Departing from its traditional landscape, Italy has given rise to numerous entrepreneurial endeavours that not only reshape industries but also redefine the limits of achievement. From Rome to the tech hubs of Milan, Italy’s startup scene has solidified its position as a formidable force.
In 2022, Italy’s fintech startups, Scalapay and Satispay, achieved unicorn status, marking a historic milestone for the country’s startup landscape. As Italy’s startup ecosystem matures, it’s witnessing rapid expansion, with the combined value reaching $50 billion in the last year, according to Dealroom data. This growth is supported by government initiatives like the Italia Startup Visa and the Startup Hub program, aimed at attracting global talent and fostering innovative entrepreneurship within the nation.
For this article, we dove deep to identify and compile a list of 10 promising startups, all founded since 2021, that everyone should be keeping an eye on in 2024.
Algo AI: Milan-based Algo AI is an HR tech startup that helps to quickly and effectively analyze candidates’ soft and hard skills, simplifying the pre-screening phase. Founded in 2021, Algo AI is leveraging technology to help companies make the selection process faster and more effective. The startup has raised €524K for further expansion.
Carpe Carbon: Founded in 2022, Carbe Carbon is a Carbon Dioxide Removal technology that removes carbon dioxide from ambient air. This Turin-based startup is on a mission to decrease the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. Carpe Carbon has raised a total of €1.2 million in pre-seed funding to help with climate change mitigation.
Colossus: Rome-based Colossus combines technological, financial, and management knowledge with an in-depth understanding of blockchain to ensure a balanced and fair digital ecosystem. They are committed to bridging the gap between institutional and retail investors through its comprehensive services. Founded in 2022, they have raised €2.5 million to expand its offerings.
Contents.com: Milan-based startup Contents.com enables the practical use of generative AI for enterprise content creation. Founded in 2021 Contents.com counts IKEA, Allianz, billboard, Netgear, and lastminute.com amongst its client list and offers AI-powered content creation services ranging from text to audio, to video, and animations. They have raised €16.6 million to drive global expansion efforts.
Equixly: Firenze-based Equixly is detecting API vulnerabilities through the use of AI to deliver actionable feedback to developers for quick security enhancements. Founded in 2022, they have raised €1.6 million to strategically create attack scenarios that will be executed against the applications in question, testing their resistance and security, to determine their vulnerability and be able to improve it.
Five Elements: Milano-based Five Elements Lab is building web3 applications for the next wave of crypto adoption. Founded in 2022, Five Elements is on a mission to bring DeFi and Web3 to the next level of adoption and efficiency. The startup has secured €1.2 million in funding to revolutionize the fintech sector.
Jet HR: Founded in 2023 and already raised 4.7 million euros in a pre-seed funding round, Jet HR offers a proprietary software-as-a-service platform for calculating and disbursing salaries to employees, as well as a package to digitize the hiring of new talent and manage complete staff records with a click. This Milano-based startup aims to reduce bureaucracy and wasted time in companies.
Limenet: Lecco-based Limenet has designed, patented and engineered an innovative technology for carbon storage. The company founded in 2023 is transforming carbon dioxide collected from calcium carbonate, marine water and renewable electric energy to other sources. The company raised €1.2 million for the construction of the first production plant.
METACASA: Founded in 2022, METACASA is the first startup in Europe that combines artificial intelligence and virtual reality in a B2B platform that simplifies real estate buying and selling through digital tools that increase the value of a property and improve its energy efficiency. Bologna-based METACASA raised €740K in a seed funding round.
SynergyFlow: Milano-based SynergyFlow is a DeepTech startup developing low-cost and sustainable redox flow batteries for energy storage. Utilizing sulfur, a byproduct of the petrochemical industry ensures that Sinergy Flow’s supply chain is not subject to geopolitical oligopoly. Founded in 2022 they have raised €1.8 million for the ongoing technology development.
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