Intesa Sanpaolo launches Up2Stars 2025 for innovative Italian start-ups
30 June 2025
The third edition of Up2Stars aims to support the growth of high-potential, innovative Italian start-ups, in collaboration with the Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center.
Interested start-ups can self-apply. The selection calls will identify 40 participants across four key sectors:
- New Materials
- Robotics
- Aerospace
- Design Tech
aligned with Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP).
Selected companies will participate in a high-quality, free acceleration course provided by Cariplo Factory. The programme includes technical mentorship, Demo Days, and networking sessions with companies, investors, and innovation ecosystem stakeholders. Partners include Microsoft, Elite, Digit'Ed, and four National Research Centres, where Intesa Sanpaolo is a founding partner.
"The new edition of Up2Stars confirms Intesa Sanpaolo's commitment to supporting innovation and Italian start-ups through high-impact growth initiatives, working in synergy with the Group's other structures and with an ecosystem of prominent partners"
Anna Roscio, Executive Director Sales & Marketing Enterprises of Banca dei Territori of Intesa Sanpaolo
Following its first two editions — which saw over 1,000 applications and the involvement of 500+ stakeholders — Up2Stars returns with an enhanced strategic focus for Italy’s innovation ecosystem.
What's new in 2025: integrated applications with the In Action ESG CLIMATE call
In Action ESG CLIMATE is an initiative of Intesa Sanpaolo Assicurazioni that awards three grants of €100,000 each to the best projects of start-ups with clear, measurable solutions accelerating the ecological transition..
In previous editions it has already awarded €1.75 million in grants to realise the projects submitted, reinforcing its bancassurance model at the service of sustainable innovation.
Start-ups applying to Up2Stars can also opt to participate in In Action ESG CLIMATE using the same application process, by 28 July, via the dedicated page.
(By the Intesa Sanpaolo Research Department)
The latest data from the Community Innovation Survey1 a European survey focusing on innovation, shows a good propensity for innovation among Italian companies. In the 2020-2022 period, more than 60% of domestic companies introduced product and/or process innovation, 11 percentage points higher than the EU27 average. The propensity to innovate affects all companies, including the smallest ones, where more than half of the companies engage in innovative activity. Segment data show a high degree of heterogeneity: industry stands out (65.1%), followed by services (56.1%) and then construction (46.7%). In manufacturing, the pharmaceutical, electronics, automotive and mechanical engineering sectors show better innovation performance, while in services, the propensity to innovate in the research and development, insurance and ICT services sectors stands out. In general, although product innovation prevails in some industries, process innovations are more widespread, including those relating to production phases.
In order to investigate the innovation paths taken by companies, Intesa Sanpaolo's Research Department, in collaboration with the BI-REX and SMACT Competence Centres, carried out a nationwide survey in the second half of 2024, involving around 1,500 client companies active in various manufacturing and ICT sectors. On the one hand, the research yielded a snapshot of the state of adoption and impact of innovative 4.0 solutions among Italian companies and, on the other, it analysed exactly how the innovation path is taking place in greater detail, focusing on the partners that are supporting the companies, the difficulties encountered and the future strategies that the companies intend to pursue. Over 75% of companies indicate that they have adopted at least one 4.0 technology (robotics, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, etc.), highlighting how the 4.0 innovation path is well underway in the Italian production fabric. The introduction of 4.0 technologies allows companies above all to automate processes, making the idea of the smart factory a reality, where automation becomes a key element of production processes.
The objectives achieved by the companies include energy saving, an important aspect in addressing the increases in raw material costs that have characterised the last few years and which signals the growing importance of environmental sustainability topics.
A sign of the good propensity to innovate that characterises our country also emerges when analysing the data on innovative start-ups from the Company Register, which confirm the vitality of Italy's productive fabric early 2025. According to data from the Chamber of Commerce Registry, which collects up-to-date information on innovative start-ups from 2012 onwards, at the end of May 2025 there were approximately 12,0002 innovative start-ups registered in this registry, showing an acceleration of new entrants, above all in recent years. In particular, in the first five months of the year, around 900 innovative start-ups registered with the Register. These companies specialise mainly in IT and software services, offering consultancy services and all-round digital solutions, with a growing number of players active in the world of artificial intelligence. The large variety of areas in which the start-ups operate is confirmed, ranging from health to Industry and Agriculture 4.0, culture and tourism, education, gaming, fintech and professional services in the legal, accounting and/or insurance fields.
1. Community Innovation Survey 2022, Eurostat, data as of March 2025.
2. The data was compiled considering the information available on 26 May 2025 and excluding companies in liquidation.
