Lombardy-based start-ups in Berkeley with Pianeta Accelerator, a 2.8 million programme
The accelerator was launched on 2 September; it runs for three years and focuses on health, artificial intelligence, clean technologies, deep tech and chips. The first call for applications is open until 5 October
Three months in California with the University of Berkeley’s SkyDeck accelerator and three months in Milan, with up to 20 start-ups each year. The project is called Pianeta Accelerator and links Silicon Valley with Mind, the innovation district established on the site of Expo 2015. It is being promoted by Factory Plus – the new name adopted in 2026 by Cariplo Factory – in collaboration with UC Berkeley SkyDeck.
The project is receiving €2.8 million in funding: €1.5 million comes from Fondazione Cariplo, €1 million from the Lombardy Region and €300,000 from Principia, which will also provide premises and services within Mind. The programme will run for three years, with a selection round every twelve months; the first round is already open and will close on 5 October.
Six months between California and Milan
The programme is divided exactly in half. During the first three months, the start-ups will work with UC Berkeley SkyDeck, spending three weeks in California attending meetings and training sessions. The focus will then shift to Milan, where the start-ups will work at Mind to develop projects to be tested in collaboration with businesses, secure their first customers and build a European network. The district covers one million square metres in the area that hosted Expo 2015 and already brings together organisations such as Human Technopole, the Galeazzi-Sant’Ambrogio Hospital and the new science campus of the University of Milan.
“We want to offer start-ups a programme that combines international expertise, access to investors and concrete opportunities for collaboration with businesses, in order to support their growth in global markets whilst, at the same time, generating innovation, investment and new skills in Lombardy,” explained Riccardo Porro, Director-General of Factory Plus.
In this context, Silicon Valley serves primarily to open up the American market and financial network. Milan must then transform those connections into industrial trials: “Pianeta Accelerator creates a direct bridge between Europe’s most promising start-ups and Silicon Valley,” said Caroline Winnett, executive director of UC Berkeley SkyDeck.
