Techstars Transformative World Torino Closes the 2025 Edition with Demo Day

Techstars Transformative World Torino wrapped up its 2025 program with a well-attended demo day. The 12-week program culminated with 12 startups presenting their innovative technologies in front of an audience of over 350 people at OGR in Turin, along with more than 200 viewers connected from 26 countries around the world.

The demo day was not only an opportunity for pitches, but also a moment of reflection and discussion among program partners—Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, Fondazione CRT, and Techstars—on the results achieved and the future of the Turin innovation ecosystem.

Martin Olckyz, Managing Director of Techstars, opened the event with an engaging presentation on the cumulative results of the six program editions: 69 startups accelerated, over 130 USD million in funding raised by the accelerated startups, over 600 new jobs created, more than 130 signed Proof of Concept agreements with Italian companies, and 3 successful exits. It marked a growth opportunity for both emerging startups and the local territory, contributing to skill development, qualified employment, and new connections between the entrepreneurial world, research, and institutions. Once again, Martin emphasized the importance of the team and the community built by Techstars Transformative World, involving startups, mentors, investors, and partners—stretching from Turin to the rest of Europe and the world.

The program partners, called on stage, highlighted the value of initiatives like this for attracting talent and investment, fostering public-private collaboration, and advancing an already thriving local ecosystem.

In particular, Adam Ubrankovics, liaison partner of the program for Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, retraced the journey of Techstars Transformative World from its pioneering beginnings in 2019 to the impact it has today. He stressed that for the Innovation Center, creating valuable collaborations is essential to spark and drive change toward innovation—an approach that includes promoting forward-thinking ideas and initiatives aligned with sustainability and ESG principles. Only this way, he stated, can change benefit everyone: startups, investors, companies, and communities.

The startups pitches

After the roundtable, the real stars of the 2025 edition of Techstars Transformative World took the stage: AlterEcho, Arbor Insight, Axe, BettaKnit, frnt, Granter.ai, Lemons in the Room, Litlyx, MateriaIntel, Recrewty, Spacebrains, Vocations—12 startups selected from hundreds of applications from across the globe. Each team presented their pitch after three months of mentorship, meetings, and workshops, a period of intense work that helped validate both their business models and entrepreneurial ideas.

The proposed solutions range from Artificial Intelligence to Deep Tech, from the Future of Work to robotics, and innovations for health, creativity, and the environment—aligned with ESG, Net-Zero, and Circular Economy trends that guide the program’s investment thesis.

Demoday 2025 - Highlights

Turin confirms its status as an international hub for technological innovation

Active in Turin since 2020 and headquartered at OGR Tech, the innovation hub of OGR, the program initially focused on Smart Mobility (2020 and 2021 editions) and Cities of the Future (2022 and 2023). It has since evolved into “Transformative World,” an accelerator dedicated to frontier technologies addressing today’s major economic, environmental, and social transitions. The program is run by Techstars with support from Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, and Fondazione CRT.

The initiative is part of a long-term strategy to strengthen Turin’s innovation ecosystem, which gained additional momentum at the end of 2023 with the signing of a memorandum of understanding among the partners. The goal: to attract talent, support the establishment of new enterprises, encourage public-private collaboration, and solidify Turin’s position among Europe’s most dynamic and attractive innovation hubs. This commitment has contributed to the city’s recent recognition by the European Commission as the “European Capital of Innovation 2024/2025,” highlighting its pioneering approach to experimentation and transformation.

To date, the Techstars program has served as a real growth platform for emerging startups and the local territory, fostering skill development, qualified employment, and new links between business, research, and institutions.

“Intesa Sanpaolo had the foresight to recognize innovation as a strategic lever for competitiveness and sustainability, creating a dedicated company within the Group over 10 years ago” said Paola Angeletti, Chairman of Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center. “From the very beginning, we have promoted the development of international ecosystems that foster public-private dialogue, tackle major global challenges, and generate positive impacts for companies and communities. This is the spirit with which we continue our commitment in Turin, where—alongside Techstars and local partners—we have helped grow a vibrant and attractive innovation ecosystem. What started as a pioneering challenge has become a solid and internationally recognized reality, enabling the cross-pollination of skills to the benefit of the region and the country.”