Prize 2031, call closed: 450 startups for 55 prizes

The call for tenders for the thirteenth edition of the 2031 Prize has ended: as many as 450 startups will compete to win one of the 55 prizes with several million euros of cash prizes up for grabs, between courses and investments.

The DeepTech and Edu Tech, Life Style and Climate Tech sectors are the ones that involved the largest number of candidate projects, followed by Bio Tech and Food/Mobility Tech. This year, 23% of candidate projects are female teams. Most of the applications come from Northern Italy, especially Milan, Rome and Turin to which is added a good percentage from Central-Southern Italy.

The Prize, chaired by Cristiano Seganfreddo, sees the presence of more than one hundred partners, with 15 Special Prizes up for grabs from important national and international corporates, in addition to the courses up for grabs from 41 of the best Italian Innovation Centres. Another award is the 2031 Startup Award, the selection of which is performed by a Committee made up of over 50 industry professionals and chaired by Daniel MazzaraPrincipal Director, Accenture Strategy & Consulting–Open Innovation Lead for ICEG.

Finally, this year’s novelty: First Round, the award created to identify and help the best Italian early stage startups grow. Selected from the 2031 call, the best ideas will have the opportunity to show up during the three days of the Italian Tech Week of Turin, from 27 to 29 September, in front of a jury of 10 top investors and business angels made up of Andrea Rota, Davide Dattoli, Fausta Pavesio, Isabelle Andrieu, Luca Ferrari, Lucia Chierchia, Paola Bonomo, Silvia Wang, Stefano Buono, Lavinia Marzotto.

From 2010 to today, the Award has awarded Italian startups and innovators over 10 million euros in prizes and coaching courses, with 7,000 active startups, more than 500 applications per year, 41 awards, 14 companies, 26 incubators, accelerators, parks science and technology involved.