Focoos Ai (Start Cup Piedmont-Valle D’Aosta) wins the PNI 2023 in the ICT category, beating 71 competing startups from the other 17 regional StartCups for a prize worth 25 thousand euros. The startup provides advanced software that automates the process of creating and training computer vision networks optimized for any device. Using AI for computer vision applications on low-power devices such as satellites or drones represents significant challenges for aerospace companies.
Traditional AI models are often overbuilt, meaning they require significant computational resources and energy. Focoos AI provides cutting-edge software that, following customer requirements related to the final application, hardware specifications and data, automatically designs and trains tailor-made optimized neural networks avoiding dependence on expensive hardware, eliminating time-consuming manual tasks and reducing human errors to a minimum. “The technology significantly reduces energy consumption – added the CEO Antonio Tavera – improves operational efficiency and enables real-time data processing on the devices themselves.”
The Award was presented by Michele SvidercoschiDirector of Communication and Institutional Relations Almaviva: “The recognition for the ICT category, among the many interesting proposals, rewards a project initiative that shows entrepreneurial vision, significant technological content, concreteness of the objectives, attention to sustainability, positive impact of the solution A project that expresses the characteristics of an innovative business culture, a vocation in which the essence of the mission of Almaviva, an Italian digital group, is reflected, which supports the contribution of scientific research and its transfer into the productive fabric, as valuable heritage to fuel the growth and innovation challenge of our country.”
“Drive Innovation Forward” – The winners of the other categories of the PNI 2023
INDUSTRIAL Award (innovative industrial production):
Foreverland (Start Cup Puglia) – Italian foodtech startup rethinking the food we love for a delicious future. Freecao is the new chocolate: delicious, sustainable and cocoa-free. In the last 12 months he has worked to create Freecao, a product that could be the successor to chocolate. Foreverland uses local ingredients and existing technologies with a touch of innovation to create innovative chocolate for people and the planet. In fact, cocoa has enormous sustainability problems and could disappear due to climate change. “The mission of Foreverland – says Massimo Sabatini, CEO & co-founder – is to drastically reduce CO2 emissions and water consumption in the food industry by valorising carob, of which Italy is the second largest producer in the world.”
Andrea Alessandrini, CEO of Nobento-iVision, presented the Award: “With this Award we want to support and enhance the commitment to innovation in the field of industrial production. We are proud to give visibility to new ideas and new projects with a highly innovative content. In my idea of business, technological evolution plays a central role, it is the engine that allows us to create improving solutions and products or services in step with market needs.”
IREN CLEANTECH & ENERGY Award (improvement of environmental sustainability):
Preinvel (Start Cup Puglia) – has patented the fluid-dynamic industrial filter that reduces the most dangerous polluting emissions with zero maintenance costs, using the filtering effects of air flows. The technology is based on the Bernoulli principle to generate areas of high depression and capture fine dust smaller than 0.5 microns produced by civil and industrial activities. Thus, a technology was born with maintenance costs close to zero, since it does not include mechanical or electrical capture systems. The PREINVEL fluid-dynamic filter is patented in China, Japan, Russia, Canada, Italy and Europe and is currently under the attention of important industrial companies for applications ranging from steelmaking to naval, up to military applications to reclaim war zones bombed by chemical weapons. “The mission of PREINVEL is to promote eco-sustainable industrial development – underlined CEO Raffaele Nacchiero – which guarantees healthy economic growth, but above all which reconciles the right to work with the right to health.”
“We are pleased to present the Iren Cleantech & Energy award to Preinvel – commented Enrico Pochettino, Iren Group Innovation Director – This recognition consolidates the partnership that has seen our company alongside the PNI for years, and which allows us to strengthen our relationship with the startup and research ecosystem: a strategic activity consistent with Iren’s objectives in the field of innovation and which can also support the ambitious development programs of the company, as well as the entire sector.”
LIFE SCIENCES-MEDtech Award (improving people’s health):
Livgemini (Start Cup Lazio) – Advanced tool for prevention, diagnosis and monitoring of aortic aneurysm based on Medical Digital Twin. Startup born from the European Horizon 2020-Research and Innovation- “MeDiTATe” project which aims to develop Digital Twins of vascular anatomies for the study of aneurysms. “The partnership between universities, hospitals and companies – he commented Lorenzo GeronziCo-founder & CEO – is behind the LivGemini business idea which integrates advanced medical skills with innovative simulation methods based on the Medical Digital Twin.”
