Connectivity, technological and financial support, and strategic consulting for developing innovative solutions in medical training and smart mobility.
Vodafone Italia, now Fastweb + Vodafone, has announced the winning companies of the 2024 edition of the innoVaction call. The two projects—already funded for prototype development and set to receive continued support from Fastweb + Vodafone for product finalization—were submitted by Impersive SRL and Minervas SRL.
Fastweb + Vodafone promotes innovation programs dedicated to startups, SMEs, and social enterprises, aiming to support the development of innovative, sustainable, and interconnected solutions that deliver real value to people and businesses.
The finalists of the 2024 edition of innoVaction have already received €25,000 in funding per project to create a prototype of their new solution. Now, the program is supporting the winners with further technological development of the co-designed product, providing investment of up to €300,000, convertible into equity.
To support the selected projects, innoVaction offers not only funding, but also expert consulting, access to testing environments at the Fastweb + Vodafone Open Lab in Milan, and the support of partner companies. Throughout the process, startups are guided by technical and business experts, as well as innoVaction partner companies that contribute their industry-specific know-how and help validate the business impact of the solutions.
The program is backed by partners including Ariston Group, AstraZeneca, Atac, Boston Scientific, Iveco Group, Pirelli, and TransItalia, and is delivered in collaboration with PoliHub, the Innovation Park & Startup Accelerator of Politecnico di Milano, managed by the university’s foundation.
The 2024 innoVaction winners
IMPERSIVE SRL: A company specialized in the development and production of immersive experiences using “360° – stereoscopic 3D – full body – in motion” technology. Based on an idea by Professor Antonino Spinelli, Full Professor of Surgery at Humanitas University, the company created “VeeSR”, an immersive 3D surgical streaming solution in VR (virtual reality headset) to enhance surgical training, making high-level medical education more accessible, reducing costs, and increasing the number of trained surgeons.
The solution involves the development of a live-streaming system on a high-performance Vodafone infrastructure, enabling real-time transmission from an operating room using robotic surgical equipment, offering an unprecedented experience in quality, clarity, and fluidity.
By wearing VR headsets, surgeons can fully experience the operation as if physically present in the OR, with an immersive 3D view of the surgical field (previously only accessible from the robot console), along with the surgeon’s hand movements, the operating room, and live interaction with the operating surgeon—all in 180°/360° 3D.
MINERVAS SRL: A startup developing innovative services for future mobility, business competitiveness, and safety. Designed for business fleet managers, the company created “Smart drAIV”, a software solution (via an app integrated with the vehicle) that enables real-time eco-driving strategies, optimizing speed and acceleration.
The system uses proprietary predictive algorithms developed in collaboration with the University of Salerno to reduce emissions and fuel consumption on board. It will be integrated with Vodafone’s Fleet Management platform, combining both vehicle data and contextual information (road, weather, etc.) to reduce consumption and emissions and improve driver safety.
Innovation and the innoVaction Call
The innoVaction program was launched in 2024 by Vodafone Italia to support startup, SME, and social enterprise development projects. It aligns with Fastweb’s open innovation model, developed since 2011 through collaborations with startups, universities, and research centers. Leveraging strategic assets such as the fiber-optic network, cloud services, and data centers—and in synergy with key partners—Fastweb has contributed to flagship acceleration and incubation programs like PLAI, Mondadori Group’s AI startup accelerator.
In 2023, Fastweb also launched Fastweb NeXXt Ventures, a Corporate Venture Building program created to explore innovative solutions in AI, cybersecurity, energy, connectivity, and IoT, through the launch and acceleration of innovative startups in Italy. Fastweb’s portfolio currently includes 11 startups, including GridShare, active in the renewable energy sector and enabling individuals and companies to invest in solar parks through fractional shares.
Since 2017, Vodafone Italia has promoted innovation programs targeting startups, SMEs, and social enterprises, evaluating over 2,600 projects and funding the development of 26 innovative solutions.
Thanks to innoVaction, applicants can leverage Vodafone technologies and the support of its partner companies for initial market validation.
The goal of the program is to stimulate projects that integrate deeptech technologies (such as artificial intelligence, deep learning, robotics, blockchain, advanced manufacturing, quantum computing…) with advanced testing infrastructures and connectivity platforms, including 5G, Mobile Private Networks, Edge Cloud, and the Internet of Things.
Find all innovation stories developed through innoVaction at the official website:
https://www.fastwebvodafone.it/ or on LinkedIn: @Fastweb+Vodafone
