS, a technology that aims to eliminate secondary particulate emissions from braking systems, with a combination of an electric motor and the innovative magnetorheological brake for safe, efficient and pollution-free mobility;
• Therness (I3P) implements an automatic nondestructive monitoring system for the welding process.

The top six projects have been awarded a prize of 1,000 euros each forentry into the 22nd edition of the National Innovation Prize (PNI) 2024, the “cup of champions!” of winning business projects from regional Start Cups. The event will be held in Rome on Thursday, Dec. 5 and Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, organized by the University of Rome Tor Vergata in collaboration with the universities and research institutions of the Start Cup Lazio network, as part of the Lazio Innovation Ecosystem, Rome Technopole, funded by PNRR.

Special partner awards

Special prizes promoted by the Sponsors and Partners of Start Cup Piemonte Valle d’Aosta 2024, aimed at concretely supporting the development of innovation, were also awarded.

The CRC(Cassa di Risparmio di Cuneo) Foundation Prize of 10,000 euros, dedicated to the best Entrepreneurial Project that establishes business in the Province of Cuneo and made available by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Cuneo, was awarded to Droply, a startup supported by the I3P incubator. The project proposes innovative precision agriculture solutions based on the use of drones, developing a targeted spraying system (patent pending) that enables the precise application of plant protection products, reducing product and water consumption.

The Valle d’Aosta Prize of 7,500 euros for the best Entrepreneurial Project to be established in the Pépinière d’Entreprises of Aosta or Pont Saint Martin, made available by the Autonomous Region of Valle d’Aosta, went to E.GE Energia, which undertook an ambitious project to develop innovative wind generators.

The 7,500-euro Sustainability in Aerospace Award , offered by the Piedmont Aerospace District for the best Entrepreneurial Project that addresses sustainability in aerospace or space, was won by Deplotic (I3P) and its IDRA.

La Laura & Franco Beltramo ETS Foundation awarded Social Innovation Prizes worth a total of 15,000 euros, divided into Gold Prize of 10,000 euros awarded to Dewy (2I3T), which is working on finding a solution to climate change, using a hydrogel that can help drought-prone vine plants at a sustainable price, and in Silver Prize of 5,000 euros, which went to Pink Road (I3P), for the development of an app where women meet and jointly address the problem of safety on the streets.

The City of the Future and Sustainability Award worth 7,500 euros, offered by the LINKS Foundation, was awarded to the project supported by 2I3T Penso.Green for its contribution to sustainability through the development of innovative Zero Liquid Discharge systems aimed at revolutionizing wastewater treatment in SMEs, minimizing environmental impact and improving process efficiency, making the transition to a circular water economy sustainable.

The firm Jacobacci & Partners awarded the Jacobacci Gold and Silver Awards, worth a total of 7,000 euros in consulting services, to SUPAIR (5,000 euros), supported by the I3P incubator, and Steroidomus Medtech (2,000 euros), supported by 2I3T, for their projects on advanced air mobility and medical diagnostics, respectively.

The Unicredit Start Lab Prize, which offers a mentorship session to assess a project’s eligibility to enter the Start Lab program, was awarded to the Start Cup winner, Inflant (2i3T).

Finally, the Three 5G&EmergingTech Awards as part of the project. CTE NEXT, intended for the best entrepreneurial projects related to social transformation, were awarded to Evvu (I3P), which through its service allows motorists to check the compatibility between their driving needs and the characteristics of an electric vehicle; SmarTi, whose app interacts with IoT devices on vehicles and at stops by identifying the route, period and cost of the ride the user has taken; and FideLIS (I3P), whose humanoid robot capable of interpreting Italian sign language (LIS).

Special mentions

During Start Cup Piemonte Valle d’Aosta 2024, the five special mentions were also awarded.

The Women’s Entrepreneurship – Invitalia Mention was awarded to Inflant, for developing an entrepreneurial project with a female-dominated team, exceeding 50 percent. This mention recognizes the excellence of female entrepreneurs and their growing role in innovation.

The award for the Social Innovation Mention, designed for projects that propose innovative solutions in line with the provisions of Legislative Decree 155/2006 on social enterprise, went to Pink Road.

The Open Innovation/Industrial Spin Off Mention was awarded to Auranicum (I3P), for proposing a CSMO (Contractual Sales and Marketing Organization) for exclusive products in (chronic) wound management, supporting comprehensive wellness through the provision of specialized services (therapy, monitoring, aftercare and prevention) to healthcare professionals.

The Republic’s Climate Change Green&Blue Mention, dedicated to projects that stand out for their positive impact on climate change and adoption of innovative technologies and solutions for the protection and enhancement of natural resources, was awarded to Point Zero (I3P), which develops ZEDS, a technology that aims to eliminate secondary particulate emissions from braking systems, with a combination of an electric motor and the innovative magnetorheological brake, for safe, efficient and pollution-free mobility.

Finally, the Sustainable Technologies Mention, offered by Jacobacci & Partners, went to ElectriFly (I3P), for revolutionizing marine propulsion with efficient and reliable electric systems-a particularly original and significant project in the field of sustainable technologies, opening up new perspectives for efficiency and reduced environmental impact.

(Source: Start Cup Piemonte Valle d’Aosta press release)