A call for Italian startups in San Francisco. Satispay buys Onyon

The Italian Innovation Center at Innovat in San Francisco has launched Startup acceleration and Sme traction, the calls for tenders for the first acceleration program respectively for startups and innovative SMEs that develop technologies in the artificial intelligence and metaverse sectors, and in the fields of cultural and creative industries. You have until January 26 to participate. HERE to apply.

Selected companies. The first 40 startups and 25 SMEs in the ranking will access a two-week orientation course, at the end of which the best 15 startups and 15 SMEs will benefit from a face-to-face path in San Francisco, in March, at the Innovit spaces at 710 of Sansome Street, with a unique and intensive program, lasting one week for SMEs and two weeks for startups, featuring opportunities to interact with the ecosystem of the Bay Area.

What is that. Innovit stands for Italian Innovation and Culture Hub, is based in San Francisco and an initiative promoted by the Directorate General for the Country System of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in collaboration with the Italian Embassy in Washington and with the Consulate General in San Francisco, and is implemented thanks to the involvement of ICE and the Italian Cultural Institute. Its goal is to stimulate innovative business ideas and initiatives and accelerate their international development, allowing Italian players to have a stable presence in Silicon Valley and, through California, throughout the United States.

The second acquisition of Satispay

Satispay, the Italian mobile payment unicorn, has acquired 60.9% of the capital of Onyon, a Turin-based startup that has developed an app for ordering and splitting bills in restaurants. In August Satispay had entered the capital of the startup founded by Marco Actis and Paola Lombardi. It is the second acquisition for Satispay, after that of AdvisorEat in July 2021.

Because it’s important. Onyon (acronym that stands for On-Your-Own) has developed an app that allows you to consult the menu, order and split the bill in bars and restaurants.

The 2023 of Italian startups

The maneuver did not pay much attention to startups. But if the Italian legislation remains unchanged, the most awaited innovations of 2023 will come from Brussels. A year in which the implementation of a series of rules is expected (from the Digital service act to the single law on startups, up to the regulation of artificial intelligence and platforms) which will make the attention that the European legislator has so far dedicated more concrete to the theme of innovation, competition and the relationship between global technological giants and the European market. We talked about it HERE.

The notice

Foolfarm’s The Garage startup studio selects 3 innovative deeptech projects to contribute to the development of new startups thanks to prizes and benefits that accompany the projects selected in the first round of funding. You have until January 15th to participate. HERE to apply.

For who. The call is dedicated to startups that develop new solutions in the fields of artificial intelligence, blockchain and web 3, cybersecurity, metaverse, augmented reality, computer vision and biometrics.

What’s going on in Europe

Medical robotics. Ganymed Robotics, a Parisian startup that develops software for artificial vision and surgical robotics technologies, has extended the series b round closed in July with an additional 15 million euros, bringing the total raised to 36 million. Of the €15m, €14m was provided by the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund, through the EIC Accelerator programme, and Cap Horn Invest, while Bpifrance provided €1m in the form of debt financing.

Not to lose the thread. Last week’s news HERE