Vodafone Italia, now Fastweb + Vodafone, today announces the names of the companies that have won the innoVaction call for the 2024 edition. The two projects – for which prototype development has already been funded and on which Fastweb + Vodafone will continue to invest for the finalization of the product – have been presented by Impersive SRL and Minervas SRL.
Fastweb + Vodafone promotes innovation programs dedicated to startups, small and medium enterprises, and social enterprises, committing to support the development of innovative, sustainable, and interconnected solutions, with the aim of providing concrete value to the lives of individuals and businesses.
The finalists of the 2024 innoVaction edition have already benefited from a financing of €25,000 for each project in order to create a prototype of the new solution. Now, the call also supports the winners for the technological development of the co-designed product, which will be developed with the support of Fastweb + Vodafone through an investment of up to €300,000, convertible into equity.
For the development of the selected projects, innoVaction offers, in addition to funding, consultancy, access to testing environments at the Fastweb + Vodafone Open Lab in Milan, and the support of its partners. Throughout their journey, the companies are accompanied by technical and business experts as well as by client companies that are innoVaction partners, which make their expertise available—each in its respective field—and participate in validating the business impact of the solutions.
The program saw the participation of partners such as Ariston Group, AstraZeneca, Atac, Boston Scientific, Iveco Group, Pirelli, and TransItalia, and was carried out in collaboration with PoliHub, the Innovation Park & Startup Accelerator of the Politecnico di Milano managed by the University Foundation.
The Winners of the 2024 innoVaction Edition:
IMPERSIVE SRL: A company specialized in the development and production of “immersive experiences” using a “360° – stereoscopic 3D – full body – in motion” production technique. Together with Humanitas Hospital, it has designed “VeesR,” a 3D immersive surgical streaming solution in VR (using virtual reality headsets) to improve
the training paths for surgeon doctors, increasing access to advanced training while reducing costs and raising the number of trained surgeons. The solution foresees the development of a live streaming system implemented on a high-performance Vodafone infrastructure, which will allow a surgical operation—performed using a robotic surgery machine—to be broadcast live from an operating room with unprecedented quality, clarity, and fluidity.
By wearing VR headsets, surgeons will be able to access and experience the operation live in a more complete way than if they were physically present in the operating room: in fact, VeesR offers an unprecedented immersive 3D view of the operating field (previously possible only by sitting at the robot’s console) while simultaneously displaying the surgeon’s hand movements and the operating room with the robot in action (in 180°/360° 3D mode), with the possibility to interact in real time with the operating surgeon.
MINERVAS SRL: A startup that develops innovative services for the future of mobility, enhancing competitiveness and safety for companies. Designed for Business clients managing fleets, the startup has created a software solution, “Smart drAIV” (through an app integrated with the vehicle) for the real-time implementation of eco-driving strategies, optimizing speed and acceleration. The solution employs proprietary predictive algorithms developed in collaboration with the University of Salerno to reduce emissions and fuel consumption on board the vehicle. It will be integrated with Vodafone’s Fleet Management platform by combining both parameters acquired from the vehicle and contextual information (from the road, weather conditions, etc.) to reduce fuel consumption and emissions, as well as to enhance driver safety.
Innovation and the Call:
The innoVaction program was launched in 2024 by Vodafone Italia with the aim of supporting development projects dedicated to startups, SMEs, and social enterprises, in line with the open innovation model developed by Fastweb, which has progressively invested in this field since 2011 through collaboration with startups, universities, and research centers. Leveraging strategic proprietary assets such as its fiber-optic network, Cloud, and Data Centers, and in synergy with major partners, Fastweb has joined key acceleration and incubation projects such as PLAI, the startup accelerator of the Mondadori Group in the field of AI. In 2023, it also launched Fastweb NeXXt Ventures, the Corporate Venture Building program created to explore innovative solutions in the fields of AI, cybersecurity, energy, connectivity, and IoT through the creation and acceleration of innovative startups operating in Italy. Fastweb’s portfolio of startups launched on the market includes 11 companies, among which is GridShare, a startup active in the renewable energy sector created to offer individuals and companies the opportunity to invest in solar parks through fractional shares.
Since 2017, Vodafone Italia has promoted innovation programs dedicated to startups, small and medium enterprises, and social enterprises, evaluating over 2,600 projects and financing the development of 26 innovative solutions. Thanks to the innoVaction program, the candidate companies have been able to count on all Vodafone
technologies and the support of Vodafone’s client partner companies for the initial market validation of their projects. The objective of innoVaction is to stimulate the emergence of projects that can integrate so-called deeptech technologies (artificial intelligence, deep learning, robotics, blockchain, advanced manufacturing, quantum computing, etc.) with the advanced testing and connectivity infrastructures and platforms provided, such as 5G, Mobile Private Networks, Edge Cloud, and the Internet of Things.
For more information, visit the Vodafone innoVaction website: [program for startups and SMEs | innoVaction – all the innovation stories developed during the experiments and open innovation programs]
Fastweb + Vodafone
With over 20 million mobile lines and 5.6 million fixed lines, Fastweb + Vodafone is the leading infrastructure operator in the telecommunications market in Italy, with more than 20,000 radio mobile sites and a proprietary fixed network of over 74,000 km capable of ensuring national coverage for both mobile and fixed services, 50% of which is FTTH. By leveraging Fastweb’s assets in fixed connectivity and Vodafone Italia’s in mobile, Fastweb + Vodafone offers innovative convergent services for families, businesses, and Public Administrations.
Relying on a strategic vision aimed at creating value through central investments in fixed fiber-optic infrastructures and mobile networks with 5G, continuous technological innovation through the development of AI, Cloud, and Cyber Security applications, and the highest quality of service and customer experience, Fastweb + Vodafone positions itself as a reference point for the digital transition of customers in every market segment.
Fastweb + Vodafone, part of the Swisscom Group, has set, in line with the group’s ESG strategy, the ambitious goal of becoming Net Zero Carbon by 2035.
For more information, visit the website https://www.fastwebvodafone.it/ or connect to the LinkedIn page @Fastweb+Vodafone