Startup, digital, Venture Capital and blockchain are the keywords of the discussion organised by the Giovani di Confindustria, between entrepreneurs, large corporations and startups to present the results of the TALENTIS programme and give visibility to the world of innovation in all its forms.

TALENTIS is Confindustria Giovani's programme dedicated to Italian start-ups established less than five years ago, registered for the first time through REGISTRY, RetImpresa's technology platform which, thanks to open innovation and blockchain, provides reliable and secure access to an integrated digital ecosystem.

"The growth of our industrial system inevitably passes through innovation, which, without the courage and vision of entrepreneurs, becomes an empty concept," commented Riccardo Di Stefano, President of the Young Entrepreneurs and Vice-President of Confindustria. "Italy still lacks a 'country strategy' to tackle the fifth industrial revolution, which combines digital and green. Only with the collaboration between companies and institutions can we tackle the double transition and turn it into the greatest opportunity for development. For this reason, it is important to allocate as many resources as possible in the Budget Law and make the best use of the PNRR funds on this chapter. Re-establishing Industry 4.0, focusing on incentives for research and innovation, and modernising the Public Administration, are necessary steps to fully seize this opportunity'.

There are 428 active enterprises with 241 business projects on Registry. In addition to the two winning start-ups, Adaptronics e BonusX, are well 150 start-ups participated in Talentis in 2022: the majority (25%) presented projects related to the industrial sector and 4.0 technologies, while 18% of the start-ups are engaged in the Circular Economy and Smart Cities, 14% in Personal Services, 11% in Life Sciences, Marketing and Internationalisation, 8% in Culture, Entertainment and Tourism, 7% in Finance and 6% in Corporate Welfare.

"These are innovative realities from the three macro-areas of our territory: North 46%, Centre 17%, South 37%," explained the Vice-President of the Young Entrepreneurs of Confindustria, Andrea Marangione.

On the topic of open innovation, virtuous collaboration between structured companies and start-ups identified as an alternative form of investment, three major corporations brought their testimonies, TeamSystem, a2a and Telepass. La their experience with start-ups respectively SkyLab, PayDo and Wash Out, aims to make companies more competitive and closer to the needs of the market.

Fabio Mondini de Focatiis, Founding Partner GrowthCapital delved into the state of the art of venture capital in Italy, which is increasingly alive and growing, presenting data on the volume of venture capital investment in high-potential innovative companies. The manager pointed out that 'total investments in Italy rose to EUR 527 million in the third quarter of 2022, and exceeded EUR 1.5 billion in the first nine months of the year, a sum higher than investments for the whole of 2021. An interesting fact,' he noted, 'concerns Italy's attractiveness to foreign investors: in 2022 foreign investors participated in 30% of investment rounds, compared to 25% in 2021'.

An analysis of the Italian innovation ecosystem, with particular reference to digital investments, was outlined by Marco Gay, President of Digital Magicswhich emphasised the ability of more traditional sectors to invest in innovative technologies, also benefiting ESG sustainability parameters.