Magic Mind bets on start-ups

This is an acceleration programme for start-ups operating in the artificial intelligence sector. The initiative is led by Zest, the company created by the merger of two important players in the sector, Digital Magics and LVenture Group, and is called Magic Mind. It is presented as an enabler at the service of companies operating in the field of artificial intelligence, to promote and accelerate business innovation and ensure support for start-ups in the field of AI-related technologies.

Of Zest's total portfolio of 250 start-ups, those operating in the field of artificial intelligence number around 50. The acceleration programme counts on an endowment of EUR 5 million - two-thirds guaranteed by the company, the remainder coming from the financial commitment of the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation. "We were the first in 2022 to believe that there was a need for an AI startup accelerator," says Zest's executive chairman Marco Gay. "We were convinced that Artificial Intelligence would increasingly become a strategic global resource and a primary enabler of technological transformation, obviously relying on important feedback from the market. Open Innovation paths became central, Gay adds, "Magic Mind was the first programme in Europe on AI technologies, and the results confirm the goodness of that choice: we invested in 15 start-ups that in less than two years raised about 6 million euros, 4 of which from important co-investors. The acceleration programme lasts about five months and is based on a dual action, on the one hand specific training on the product and technological assets, with technical partners such as Fondazione Bruno Kessler and AWS (Amazon), and on the other targeted actions on the management and business model development front.

Zest has several locations, in addition to the Hub at Termini Station in Rome, also Milan and Turin: it is a listed company, born from the merger of two companies active in the innovation sector, which conveys funds contributed by companies, partners or investors such as Luiss and Tamburi. The Magic Mind acceleration programme is always open, with an initial application phase and an evaluation phase. The reference investor is Zest itself, with a ticket of up to 350,000 euro for each start-up, at a later stage third-party investors or companies interested in acquiring know-how may take over.

The Magic Mind accelerator's partner companies are 11, among them Reale Mutua, Credem, Gruppo Scai and Tecnomat, while the areas of specialisation and strategic direction are six: Enterprise software, Fintech, Marketing, Healthcare, Logistics and Security. In concrete terms, the companies give indications on certain scouting areas, depending on their own needs and defined strategic investment lines, the Magic Mind team on the other hand provides specific support on market and technological innovation trends.

"Artificial Intelligence is the new industrial revolution: AI solutions, grafting themselves into traditional industries, are an extraordinary multiplier of competitiveness, productivity and added value," Gay explains. 'Start-ups are one of the main drivers for implementing this technology, making factories 'smart' and increasingly collaborative with humans. Our country,' adds Gay, who heads the Industrial Union of Turin, 'has an extraordinary manufacturing capacity, and it is more necessary than ever to combine this peculiarity with technology in order to continue to boost the sector and make it grow.