Startacrowd

Last week, #Tuscany took center stage at #CasaToscana for the second edition of the #ToscanaTechOnTheRoad, hosted by INNOVIT - Italian Innovation and Culture Hub in #SanFrancisco.   The event presented some of the most promising #startup projects from the region, showcasing Tuscany's innovation and entrepreneurial spirit in California.   We want to extend a sincere thank you to everyone who participated in the program. It was a privilege to work alongside such a talented and driven group of individuals, each contributing unique perspectives that made this experience unforgettable.   The program at Innovit has been an eye-opening opportunity to delve deeper into the #SiliconValley ecosystem and connect with top-tier entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders.   We are proud to have been a part of this vibrant journey and we want to thank Regione Toscana, the #INNOVIT team and all talented entrepreneurs, mentors, speakers and partners who have taken part to this journey. Startacrowd - Andrea Fato DSQM - Claudio Puglia Knitronix Srl - Riccardo Marchesi, Manolo Abrignani PlayNook - Stefano De Vivo, Gabriele Antonelli Haruspex Cybersecurity - Marcello Montecucco, Federico Tonelli SailADV - Giovanni Palamà MACOEV - Alessio Fedi Mediate Srl - Marcello Chiurazzi Linari Engineering - Stefano Linari Traent - Federico d'Annunzio Small Pixels - Marco Bertini Antonio Mazzeo | Leonardo Marras | Sergio Strozzi | Alberta Lai | Francesco Sangermano | Alberto Acito | Federico Jarach | Danilo Mirabile | Jacopo Naidi | Leandro Agro' | Pancrazio Auteri | Lidia Schwarz | Diego Teloni The journey doesn’t end here, stay tuned. #ToscanaOnTheRoad #GenioToscano #Innovation #MadeInItaly #Startups #INNOVIT

Last week, #Tuscany took center stage at #CasaToscana for the second edition of the #ToscanaTechOnTheRoad, hosted by INNOVIT - Italian Innovation and Culture Hub in #SanFrancisco.   The event presented some of the most promising #startup projects from the region, showcasing Tuscany's innovation and entrepreneurial spirit in California.   We want to extend a sincere thank you to everyone who participated in the program. It was a privilege to work alongside such a talented and driven group of individuals, each contributing unique perspectives that made this experience unforgettable.   The program at Innovit has been an eye-opening opportunity to delve deeper into the #SiliconValley ecosystem and connect with top-tier entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders.   We are proud to have been a part of this vibrant journey and we want to thank Regione Toscana, the #INNOVIT team and all talented entrepreneurs, mentors, speakers and partners who have taken part to this journey. Startacrowd - Andrea Fato DSQM - Claudio Puglia Knitronix Srl - Riccardo Marchesi, Manolo Abrignani PlayNook - Stefano De Vivo, Gabriele Antonelli Haruspex Cybersecurity - Marcello Montecucco, Federico Tonelli SailADV - Giovanni Palamà MACOEV - Alessio Fedi Mediate Srl - Marcello Chiurazzi Linari Engineering - Stefano Linari Traent - Federico d'Annunzio Small Pixels - Marco Bertini Antonio Mazzeo | Leonardo Marras | Sergio Strozzi | Alberta Lai | Francesco Sangermano | Alberto Acito | Federico Jarach | Danilo Mirabile | Jacopo Naidi | Leandro Agro' | Pancrazio Auteri | Lidia Schwarz | Diego Teloni The journey doesn’t end here, stay tuned. #ToscanaOnTheRoad #GenioToscano #Innovation #MadeInItaly #Startups #INNOVIT

📢 Exciting news!   We are thrilled to announce that Startacrowd has been selected as one of the top 10 #startups in #Tuscany recognized in the “Firenze e il Lavoro” award.   The award, recognized by the Florence Chamber of Commerce, is reserved for the following categories: -     🏛️ Historic businesses (30 awards available): Reserved for companies registered in the Business Register of the Florence Chamber of Commerce for at least 40 years as of January 1, 2024. -     👨🏻💻 Youth-led businesses (10 awards available): Open to businesses with individual proprietor or legal representative or shareholders holding at least 51% of the company’s equity under the age of 35. -     🙋🏻♀️ Female-led businesses (10 awards available): Reserved for businesses where the owner is a woman, cooperatives where at least 60% of the members are women, or corporations where two-thirds of the equity is held by women, and at least two-thirds of the board members are women. -     🚀 Startups (10 awards available): Open to innovative startups registered in the special section of the Business Register of the Florence Chamber of Commerce.   Among the categories awarded, we are proud to represent the Tuscany’s vibrant #startupecosystem. This recognition is a testament to our team’s hard work and highlights our commitment to #innovation.   Stay tuned for updates.       #Startacrowd #FirenzeEilLavoro #Award #Toscana

