Techstars' New Accelerator to Grow Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Turin
Jun 05, 2019
TECHSTARS PARTNERS WITH COMPAGNIA DI SAN PAOLO, FONDAZIONE CRT AND INTESA SANPAOLO INNOVATION CENTER TO GROW ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEM IN TURIN, ITALY
Techstars to activate a series of entrepreneurship-focused events and programming in Turin over the next three years
TURIN, Italy – June 5, 2019 – Techstars, the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed, today announced a partnership with Turinese foundations Compagnia Di San Paolo and Fondazione CRT, and the Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, to create an international hub for innovation in Turin, Italy. Techstars is joining Compagnia Di San Paolo, Fondazione CRT, and Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center in their recently announced three-year commitment to the development of Turin as an international ecosystem for innovation and establishment as a successful innovation model throughout Italy and Europe.
Through this effort, Techstars will bring a series of innovation and entrepreneurship-focused events and programming to the region during 2019, 2020 and 2021 with the goal of building new opportunities for Italian and European entrepreneurs. These initiatives will further develop and activate the Turin ecosystem, particularly through the Officine Grandi Riparazioni (OGR) innovation hub, a historic building recently transformed by Fondazione CRT into a center of excellence for contemporary culture and innovation.
Through the partnership, Techstars will bring the following activations to the Turin community:
Techstars Summit 2019 – a week-long global summit bringing together founders, corporate leaders, mentors, investors, and others. A three-track event, Techstars Summit will join what previously existed as three separate events –Techstars FounderCon,Techstars Partner Summit, and Techstars Ecosystem Summit – into one experience spanning the week of September 22-26. Techstars Summit will bring key stakeholders and thought leaders across the Techstars network together for one week of connections, discussions, and learnings in Turin.
Techstars Smart Mobility Accelerator – a new Turin-based accelerator program that will focus on smart mobility. Concentrated on smart infrastructure and smart cities, the accelerator will attract and source startups from across the globe. Recruitment will begin in July 2019 with the program set to announce its first class of startups in Q1 2020.
“Techstars profoundly believes that mentorship and entrepreneurship are key factors that power the future of any community. This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for Techstars to help facilitate lasting global connections in Turin,” said Jenny Lawton, Techstars Chief Operating Officer. “By partnering with Compagnia Di San Paolo, Fondazione CRT, and the Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, we are supporting the development of the innovation ecosystem in Turin and across Italy. We’re inspired by our partners’ vision, and the commitment and resources they are bringing to the table for this initiative. Our shared efforts will undoubtedly have a lasting impact on the growth and development of the Torino community and their entrepreneurial ecosystem. ”
“We are accelerating and consolidating our support for the local and national innovation chain,” said Alberto Anfossi, Secretary General of Compagnia di San Paolo. “We intend to be drivers in developing high impact innovation processes, including those of a social nature. To this end, we have set our whole system of competence and knowledge into motion, benefitting from our close collaboration with academies and research bodies. In this way, innovation takes on a holistic aspect in which the collaboration between institutions brings about increasingly significant results. In this perspective, the Techstars brand and model makes it possible to blend the joint commitment of three great institutions in favor of a strategy that repositions our territory to one of strong innovation.”
“The partnership that begins today with Techstars joins those that have been signed over the last 12 months, to strengthen the vision of the new OGR Tech space as a gateway to global excellence and as an epicenter of a new international ecosystem dedicated to tech and business innovation,” said Massimo Lapucci, Secretary General of Fondazione CRT and Managing Director of OGR. “But this is only the beginning. In September, Techstars will organize the Techstars Summit with us here in Turin – for the first time concentrated in one single city – bringing to the OGR the best of its global network of entrepreneurs, corporate partners, and institutional actors. Today, a series of activities will begin for the next three-years, including an accelerator program on Smart Mobility, landing for the first time in Italy at the OGR. This European exclusive with Techstars is in partnership with Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center and Compagnia di San Paolo. Our international program will generate a strong impact for the support and development of entrepreneurial talent and excellence.”
