Italian Lifestyle Acceleration Program

Italian Lifestyle is the acceleration program dedicated to the search for innovative startups and SMEs that offer digital solutions and enable technologies to the tourism, fashion and food industries conceived and promoted jointly by Nana Bianca with Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, CR Firenze Foundation and Fondazione for Research and Innovation.

The second edition was launched on March 14th 2023, made up of 6 startups that own enabling technologies in the fields of application of Artificial Intelligence, Augmented & Virtual Reality, Blockchain, IoT & 5G, Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity and Mobile Apps. These technologies are considered transversal to technology transfer to companies belonging to the driving sectors of the economy of the metropolitan city of Florence (Food, Tourism and Fashion).

The acceleration path lasts 12 weeks, during which startups will have the opportunity to perfect their business models and to work concretely on opportunities for synergistic development with local businesses.

Lab-go is a startup that has created an innovative technology to protect brands, offering a unique certificate of authenticity for the end customer. Lab-go uses a proprietary technology to create unique and dynamic chromatic QR codes, which certify the authenticity of the products, and a covering technology that preserves the integrity of the identification code. To obtain the certificate, a camera is sufficient to scan the unique code associated with the product. Once the authenticity has been certified, the user can access digital assets (NFT and Metaverse), exclusive contents and promotions through customizable ads managed directly by the Lab-go platform.

HealthyFood is a food-tech startup that aims to meet different dietary needs through a platform that allows people with special dietary needs to easily and quickly locate a restaurant that respects their nutritional needs. HealthyFood uses a patented technology that is able to break down a dish into ingredients and list all the allergens, nutritional values and environmental impact that restaurants need to manage menus, orders and reservations based on specific customer needs. The free MyCia app allows the user to create his own "Food Identity Card" and give him back all the restaurants that meet his requirements.

Agrobit is an innovative startup that helps optimize agricultural production by reducing the use of chemicals thanks to drones, sensors, 3D models and algorithms, in order to achieve the objectives of environmental, social and economic sustainability. The main product of Agrobit is a mobile app (iAgro): through a photographic scan of a portion of a row or a tree via smartphone or tablet, the app creates a 3D model of the plant (digital twin) and through an algorithm provides to the user information on the characteristics of the plant and its optimal doses of water and crop protection products.

PopulaRise is a startup that operates in the influencer marketing sector (but without influencers, as its payoff states). The proprietary platform of PopulaRise offers companies the possibility to create structured marketing campaigns through collaboration with vertical communities in the sectors, automating each activity through artificial intelligence. Once the campaign has been set up, the artificial intelligence selects the communities best suited to the Brand's needs and monitors the progress and results in real time, thanks to advanced targeting and geolocation systems.

Cyber Evolution is a cyber security startup that has developed and patented LECS, a Plug & Play security device capable of protecting any LAN network, Cloud infrastructure and industrial plants from the most dangerous cyber attacks and threats. LECS technology is based on three Machine Learning algorithms that perform a classification of network traffic anomalies, acting with countermeasures and targeted responses in cases of critical threats. The technology built in this way makes it possible to keep implementation, installation and maintenance costs low.

Quiroom is an online booking portal that allows hotels to be able to sell unsold hotel rooms last minute. Travelers have the option to purchase vacant rooms close to check-in (starting 72 hours before) with discounts of up to 40%. Quiroom's mission is to give people the opportunity to spend less and travel more, increasing the occupancy rate and hotel revenues, also thanks to the sale of extra services and experiences. The Quiroom app allows you to know exactly and in real time the rooms that have remained unsold and the discount applied which can increase close to check-in.

Demo Day on 28 June marked the close of the first edition of Italian Lifestyle, the accelerator which started on 15 March and which introduced 6 innovative startups to a selection of important Italian companies. The startups, operating in the food&wine, fashion and tourism sectors, were all set up and operate in Italy.

 Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, promotor of the initiative together with Fondazione CR Firenze, Nana Bianca e Fondazione per la Ricerca e l’Innovazione dell’Università di Firenze, continues its activity of ecosystem growth support by focusing on lifestyle and innovation in the Tuscan regional capital.  The recently concluded edition is the first of a three-year program. 

The aim of Italian Lifestyle, which from the outset has proved to be extremely attractive, receiving over 200 candidate applications, is that of supporting startup growth and networking among relevant companies, in particular with the 8 large companies already signed up to the program: Gucci, Pitti Immagine, Alpitour, Starhotels, Ruffino, Cisco e Colorobbia.   

Rifò presents its innovative solution to manage the phenomenon of overproduction and overconsumption in the clothing sector in a sustainable and virtuous way, through the collection of fabric waste and its transformation into new clothes. 

Blaster Foundry is a gaming agency which improves company engagement with its audience, creating experiences which involve users, bringing them closer to the brand. They work with different platforms and formats inside the various social ecosystems and develop customized gaming solutions. 

Calton offers a solution to listen to customers’ voices with a feedback collection and analysis process. The Calton CX platform (Customer Experience) and ORM (Online Reputation Management) include monitoring, generation and management of reviews, customer surveys, customized company queries, competitive benchmarks and AI (Artificial Intelligence) which allow thousands of reviews to be text-analyzed in a few seconds.

Dotzero a Florentine startup which has created a 100% recyclable trainer, using wood scraps from which bioplastics can be obtained. 

Dresso is a social network whose goal is to transform the purchasing process into a social and responsible experience, promoting interactions between people using blockchain technology. Each product available on the app has its own digital certificate of authenticity. 

Italia Rimborso operates in the field of refunds and  compensation due to airline disruptions in favor of passengers in the case of flight delays, flight cancellations, overbookings, lost, damaged or late luggage. It has permitted passengers to receive over two and a half million euros in the last two years of its operation.