📢 New website live   We are excited to share our new website with a fresh new look and an interesting service update. Explore our offerings and connect with us.   At Startacrowd, we are dedicated to mitigating the risk associated with the evaluation, selection, and monitoring of #startups and their target markets, facilitating informed #decisionmaking.   💡Learn how our services can help you transforming financial data into valuable strategic decisions. Startacrowd’s Financial Analysis services can guide your decision-making and help you understand your business’s financial landscape to drive growth.   🔗 Discover our services: https://lnkd.in/dJwNYz-b   📩 If you want to know more about our services or discover how we can support your decision-making please reach out through the contact form in the first comment below.       #Startacrowd #FinancialAnalysis #datadriven #BusinessSolutions

🇪🇺 Updates from Budapest: The EU Inc Petition is gaining momentum.   The European startup community is uniting as discussions continue around the introduction of the #EUInc, also known as the #28thregime, a new EU-wide legal status for Europe’s young and innovative companies.   At Friday’s informal European Council meeting of Heads of State or Government in Budapest, leaders have adopted the Budapest Declaration on the New European Competitiveness Deal.   The declaration emphasizes the need of decisive action in order to meet challenges and recommendations described in Mario Draghi’s and Enrico Letta’s recent reports, building on the priorities identified in the April 2024 European Council conclusions.   Europe’s #startupecosystem remains fragmented, holding back the untapped potential for tech companies across the continent to scale and thrive.   The EU Inc. aims to address the longstanding market fragmentation that has limited the growth and #competitiveness of European startups, taking down existing barriers to innovation to empower European businesses to harness the full potential of a true #SingleMarket.   🗣️As defined by #EuropeanCommission President, Ursula Von der Leyen during her speech at the joint conference in Budapest, the 28th regime is “a simple and single rulebook for the whole of the European Union”.   In a nutshell, the EU Inc. aims to: ✔️ Standardize investment processes to attract more capital across the EU; ✔️Simplify cross-border operations for seamless European expansion; ✔️Create a unified employee stock option framework to help EU tech companies attract and retain top talent; ✔️Establish harmonized rights across member states, removing legal barriers and slashing administrative burden.   The path towards our future competitiveness seems clearer than ever. Is this our once-in-a-generation opportunity to close the #InnovationGap?   🔗 Check out the full speech of European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen at the #HU24E press conference in the first comment.       #Startacrowd #EU #EUCO #Entrepreneurship

In #VentureCapital, a small number of companies drive most of a fund’s returns. This phenomenon, known as the #PowerLaw, is perfectly illustrated by #Unicorns.   The term “unicorn company” was coined in 2013 by venture capitalist Aileen Lee to describe privately held startups valued at $1 billion or more. The naming was chosen to reflect the rarity of such companies, at least at the time.   When the term was introduced, only 39 companies across the entire globe met this criterion. By 2020, however, economic shifts and the digital boom led to an unprecedented rise of billion-dollar startups across diverse industries and regions.   Though unicorns are more common today, they continue to symbolize growth, innovation, and potential within the global startup ecosystem. But just how many unicorns have emerged since the term was first used?   PitchBook’s unicorn companies tracker tries to answer this question, tracing the rise of new unicorns from 2016 onward. For the purpose of the dataset used to monitor emerging billion-dollors companies, unicorns are defined more narrowly as venture-backed companies that raised a round at a post money valuation of $1 billion or more. Companies that have gone public, been acquired, or had their valution falling below the $1 billion threshold are not considered unicorns.   According to these data, as of November 2024, there are 1.422 unicorns globally. In 2021 alone, over 580 new unicorns were created. The U.S. leads with 720 active unicorns (51.1% of the global total), followed by China with 317, India with 61, and Israel with 27.   Here's a regional breakdown of active unicorns: 1.    North America – 969 unicorns, with a total valuation of $3,5 trillion; 2.    Asia – 625 unicorns, with a total valuation of $2,3 trillion; 3.    Europe – 221 unicorns, with a total valuation of $649,8 billion; 4.    LatAm – Carribean – 25 unicorns, with a total valuation of $121,3 billion; 5.    Australia – 10 unicorns, with a total valuation of $44,3 billion; 6.    Middle East – 9 unicorns, with a total valuation of $11,8 billion; 7.    Africa– 4 unicorns, with a total valuation of $14,5 billion.   Which industries do you think will produce the next generation of unicorns?       #Startacrowd #MarketInsights #VC #tech #innovation

Bridging the Tuscany Region Innovation Ecosystem with Silicon Valley 🇺🇸 📢 Exciting news! Startacrowd has been selected as one of the 15 Tuscan #startups and #innovativeSMEs that will participate in the second edition of #ToscanaTechontheRoad, the initiative sponsored by Regione Toscana through the Fondazione Sistema Toscana, to promote highly innovative technology from #Tuscany in San Francisco. The program, which will be held from December 2 to 6 at Casa Toscana at the Italian Innovation and Culture Hub, is reserved for Tuscan innovative startups and SMEs that have developed a product/service related to one of the following verticals: #AI, #robotics, #biotech, #cybersecurity. INNOVIT - Italian Innovation and Culture Hub is an Italian Government strategic initiative promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale) with the Embassy of Italy in Washington DC, and in partnership with Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini and Entopan Innovation. The main objective of the initiative is to promote Tuscany and its high-tech innovation ecosystem in the #SiliconValley, providing on-hand support to startups and SMEs in refining and enhancing their business and growth strategies, ensuring their role as innovators and leaders in the international market. Stay tuned. #Startacrowd #ToscanaOnTheRoad24 #Innovit #innovation #ArtificialIntelligence

