The first wearable computer in
the world that uses body motions to control connected devices; a
portable, cloud-connected electrocardiogram unit which allows
for distance monitoring; an Android-based hub station through
which all home automation devices - alarms, climate control
systems, media - "speak" to each other: who says Italy isn't a
tech giant?
While totally different in scope, all these technologies
have one, important element in common: they were "incubated" by
I3P, one of Italy's leading start-up hubs, based in Turin, a
city widely associated with the country's automotive industry.
Founded in 1999 by the Polytechnic University of Turin, I3P
is - according to the UBI Index 2014 Global Top 25 university
business incubators (www.ubiindex.com) - the leading incubator
in Italy, the 5th in Europe and the 15th in the world.
Launched as part of efforts to transition the city from
being a "one company town" - after Turin-based carmaker Fiat,
once one of the city's leading (if not the leading) employer,
stalled - it has proven its worth.
Since it was founded, some 173 start-ups, who today
generate some 70 million euros in revenues, have passed through
its doors.
At a presentation to the foreign press in Milan on Tuesday,
Marco Cantamessa, president of I3P (which, roughly translated,
stands for "Turin Polytechnic Incubator of Innovative
Companies") said that every year the incubator receives some 300
entrepreneurial ideas that then lead to about 100 business plans
that, in turn, lead to the founding of some 15 start-ups.
Pointing out that the incubator is an example of an Italy
that works, Cantamessa described I3P as a "fairly bubbly
environment", a hybrid between a university campus and science
park.
The business model is also hybrid: some of its revenues
come in the form of services fees paid by the companies it is
incubating, while other funds are from public sources, including
the EU.
The public component varies depending on the number of
start-ups that are successfully launched, an additional
incentive to the incubator's scouting activities.
Aside from helping develop business plans, I3P also offers
consulting services - including technological, legal and
business - and helps in team building and in fund raising.
"Every year we raise some two million euros in seed
capital," Cantamessa said, adding: "every week there is a large
company coming to us to search for new suppliers and/or
acquisition targets."
During the presentation space was given to some of the
companies that have been incubated in I3P, including Hiris (the
maker of wearable computers), Biotechware (the cloud-connected
EKG) and Alyt (pronounced "alight", the home automation device
maker).
Also present were the founders of Niso Biomed, which
produces a new machine enabling real-time endoscopic diagnostic
procedures, and Safen, a firm that produces energy-saving
devices - including smart meters - for users of compressed
air-powered industrial machines.
The companies serve as an excellent example of I3P's wide
breadth, which distinguishes it from more digital-only focused
Italy-based incubators.
On the more consumer-oriented side, Hiris co-founder and
chief executive Marco Gaudina pitched his product's ability to
control several gadgets and different applications as well as
its full-body tracking features - a useful application for
sports fans - as unique features.
Not only is Hiris - a watch-like device worn on the wrist -
intuitive, replacing touch commands with simple gestures; it can
also help people with disabilities perform basic tasks like, for
example, turning room lights on and off, Gaudina explained.
On the more business-focused side, Paul Muller, founder of
Niso Biomed, said his company's product is the only one that
allows doctors to carry out real-time endoscopic stomach
diagnosis by taking samples of stomach fluids.
Traditionally doctors have to take small samples and then
send these to specialized labs for biopsies. The company's
device can allow, for example, for screening of stomach cancer
risk factors in as little as 15 seconds, while the doctor is
carrying out the endoscopic procedure, Muller said.
Niso's machines can help doctors and hospitals reduce the
number of endoscopic procedures with biopsies, speeding up
patient diagnosis and cutting costs, Muller explained.
The company has already placed its product with hospitals
in Italy and two machines are in use in the UK, in the
Addensbrooke Hospital in Cambridge and in the Homerton Hospital
in London.
photo: I3P Chairman Marco Cantamessa
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