From the fight against pollution to the protection of health, through artificial intelligence and machine learning. These are the areas of activity of 10 startups that IMSA brings to the Festival of the Future, at the Fiera in Verona from 19 to 21 November. These are the finalists of the Italian Master Startup Award 2020 - the award promoted by the Italian Association of University Incubators PNICube and organized this year by the University of Verona, the only nationwide award that recognizes the actual results achieved by startups born from academic research in their first years of life, while at the same time creating an important bridge with the world of investors.
IS MegaRide, spin-off of the University of Naples Federico II, to have won the prize of the 14th edition, awarded on 25 September with an online ceremony on the websites of the newspapers L'Arena, Il Giornale di Vicenza and Bresciaoggi as well as www.premioimsa.it - www.univr.it - www.pnicube.it, on the TV channels Telearena and Telemantova and on the respective Facebook pages.
The ten finalists, during the three days of the Festival del Futuro in November, will talk live in the pavilions of the innovation fair Experience the Future, where the technologies and ideas that shape the future can be viewed, touched and tested live.
The 10 IMSA startups at Experience the Future
Sphera Encapsulation - Special JU.CLA.S.
The profiles of the awarded startups
MEGARIDE - from the name of the island of the first Greek settlement in the Neapolitan territory - is an academic spin-off of the University of Naples Federico II. It was born in 2016 as a software house, testing center, smart mobility provider, with the aim of becoming a reference point in the development of advanced models for real-time simulation of vehicle dynamics on the road, in the automotive and motorsport sectors, and in the supply of software products for the optimization of vehicle performance and smart mobility. From its very first steps, it interfaces with the main world automotive and motorsport contexts and, in addition to the German market, is now developing growing connections with Asia, the UK and Spain. "Among the key success factors of our startup - explains the CEO and co-founder Flavio Farroni - the deep synergy with the Federico II research department, the investment in talents in the area and the promotion of organic growth that has led , in 2019, to a turnover of around 1 million euros without resorting to bank debt or the sale of equity ".
DIAMOND - spin Off of the University of Verona - ranked second and won an EIT Health Special Mention, for being able to combine social vocation and corporate mission, producing a kit to diagnose Sjögren's syndrome quickly and effectively. It is an innovative startup with a social vocation and prevalence of women, born in 2016, whose mission is to exploit plants and plant viruses for the production of nanomaterials with applications in the diagnostic and therapeutic field for autoimmune and infectious diseases, exploiting economic and ecological. The first application of Diamante is an innovative reagent for a timely, precise and definitive diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome (SjS), but further applications are already in the R&D phase in the areas of rheumatoid arthritis of Covid.
NITO - Nuova Industria Torinese (startup i3P Politecnico Torino) was ranked third and was awarded the special mention t2i - technology transfer and innovation, for the design and development of sustainable mobility solutions. SRL born as an innovative startup that designs, manufactures and markets push and electric two-wheeled vehicles, in the name of design and sustainable mobility, without sacrificing performance and price competitiveness. From scooters, to folding bicycles, passing through electric scooters in moped version, electric motorcycles and urban motards and a cargo & share vehicle in the design phase.
SPHERA ENCAPSULATION - spin-off University of Verona - ranked fourth and won the special Ju.Cla.S. awarded by Juice Clarification Systems for technological advancement and attention to environmental sustainability. Founded in December 2016, it is the first Italian company dedicated to the 100% to research and development in the field of encapsulation technologies, in particular of micro and nano-encapsulation for the food, nutraceutical and agro-chemical sectors, to increase the effectiveness and absorption of molecules valuable for human health.
RESTORATIVE NEUROTECHNOLOGIES - a spin off of the University of Palermo - the Edulife Foundation Onlus earned a special mention for its vocation to improve the life of people with cognitive impairment, an initiative consistent with the mission of the Foundation. It is an innovative startup that deals with the design, development and marketing of medical devices and innovative clinical protocols for rehabilitation and cognitive enhancement. The activity is aimed at digitizing the monitoring and cognitive therapy process. Mindlenses Professional is one of the solutions patented by the Sicilian startup, an integrated device consisting of a wearable device and a cognitive stimulation software developed for the rehabilitation of cognitive deficits resulting from neurological diseases (such as stroke and dementia) and neurodevelopmental disorders (such as DSA, ADH).