🇪🇺 The European Inc. - A new legal form of company for European innovators #Founders of some of Europe’s most successful technology #startups and #venturecapital firms have launched an initiative advocating for the introduction of the “EU Inc.”, a standardized pan-European entity under the #28thregime to support companies operate and expand in the EU's 27 member states. The initiative, outlined in an open letter signed by some of the most prominent #tech entrepreneurs and investors across Europe, aims to address the fragmentation that has long hindered the #growth and #competitiveness of European startups in a proposal to new EU commissioners ahead of the agenda for the next 5 years. The #EUInc seeks to standardize investment processes, simplify cross-border operations, and create a unified employee stock option framework, improving EU tech companies’ ability to attract capital and scale. The proposal adds to the momentum already building in Europe, aligning with European policymakers’ recommendations and political commitments to help the bloc compete more effectively with the US and China as an economic superpower: -      Last month, former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi issued a report calling for € 800 billion of additional investment to boost Europe’s competitiveness; -      In April, Enrico Letta’s issued a report on the future of the Single Market, calling for a European Business Law under the 28th regime; -      Last month, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen issued her political guidelines for 2024-2029, supporting innovation and smarter regulation. With less than 5 weeks until the new commissioners start working on their agenda, the next few weeks represent a critical window of opportunity for The EU Inc Petition. The coming weeks will be crucial in determining whether the EU Inc. can transform from vision to reality, potentially reshaping the future of the European tech industry. Do you think this proposal will turn out to be a flop, similarly to the Societas Europaea (SE), or could it mark the beginning of a unified European startup ecosystem? The list of entrepreneurs and investors backing the proposals is getting long. Have you done your part? 🔗 Sign the petition here: https://lnkd.in/dav5i5Ki     #Startacrowd #Europe #EU #TechRenaissance

The Global Innovation Index, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) ranks 133 economies by income group and world region based on their #innovation capabilities and performance.   The index is used by governments around the world to monitor the innovation landscape, enhance their economies’ innovation performance and develop evidence-based policies.   Top 10 high-income innovators ranking in 2024:   1.       🇨🇭 Switzerland 2.       🇸🇪     Sweden 3.       🇺🇸 United States 4.       🇸🇬 Singapore 5.       🇬🇧 United Kingdom 6.       🇰🇷    Republic of Korea 7.       🇫🇮 Finland 8.       🇳🇱    Netherlands 9.       🇩🇪 Germany 10.   🇩🇰 Denmark   To summarize the results of the GII 2024, the top 3 remain unchanged, with Switzerland ranking 1st for the 14th consecutive year thanks to its unique ecosystem of innovation. The country makes substantial investments in #education, has a high-quality #research infrastructure, and strong #collaboration between business and academia.   Sweden and the US maintain their respective 2nd and 3rd positions for the second consecutive year, while Singapore breaks into the top 5, overtaking the UK and solidifying its position as the fastest-growing nation in terms of innovation. To find Italy in this ranking, we must look down to the 26th position.   Following the 2020-2022 boom, science and innovation investment experienced a significant downturn in 2023, reflecting a deteriorating climate for risk #finance.   Despite the post-pandemic slowdown, technology continues to progress rapidly, while technology adoption is growing and the socioeconomic impact of innovation largely shifting to a positive trajectory.   This ongoing progress highlights the resilience of innovation in driving economic recovery and societal benefits, even in the face of global challenges.       #Startacrowd #WIPO #GlobalInnovationIndex

"Missiles are cool" is the slogan stirring controversy, displayed on the #AresIndustries page on the #YCombinator website.   Y Combinator, traditionally known for investing in software startups, fintech, and e-commerce companies, has recently backed Ares Industries, a California-based startup promising "low-cost cruise missiles".   What is sparking debate is the fact that YC, the San Francisco startup incubator that launched Airbnb, Dropbox and Coinbase, is backing for the first time ever a #startup of the #defense sector.   In the US, where defense budget amounts to $851 billion, several unicorns are raising hundreds of millions of dollars to develop military solutions, weaponry, and software. The most striking case is Anduril Industries, which closed a $1.5 billion funding round this summer at a valuation of $14 billion with the ambitious goal of “rebuilding the arsenal of democracy”.   In Europe, the European Commission and European Investment Fund (EIF) have launched the Defense Equity Facility, a €175 million initiative aimed at increasing private equity and venture capital investment in defense and security technologies.   With €100 million from the European Defence Fund and €75 million from EIF, this initiative is expected to mobilize around €500 million for European businesses by attracting additional private investment.   Europe’s defense tech is set to hit a record $1 billion in 2024, also driven by US venture capital flowing into European military tech startups. The latest example is Helsing, a German developer of AI software for defense systems, which secured a $500 million Series C round this summer.   As the sector experiences unprecedented growth and innovation, it raises important questions about its future direction and implications. In this rapidly evolving landscape, are you bullish on #defense?       #Startacrowd #startups #defense #defence #innovation