Six innovative projects based on artificial intelligence will take part in a tailored acceleration programme, culminating in a final Pitch Day in Rome.
The FAIR Foundation – Future Artificial Intelligence Research – and the Innovative Companies Incubator of the Politecnico di Torino (I3P) have joined forces to support the creation of Italian AI-based startups. This collaboration has taken shape through the launch of the FAIR Acceleration Program 2025, an initiative promoted by the Foundation and delivered by the Incubator, designed to provide structured support to a selection of technology projects originating from academic research, accelerating their evolution into cutting-edge startups in the field of AI applications.
The first edition of the programme, launched in October and running for two months, offers a tailored path for each project, with acceleration activities designed around specific needs, sectors, team requirements, and target markets. The initiative aims to equip aspiring innovators with key entrepreneurial skills, practical tools, and effective methodologies to shape successful startups capable of leveraging existing scientific expertise and achieving competitive positioning in the market.
Programme promoters and focus areas
Established in 2022 in Pisa by five research institutions, thirteen universities, and five companies, the FAIR Foundation is a non-profit organization created to implement initiatives funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), as well as future funding opportunities, in the field of Artificial Intelligence. It coordinates a broad partnership and aims to contribute significantly to the goals of the Italian Strategic Programme on AI by advancing frontier research, fostering AI-driven innovation, and creating opportunities for talent in the sector.
I3P is a public incubator founded in 1999 in Turin and widely recognized as one of the leading university incubators in Italy and internationally, both for the scale and quality of its portfolio of supported startups. The Politecnico di Torino’s incubator focuses on high-tech entrepreneurial projects with strong growth potential, founded by students, researchers, and external entrepreneurs. It provides strategic consultancy, coaching, mentoring, fundraising support, and workspace. Its mission is to strengthen the entrepreneurship ecosystem, contributing to economic development and job creation in innovative industries.
The acceleration programme developed by the FAIR Foundation and I3P is structured around training modules, expert mentorship sessions, networking opportunities, market testing, and support in business model validation. Following initial kick-off and assessment phases—featuring in-depth analysis of each project—the programme includes a series of thematic sessions focused on key startup-building methodologies, such as defining business models and value propositions, customer discovery processes, market strategy development, growth levers identification, financial planning, introduction to fundraising and investor readiness, and the preparation of pitch decks for potential investors and stakeholders.
AI innovation showcased at the Pitch Day
The programme will culminate in the public presentation of the projects during the Pitch Day scheduled for Thursday, December 11, 2025, as part of the FAIR General Conference, taking place in Rome from December 10 to 12.
The broader event will bring together all project partners and the winners of the FAIR cascade calls, funded by the PNRR, from both the research and business communities. It will feature scientific insights into the project’s most significant results across AI domains, showcase companies from the FAIR ecosystem through pitches and exhibition spaces, and host institutional meetings. This setting provides a high-value platform to present the outcomes of the acceleration programme and the work of the participating teams.
The six selected projects—chosen through a call for solutions completed in recent months span a wide range of applications, from digital twins for the agricultural sector to smart tools in neuroscience, as well as scalable cloud infrastructures, blockchain networks, and new software and hardware solutions designed to meet the evolving needs of national and international markets.