Ended on 24 October, the 56th edition of Smau Milano 2019 summarizes a three-day event made up of meetings, live shows and workshops for thousands of visitors who had the opportunity to learn about the innovations of the 400 exhibitors present at Fieramilanocity. A Smau in the name of smart communities, with ideas and solutions to better and safely experience the city and the territory and a Smau with many products ready for the consumer market.
The closing day of Smau Milano 2019 was characterized by two events. In the morning, Intel’s Data-Centric Innovation Conference was held, during which Intel presented its vision on the main technology trends affecting companies today. In particular, together with other realities, it has shown how 5G, artificial intelligence and other technologies are successfully used to respond to the opportunities of a constantly evolving market.
In the afternoon, the presentation of the fourth Open Innovation and Corporate Venture Capital Observatory promoted by Assolombarda, Italia Startup and Smau Milano 2019 https://www.smau.it/ held. A research which revealed that out of 10 thousand innovative startups, one in 4 has at least one corporate partner. And it is precisely these that generate over 50% of revenues: it means that the innovative companies that find the concrete trust of a corporate have greater growth margins. And the benefits are reciprocal: corporations that invest in startups do better than the market average and grow.
Regarding the trend, Pierantonio Macola, president of Smau Milano 2019, declared: “In this 56th edition of Smau we have seen various indicators, qualitative and quantitative, which say the same thing: Open Innovation is a path that Italian companies have undertaken with decision, finally we could also add, and there is no going back. The data from the fourth edition of the Observatory highlight another aspect: startups with a corporate investor are the ones that grow the most in terms of both turnover and employment. Therefore, creating opportunities for companies and startups to meet is fundamental and at Smau we are proud of the work we carry out in this sense ยป.
Also on the last day of Smau Milano 2019, the last of the over 70 Smau Innovation Awards were also awarded, the recognition assigned to companies and institutions for their innovation projects, especially “open”.