The current criterion for access to surgery in the case of aortic aneurysm involves exclusively evaluating the diameter and is often inaccurate, causing high mortality rates among unoperated patients. The LivGemini team has developed and tested a prototype based on advanced 3D modeling and real-time hemodynamic analysis, enriched by AI predictions, to support doctors in the accurate diagnosis and prognosis of aortic aneurysm, with the ambitious objective society to reduce the mortality associated with this pathology.
The 16 startups that reached the final
PREINVEL (Puglia – University of Bari “Aldo Moro”) has patented the fluid-dynamic industrial filter that reduces the most dangerous polluting emissions with zero maintenance costs. The team is made up of: Angelo di Noi, Francesco Ribezzo, Rocco Rizzo, Gaetano Di Bari, Gioele Rampinelli, Laura Aquaro.
FURTHER (Emilia-Romagna – University of Bologna) industrial process for the synthesis of bio-based molecules for the production of innovative bioplastics with high added value. The team is made up of four doctoral students from the University of Bologna within the Department of Industrial Chemistry Andrea Piazzi, Alessandro Messori, Nicolò Santarelli and Eleonora Rossi.
RAREARTH (Lombardy – PoliHub – Polytechnic of Milan) specializes in the recycling of rare earths present in the magnets of two-wheeled electric vehicles, such as scooters, bicycles and scooters. The team is made up of Enrico Pizzi and Gianluca Torta.
VISIONING (Lombardy – University of Milan) bioelectrochemical-photocatalytic system that purifies wastewater from the agro-industrial sector while simultaneously recovering its nutrients.
SPAICE (Piedmont-Valle d’Aosta – I3P – Polytechnic of Turin) bridges the layer between artificial intelligence and operations.
ELECTROBLAZE (Liguria – University of Genoa) electric water heater in step with the future, comfort even with the new regulations.
O-DAMP (Emilia-Romagna – University of Bologna) innovative anti-rotational protection system with non-Newtonian fluids to protect motorcyclists from brain injuries. The promoters are three young people who revolve around the Sport Technology Lab of the University of Bologna, the first laboratory of the University of Bologna dedicated to the development and testing of sports and safety equipment: Martino Colonna, Federica Parisi, and Giuseppe La Fauci.
FOREVERLAND (Puglia – University of Bari “Aldo Moro”) Italian foodtech startup that rethinks the food we love for a delicious future. Freecao is the new chocolate: delicious, sustainable and cocoa-free. Foreverland’s path is led by four young people, Massimo Sabatini, Giuseppe D’Alessandro, Riccardo Bottiroli and Massimo Brochetta, who after significant experiences in multinationals, have decided to join forces to create a positive impact on the world.
Categoria Life Sciences- Medtech
LivGemini (Lazio – University of Rome “Tor Vergata”) advanced tool for prevention, diagnosis and monitoring of aortic aneurysm based on Medical Digital Twin. The team is made up of the founders Marco Biancolini and Leonardo Geronzi.
SOUNDSAFE CARE (Tuscany – Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna) offers a device that combines robotics and ultrasound for precise, safe and totally non-invasive surgical treatments.
AI-TWIN (Piedmont-Valle d’Aosta Enne3 – Business incubator of the University of Eastern Piedmont) provides a diagnostic and predictive tool for therapeutic response to the rheumatologist for the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis.
PeptoShield (Lazio – University of Rome “Tor Vergata”) PeptoShield will revolutionize future treatments for pediatric leukemia and rare diseases by developing a new class of potential drugs.
FOCUS AI (Piedmont-Valle d’Aosta – I3P – Polytechnic of Turin) provides advanced software that automates the process of creating and training computer vision networks optimized for any device.
MONIMEDS (Lombardy – Polytechnic of Milan) offers a new monitoring perspective for medical device malfunctions on the European market and beyond with AI.
LittleJob (Lazio – Sapienza University of Rome) innovative service, based on Telegram community, to match job supply and demand in sectors with high turnover.
MY BON (Puglia – University of Bari “Aldo Moro”) platform independent of the cash register software/hardware for advanced digital receipts, accessible and useful to everyone, at every stage of the purchase. The team is made up of: Norbert Romfeld, Enzo Franko Venneri, Antonio Santise.