Torino Smart Destination: The Second Edition of the Event Dedicated to the Turin Innovation Ecosystem

On October 22, the Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center organized and promoted the second edition of Torino Smart Destination, an event held in collaboration with CTE Next and the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation.
The meeting, held on the 31st floor of the skyscraper and also streamed online, aimed to review the evolution and prospects of the Turin innovation ecosystem one year after the previous edition, with the Innovation Center being a key player alongside other stakeholders.
According to the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2024 by Startup Genome, between 2021 and 2023, the ecosystem made up of startups based in Turin and the companies connected to them generated a total value of $2.9 billion (about €2.7 billion), with an average annual growth rate of 122%. These figures place Turin among the Top 40 European Ecosystems in Performance, an index that analyzes the performance of various cities across the continent in terms of the growth of hosted startups, and among the Top 40 European Ecosystems in Funding, which ranks cities based on their ability to attract capital for startups.

In 2019, the Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation, and the CRT Foundation launched an acceleration program for startups in Turin focused on smart mobility, in collaboration with the American accelerator Techstars. The program was later extended to new technologies for smart cities and transformative technologies for a changing world, bringing startups from around the world to the Italian market.
Turin’s ecosystem, historically innovation-driven, has benefited from this initiative, growing both technologically and in terms of the number of companies and institutional actors involved. In 2021, the Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center and the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation began collaborating with Startup Genome, contributing to the collection and analysis of data on Italian startups and companies, with a particular focus on the Turin area.
"The growth of the Turin ecosystem is the result of a long process involving many players, including Intesa Sanpaolo, which is headquartered in the city and chose to establish its frontier innovation hub here ten years ago," said Viviana Bacigalupo, General Director of the Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center. "Since its inception, the Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center has supported the development of innovative ecosystems across the country, starting with Turin, working in synergy with public and private stakeholders to increase the competitiveness of the Group and the country. We aim to attract and support new talent, capture emerging trends, and stimulate the collection of new capital through the venture capital activities of our subsidiary, Neva Sgr. In a rapidly evolving global scenario, only frontier innovation and technologies can accelerate the resolution of global challenges, and Turin has the potential to make a significant contribution in addressing these challenges."

From international reports to startup testimonials: an afternoon full of talks and debates

The October 22 event featured a packed schedule with representatives from the Innovation Center, Compagnia di San Paolo, the City of Turin, startups, and companies.
The session opened with institutional greetings from Viviana Bacigalupo - General Director of Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, Paolo Mulassano - Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation, and Chiara Foglietta - Councillor for Ecological and Digital Transition, Innovation, Environment, Mobility, and Transport for the City of Turin.
In her speech, Viviana Bacigalupo discussed the vision of the Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center and its role in ecosystems, highlighting how enabling ecosystem development ensures that innovation also generates a positive social impact. In recent years, the traditional closed model of innovation has evolved into an increasingly open model known as the "innovation ecosystem," a network of relationships in which all involved actors collaborate to generate innovation through continuous interaction, allowing all stakeholders to evolve. Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center embraced the "ecosystem" model very early on and has been designing and implementing international innovation ecosystem initiatives for years, supporting both the Group and key sectors of regional economies. These initiatives are aligned with national strategies and the interests of the Group and its clients, leveraging public-private expertise and coordinating a network of relationships. From the beginning, the Innovation Center has worked in Turin in collaboration with institutions, partners, companies, and startups to create and grow a vibrant and attractive innovation ecosystem, which has evolved from a pioneering challenge into a solid reality recognized nationally and internationally, fostering the cross-pollination of skills for the benefit of the entire community.
Turin is a prime example of success that paved the way for the launch of other ecosystem initiatives across the country, also supporting the Group: in Florence with Italian Lifestyle (focused on Tourism, Fashion, Food & Beverage), in Naples with Terra Next (Bioeconomy), in Ancona with Next Age (Silver Economy), in Venice with Argo (Tourism), and in Taranto with Faros (Blue Economy), as well as in Genoa and Trieste (maritime and port economy).

The event then delved into an analysis of data from the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2024 by Startup Genome, presented by Adam Ubrankovics - Head of Ecosystem Development and Startup Solutions at Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, and Michele Osella - Senior Program Manager, Impact Innovation Department at the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation. The two showcased the data from the report, highlighting the evolution and growing prominence of the city's ecosystem over time.

A debate followed on "Stakeholder Engagement and Future Perspectives," moderated by Laura Morgagni - CEO of Fondazione Piemonte Innova. Speakers included Elena Deambrogio - Head of the Smart City Unit, European Projects, and Innovation, City of Turin, CTE Next, local companies and startups, Stefano Nigro - Director of CEIP (Foreign Trade Center for Internationalization), Marianna Ronzoni - Head of Startup Evaluation and Growth Programs at Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, Giorgio Federico Strata - Open Innovation Manager at Iveco, and Graziella Roccella - Chief Research and Product Design Officer at Planet Smart City.

Stefano Bruzzi - Head of Innovation Network Development at Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, introduced the session dedicated to venture capital, titled "Venture Capital, Corporate VC: Challenges and Opportunities," with contributions from Marco di Miceli - Partner at Neva SGR, Matteo Vacchetti - Coordinator of Iren UP Cleantech Venture, Guido Panizza - Head of Project Management at LIFTT, and Alberto Eichholzer - Head of Finance at the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation. This was an important moment to assess the situation and possible developments in the field of venture capital investments in innovative companies.

The event concluded with testimonials from three local startups, which presented their technologies and relationships with stakeholders: Enerbrain, which focuses on technologies to reduce building energy consumption; UTwin, which creates digital twins of buildings; both part of Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center’s portfolio, and AlbaRobot, a micromobility platform.

With the hope that the collaboration among ecosystem actors will continue and strengthen, Torino Smart Destination looks forward to next year’s event!