Milan, November 12 (Adnkronos) – The Lombardy region has facilitated the birth of 46 innovative companies from 2016 to date thanks to the ‘Startup Competition’, a real ‘Champions League’ for startups designed to encourage the growth of the most promising new businesses and connect them with potential investors. The regional strategy, through a contribution of 1.2 million euros, enabled the startups to raise investments of 53 million euros and collect 5.7 million euros, thereby generating added value for the Lombard economy, new jobs and related activities.
A winning recipe, implemented by the member of the regional council for economic development, Guido Guidesi, with the new edition of the ‘Startup Competition’. More than 230 applications, including startups and university spin-offs, were received for the three competitions promoted by the Region: ‘StartCup Lombardia’ (prize money of 195,000 euros), ‘Green Chemistry Lombardy for a sustainable future’ (prize money of 150,000 euros), ‘Sustainable and safe construction’ (prize money of 150,000 euros). The competition is organized jointly with Musa – Multi-layered urban sustainability action (Lombardy university system) and Innovation Federation @Mind (innovation incubator).
The applications came from all over the region, confirming Lombardy’s leadership in the national innovation ecosystem. The projects range between Ict & Services, Life sciences & MedTech, Cleantech & Energy, and Industrial technologies, with an increasing focus on digitalization of production processes, new materials, efficient management of water resources, and industrial decarbonization. The award ceremony for the winning startups took place today at Palazzo Lombardia, in the presence of Region President Attilio Fontana, Guidesi Board Member, Tourism, Territorial Marketing and Fashion Board Member Debora Massari.
“We are a leading region in innovation – emphasizes Fontana – and to strengthen this leadership we continue actions to support startups, support projects that look to the future and offer useful solutions. We are a land where ideas come to fruition. Lombardy wins at national and international level by focusing on quality, ingenuity and competence: we continue on this path by focusing on these values”. The aim, emphasizes board member Guidesi, “is to ensure that anyone who has an innovative idea can find the best conditions in Lombardy to develop it. Through initiatives such as ‘Startup day’, we are committed to supporting and transforming successful ideas into economic growth and new job opportunities. We want to strengthen our leadership to continue being the ‘home of ideas’. Innovation and vision will remain our winning cards, also thanks to the contribution of new generations”.
“This year – said councilor Massari – the event also involves startups connected to the tourism sector, through a special prize promoted by our department. The aim is to support projects related to sustainable tourism, with special attention to new ideas capable of enhancing the little-known beauty of Lombardy, villages and beautiful places that deserve to be discovered and rediscovered, also thanks to innovations that can be recognized and supported by the Region”.
The ‘Startup Competition’ is part of the ‘Startup Days’ project, a two-day meeting (11 and 12 November) at the Region headquarters between new startups, investors and professionals from various sectors, to facilitate direct and targeted interaction and create conditions for future collaboration. A strategic annual event, it aims to strengthen Lombard’s innovation ecosystem, creating connections between talent, ideas and opportunities to build the future of the region. The two days dedicated to startups are part of the Region’s broader strategy to support independent entrepreneurship, especially among the younger generation, so that the business culture aimed at encouraging the birth of a new generation of entrepreneurs in Lombardy is reaffirmed and consolidated.
StartCup Lombardia, now in its 23rd edition and organized by the Region of Lombardy and Moses, awards the most promising projects born or connected to Lombardy universities and incubators. These are the winning startups who each received an award of 25,000 euros and a special award that allows them access to the 2025 National Innovation Awards.
For the CleanTech & Energy category, Clear – a floating photocatalytic system that uses sunlight to remove organic micropollutants from surface waters; for the ICT & Services category, Ainana – the first platform to combine human expertise and artificial intelligence to improve nutritional support; in the Life Sciences & MedTech category, Evoclin, an Ai platform that predicts cancer evolution, helps doctors prepare more effective therapies. Doublet for SatEnlight, which deals with optical communications based on light vortices to increase speed and security in data transmission. The startup won in the Industrial Technology category, but also won a special Corporate 2025 award, promoted by Thales Alenia Space, with the aim of identifying solutions to mitigate interference in GNSS receivers.