“Innovation is a key element for supporting the country’s economy,” said Maurizio Montagnese, Chairman at Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center. “Our group has long been committed to promoting the growth of this ecosystem, which is increasingly central to the development of Italian businesses. Countries with a focus on innovation show greater GDP growth, while in Italy the annual capital requirement per startup is estimated at around 1 billion euro, 75 percent of which is not covered by specialized operators and by the financial segment. This partnership, which is the result of the careful and strategic vision typical of banking foundations, pursues the dual objective of making the city of Turin an international innovation hub and acting as a stimulus for the new economy of the country, thereby increasing networking between universities, businesses, young people, and investors.”
About Techstars
Techstars is the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed. Techstars founders connect with other entrepreneurs, experts, mentors, alumni, investors, community leaders, and corporations to grow their companies. Techstars operates three divisions: Techstars Startup Programs, Techstars Mentorship-Driven Accelerator Programs, and Techstars Corporate Innovation Partnerships. Techstars accelerator portfolio includes more than 1,700 companies with a market cap of $20 Billion.
About Compagnia Di San Paolo
Compagnia di San Paolo is one of Europe’s most important private foundations. Since 1992 it has granted almost € 3 billion to the territory in the areas of research and higher education, social policies, health, artistic heritage and cultural activities. Founded in 1563 and now a philanthropic agent of development even through its Instrumental Bodies, it is a hub of knowledge and competence, services and policies for projects focused on people and territories of reference. www.compagniadisanpaolo.it
About Fondazione CRT
Fondazione CRT is a private non-profit organization founded in 1991. It is one of the “engines” of development and growth in Piedmont and the Aosta Valley in three main areas: Research & Education, Art and Culture, Welfare and Territory. In 27 years of activity, Fondazione CRT has distributed resources totaling around 1.6 billion euro, which has permitted the realization of over 39,000 interventions. Furthermore, with a budget of 100 million euros, Fondazione CRT has completely restored the OGR. Fondazione CRT is present in international networks of philanthropy, within the EFC (European Foundation Centre) and the EVPA (European Venture Philanthropy Association), and it implements projects in collaboration with international organizations including the United Nations.
About Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center
The mission Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center lies in the research and analysis of innovative solutions in order to identify growth opportunities for our Group and customers. The Center, established in 2014, has the task of monitoring the Group’s innovation development plans and processes. With a central office on the 31st floor of Turin’s skyscraper, the headquarters of the Group, and a national and international network, the Innovation Center aims to be an enabling driver of relationships with other stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem, such as businesses, start-ups, incubators, research centres and universities. In addition, it promotes new forms of entrepreneurship in accessing risk capital. Innovation is at the core of the company’s evolution. For the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, innovation is a lever for competing in markets that are increasingly more complex and globalised.
About OGR
The OGR of Turin is a former railway workshops built in the nineteenth century on an area of 35,000 square meters, the OGR have been entirely redeveloped by Fondazione CRT with over 100 million euro and reborn on 30 September 2017 as workshops of ideas, creativity and innovation: a place open to the world for artistic experimentation, scientific, technological and industrial research, as well as food. In 2019 they will increasingly serve as international innovation hub, with spaces for business accelerators, research laboratories and a Big Data centre. They will also become the Italian “home” to BEST, the bilateral Italy US program designed to promote high-tech entrepreneurial culture in our country, with the aim of building a bridge between Silicon Valley and Turin.
Techstars Media Contact: Jonathan Greene Jonathan.Greene@techstars.com 917.560.3000
Compagnia Di San Paolo Media Contact: Francesca Corsico francesca.corsico@compagniadisanpaolo.it +39 011 5596937 / +39 3333869911
Fondazione CRT Media Contact: Laura Opalio laura_opalio@fondazionecrt.it +39 011 5065390 / +39 3371451802
Intesa Sanpaolo Media Contact: Stampa@intesasanpaolo.com +39 02 8796.2052 www.intesasanpaolo.com/it/news.html
OGR ‐ Officine Grandi Riparazioni Media Contact: Laura Cavallari laura.cavallari@ogrtorino.it +39 011 0247208 +39 351 8071637