‘Innovative technology to support businesses, citizens and local communities’
In Sicily, you can stay, create value and compete on the world stage
“The idea that led to Archimede was conceived in 2023, during the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, the Australian race in which we travelled 3,000 kilometres across the desert in a car we’d built ourselves, powered exclusively by the sun,” says Riccardo Puglisi, co-founder and CEO of Archimede S.r.l. “ “We had built a vehicle capable of harnessing a vital and clean energy source, but to monitor its data remotely we had to rely on a huge mobile Starlink system. It was a paradox: a car designed to be efficient, accompanied by a cumbersome and complex communications solution.”
So, what happened?
We asked ourselves: why can’t satellite telemetry be compact, autonomous, sustainable and easy to use? What if anyone could connect a sensor or a device in just a few minutes, without needing to be a specialist? This question led to the creation of Archimede, founded in 2024 in Syracuse. We wanted to build a plug-and-play system that would allow people and businesses to quickly learn how to use the technology and take it anywhere.
What does Archimede do today, and what benefits does it offer to people and the local area?
Today, that insight has become ArchMesh: a modular kit that integrates satellite and terrestrial connectivity, smart energy management and low-code software. We connect sensors, machines and infrastructure even where there is no electricity grid or mobile network coverage, enabling them to be monitored and, where appropriate, operated remotely. Our aim is not to make the technology complicated, but to hide its complexity behind something simple and accessible. The applications are practical. With Irritec, we’re working on opportunities in connected agriculture, from irrigation management to the monitoring of distributed systems; we’re collaborating with Eni, our Champion, on industrial use cases for the control of remote assets. And with the E-Mobility SpaceLink project, led by the European Space Agency, we are researching smart off-grid charging infrastructure. For citizens, businesses and local communities, this means reducing the need for site visits, minimising waste and cutting response times, ensuring operational continuity and making services accessible even in the most remote areas. In Sicily, where the issues of water, energy and the distance between infrastructure are very real, these solutions can deliver immediate benefits.
What does doing business in Sicily mean, and could it serve as a model that could be replicated elsewhere?
Running a business in Sicily means facing logistical hurdles, a scarcity of resources and difficulties in finding skilled staff. But it also means learning to innovate by starting with real-world problems, rather than with technology in search of an application. We set up Archimede in Syracuse with the ambition of operating globally without having to leave the region. Our journey with ESA BIC, our industrial partners and investors demonstrates that the region can attract trust and capital. In 2026, we closed an oversubscribed seed round of 1.5 million euros: a sum raised that exceeded our initial target, an important sign for a technology company founded in Sicily. I believe this model can be replicated: listening to the region’s needs, transforming them into scalable products, and building networks with research organisations, businesses and investors. The point is not to prove that you can start out from Sicily, but that you can stay in Sicily, create value and compete on the global stage.