The Special Social Impact Award was given to Cellmets, a startup focused on cellular materials for safer and more personalized helmets thanks to 3D printing and biomechanical modeling. The winner of the Special Sustainability Award is Graphicore, a startup that offers patented solutions for nuclear decommissioning and robot manipulation in extreme environments. Hiddenz, a startup that proposes an AI-based idea to promote digital and sustainable tourism for Italian villages and support local communities, has won a special Lombardy Style Award. New to the 2025 edition, the award is promoted by the general management of Tourism, territorial marketing and fashion of the Lombardy Region with the aim of encouraging the development of innovative projects in the tourism sector. Thelia, a startup focused on advanced optical devices that integrate 3D reconstruction and chemical-physical analysis in one precise scan, was awarded a special mention dedicated to startups whose founders are at least 50% female, allowing access to the National Innovation Award. Category prize money: 195,000 euros, 175 thousand euros allocated by the Lombardy Region and 20 thousand euros provided by Thales Alenia Space.
Sustainable and safe construction: the competition promoted by the Region of Lombardy and Moses, in its first edition, raises the most innovative solutions for the construction sector, with special attention to safety, efficiency and sustainability of materials and processes. The category prize money is 150,000 euros.
Here are the winners: Brix – a platform that simplifies construction procurement, making purchasing more competitive and transparent for companies in the sector; Dymond – structural monitoring software that automatically detects and finds anomalies in infrastructure in real time; Inco – a social impact project that transforms unused space into accessible housing solutions through intergenerational cohabitation; Pillar – software that automates the financial management of construction companies, reducing errors and wasted time; Pratify – digital copilot for technical and professional companies, which simplifies and optimizes the management of construction practices; Proxima – a modular ecosystem of plug-in technology modules, capable of evolving over time, adapting to different needs and functions. Green Chemistry Lombardy for a sustainable future 2025: promoted by the Lombardy Region and Federated Innovation@Mind, the competition awards startups and SMEs involved in the development of technologies and products for the ecological transition and circular economy.
Here are the winners, divided into categories, who will win a total of 150,000 euros in prize money.
Technology for water management and reuse: the award goes to Wembranex for developing sustainable and innovative membranes for efficient water treatment and reuse. For the circular economy for materials and chemical products, the award goes to B-Plas, which offers innovative plant solutions for sewage sludge treatment, reducing waste volumes and producing valuable circular by-products. Synergy Flow, a deep-tech startup developing innovative, sustainable batteries for long-lasting energy storage, won the Innovative Materials award for emerging sectors and high-impact applications. The award for ‘Ingredients, formulations and products with low impact on the environment and health’ went to Agree Net, a biotech startup fighting food waste with natural and innovative solutions designed to preserve fresh fruit for longer, without synthetic preservatives or plastic.
For ‘Digitization and automation for R&D and production’, the winner was Rafla, a startup dealing with artificial intelligence systems for continuous inspection of infrastructure, factories and logistics, capable of reducing costs, risks and consumption. The Industrial Decarbonization Solution Award was given to startup Hph.
“The ‘Startup Days’ represent a fundamental stage in the way Musa promotes the contamination between research, business and social innovation – explains Giovanna Iannantuoni, president of Musa –. We believe that the value of the Lombard ecosystem lies in its ability to combine different skills and visions to generate real, economic and social impact. Every startup that became a finalist is proof that universities and research are not a world away from the market, but are an important engine of a more sustainable, digital and competitive future. With the ‘Startup Days’ we want to strengthen an alliance between knowledge and action, building a network of people, ideas and opportunities to build new development models together.”
“Green chemistry – emphasizes Fabrizio Grillo, president of Federated Innovation @Mind – is one of the most promising frontiers of sustainable innovation. With the second edition of the ‘Green Chemistry Lombardy 2025’ program, Federated Innovation renews its commitment to promote models of co-innovation between start-ups and industrial companies capable of generating real impact in the region. Together with the Lombardy Region, we are building an ecosystem in which chemistry becomes a strategic driver for a greener, more competitive and responsible future. and companies therefore have a real opportunity to guiding the chemical transition towards sustainability, driving competitiveness, innovation and responsible growth”.
