The 22nd edition of Start Cup Piemonte Valle d’Aosta, the competition dedicated to new innovative entrepreneurship, is drawing to a close. Come and discover the year’s most promising projects at the awards ceremony on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, hosted by the Energy Center of the Politecnico di Torino.

The ceremony will see the finalist projects, selected from more than 170 Business Plans submitted to this year’s competition, compete for the prizes and special mentions offered by the competition’s partners and promoters to support the creation of new innovative startups and foster local economic development.

The most promising innovative projects will compete for a total prize fund of €60,000, in cash and services, as well as four special mentions: Female Entrepreneurship, Social Innovation, Open Innovation / Industrial Spin-Offs and Climate Change. The top six projects will also take part in the PNI – National Innovation Award 2026, which will be held in Bari on Thursday, December 3 and Friday, December 4, where they will compete against the winning projects from the other regional Start Cups.

Register on Eventbrite to reserve your place at the in-person event, which will begin at 10:15 AM, and get a closer look at the new projects shaping the future of innovative entrepreneurship.

Registration for the event will close on Monday, November 2 at 1:00 PM.

Programme

• 10:15 AM | Participant registration
• 11:00 AM | Institutional opening remarks
• 11:20 AM | Pitches by the finalist projects
• 12:00 PM | Start Cup Piemonte Valle d’Aosta 2026 awards ceremony, with certificates presented by the competition’s supporters and partners
• 12:30 PM | Closing remarks

Partners and Sponsors

Launched in 2005, Start Cup Piemonte Valle d’Aosta is one of Italy’s leading Business Plan Competitions. Each year, the competition selects and rewards the best new startup projects with the aim of encouraging innovative entrepreneurship and supporting economic development.

The initiative is promoted by Piedmont’s universities – Politecnico di Torino, University of Turin – Department of Management and Università del Piemonte Orientale – and managed by the business incubators I3P – Innovative Companies Incubator of Politecnico di Torino and 2i3T – University of Turin Business Incubator as part of the PNI – National Innovation Award, organised by PNICube.

The final event on November 3 will bring together institutions, foundations and corporate sponsors committed to promoting a culture of innovation: Regione Piemonte, Regione Autonoma Valle d’Aosta, Turin Chamber of Commerce, City of Turin, Metropolitan City of Turin, Finpiemonte, Camera valdostana, MaaS ToMove – CTE Next, Fondazione CRC, Fondazione LINKS, Fondazione Michelin Sviluppo, AME Ventures, Comune di Alba, Città di Asti, Provincia di Biella, Città di Cuneo, Città di Novara, Città di Saluzzo, Città di Vercelli, AIFI – Italian Private Equity, Venture Capital and Private Debt Association, Invitalia, Pépinière d’Entreprises Aosta and Università della Valle d’Aosta.