Ten finalists in the 2024 edition of Start Cup Toscana presented their projects at the University of Florence, the coordinator of the event involving all Tuscan universities, which was promoted by the Region to encourage technology transfer.
First place went to Cernais, a cutting-edge drug discovery company born from research at the University of Pisa. It uses artificial intelligence to develop innovative therapies for rare diseases.
Second place went to MolBook Pro, user-friendly software developed at the University of Pisa for creating, managing and sharing molecular databases. It integrates artificial intelligence and also won the special award from the Navacchio Technology Park.
Third place went to Delos AI, also from the University of Pisa. This company provides technological solutions for SMEs based on artificial intelligence, and it won the special prize for female entrepreneurship thanks to its all-female team.
The top three winners received cash prizes and services worth 5,000 euros, 3,000 euros and 2,000 euros, respectively. They will also participate in the “National Innovation Award”, which will be held in Rome in December. Another winner was Lemovie from the University of Florence, which uses virtual reality to reduce anxiety and pain in cancer patients. It received an honourable mention and the special award for social innovation.
Resynth, from the University of Siena, won the special ‘Climate Change’ award for the best project with an impact on climate change. The company reuses waste from the tanning industry to produce chemicals. Finally, the sponsor’s award from Rubino & Partners went to Authentica from the Scuola Normale, which offers a smart display case for the scientific preservation of works of art.
