Another year of strong growth comes to an end for I3P , which in 2025 confirmed its leading role in the national ecosystem of technological innovation and which in December won the international Startup Ecosystem Star 2025 award in the “Top Talent & Research” category, awarded in Paris by the International Chamber of Commerce and Mind the Bridge.
During the year, the incubator received more than 900 new business ideas, followed the launch of over 170 business projects and welcomed 28 innovative startups in structured incubation paths. From January 1 to date, the companies of the I3P network have raised a total of 32.4 million euros in new investments, consolidating the incubator’s contribution to strengthening the emerging industrial fabric.
At the same time, the ESA BIC Turin space incubation program, managed by I3P with the technological support of the Politecnico di Torino and the LINKS Foundation, in collaboration with the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency, has crossed the threshold of 30 space startups since its launch in 2021, with the raising of over 24 million euros of private capitalby the young companies supported in these four years.
I3P also announced, during the traditional end-of-year Startup Festival on Monday 15 December, the names of the two companies awarded as I3P 2025 Startup of the Year: Novac and Focoos AI, selected ex aequo among all the startups that have completed their incubation path in 2025, coming from both the standard three-year program of I3P and the two-year program of ESA BIC Turin. Focoos AI stands out for its high-efficiency computer vision solutions and artificial intelligence models optimized for reduced resource consumption, while Novac produces supercapacitors that ensure high power, immediate energy and ultra-fast charging.
Giuseppe Scellato, President of I3P, said: “This year we celebrate two realities that exemplify the incubator’s ability to accompany high-tech entrepreneurial initiatives towards industrial and financial maturity. Since 1999 we have incubated over 390 startups and we have tracked 61 that have made an exit: in other words, about one in seven startups among those supported by I3P has successfully completed an acquisition process. Novac and Focoos AI confirm the solidity and quality of the ecosystem we are building, together with local partners and the community of institutions, entrepreneurs and investors that has accompanied us for over 25 years”.
Focoos AI’s innovative project
Founded in 2022 as a spin-off of the Polytechnic University of Turin, Focoos AI is an Italian startup that simplifies and accelerates the adoption of computer vision through an innovative web platform, capable of providing optimized, frugal and scalable AI models. Since 2023 she has been incubated in I3P as part of the ESA BIC Turin program. The young company won the overall victory of the National Innovation Award 2023, winning the ICT Award and the title of best Italian startup that year, surpassing 71 finalist startups from 16 regional competitions and 55 universities and incubators.
In February 2025, Focoos AI closed a €2.65 million seed investment round, led by Galaxia and CDP Venture Capital, with the participation of PiemonteNext, VC Partners, Vertis, Vento , and Exor Ventures. Resources were dedicated to integrating new functionalities on the platform, training efficient foundation models, launching on the international market and expanding the R team and the commercial division. Focoos AI’s platform allows companies to autonomously develop AI solutions on edge devices such as drones and cameras, with models up to four times more efficient and ten times faster than market standards, reducing costs, energy consumption and operational complexity.
Antonio Tavera, Co-Founder CEO of Focoos AI, commented: “We are really very satisfied with this award, which in a way marks the end of a journey. For us, incubation at I3P was not simply an acceleration, but an experience enriched by a group of people who helped us shape the idea and build it in the best possible way. When we joined I3P we had many more questions than answers, and today we come out with much more certainty. Of course, in a startup you go through different phases and new challenges will arise, but we come out of here much more solid and with greater awareness. We are extremely happy with this recognition, which we do not consider a point of arrival, but an encouragement to grow further in the future“.
Novac’s sustainable technology
Founded in 2020 as a university startup of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Novac is an Italian startup specializing in the production of next-generation supercapacitors for applications in energy, mobility and industry. His team, originally made up of four engineers under 30, is made up of co-founders Matteo Bertocchi, Loris Bruzzi, Alessandro Fabbri and Aldo Girimonte. After being selected in 2021 among the 8 startups participating in the Motor Valley Accelerator, in 2023 Novac joined the ESA BIC Turin program managed by I3P.
The startup recently completed a €3.5 million seed round, led by the fund Eureka! Fund – Technology Transfer with the participation of CDP Venture Capital and the Galaxia National Technology Transfer Hub, thus raising resources for the development of proprietary technology, the production of eco-sustainable supercapacitors and the expansion of the team and industrial applications. Novac supercapacitors ensure high power, fast charging times and optimal management of energy peaks, protecting and extending the service life of the batteries. The technology, already patented, can be integrated into electric or hybrid systems in the automotive, aerospace, maritime and industrial sectors, for a potential market estimated at 6.5 billion euros.
Aldo Girimonte, CTO of Novac, said: “Thanks to the journey we have taken at ESA BIC Turin over the past two years, we have been able to significantly increase our technology readiness level, focusing our efforts specifically on the aerospace sector. This experience has allowed us to expand our network and prepare for next year, which will be crucial for Novac: we will carry out our first In-Orbit Demonstration and Validation, marking the official entry into the aerospace market. This is the result of the work of all the people who have supported us during this journey, but above all of the Novac team, which continues to grow by enriching itself with different expertise and professionalism that make all this possible“.
(Source: I3P press release)
