The Veneto East Assembly

Young entrepreneurs testing the technological breakthrough

The idea of a kilometre-long integrated corridor of data, predictive models and computing power for the adoption of artificial intelligence

3' min read

Translated by AI
Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI
Versione italiana

Along the Veneto ridge of the A4 motorway, a kilometre-long integrated corridor of Industrial AI, data, predictive models and shared computing power for the adoption of artificial intelligence in manufacturing SMEs. With the ambition of teaming up to aim higher, raising the bar and bringing Veneto enterprises to the high-tech and global scale.

This is the vision outlined by the 2026 General Assembly of the Young Entrepreneurs Group (GGI) of Confindustria Veneto Est entitled 'Innovating to Design Growth', at the Teatro Sociale in Rovigo, dedicated to the role of frontier innovation as a lever of productivity and competitiveness for companies and the territory. A proposal aimed at companies, institutions, research and training centres, business incubators and accelerators, and venture capital, to accompany and support, through a shared platform, the technological evolution and high added value of manufacturing in Veneto.

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Luigi Gorza

"The idea of the 'Kilometro Verde' stems from the need to create a physical place where we can connect skills, capital, research and the market, and develop frontier technologies at the service of our ecosystems, districts and production chains," explains Luigi Gorza, president of the Gruppo Giovani Imprenditori (Young Entrepreneurs Group) of Confindustria Veneto Est. "If we succeeded in bringing together all the stakeholders in the area - large companies, banks, investors, research centres, universities, SMEs and institutions - we could build a system pole capable of working concretely for the future of the territory and anticipating it. A place that would help innovative companies and start-ups to be born, grow and consolidate, create high added value and contaminate more mature companies, generate quality employment and new wealth, and help retain young talent. Evolving the economy of our region from mid-tech to high-tech'.

For Gorza, 'the goal is to make eastern Veneto one of the most attractive areas in Italia and Europe in terms of innovation, business, increasingly based on advanced research and technology, and quality of life. Only through a project of this magnitude will we be able to compete in the most advanced sectors, increase the marginality of our companies and, as a result, improve the well-being of local communities and all the people of Veneto,' he concluded.

The assembly also saw greetings from GGI Vice President Marco Rossi, Paola Carron, President of Confindustria Veneto Est, and Alberto Stefani, President of the Veneto Region.

Cristina Balbo

This was followed by a dialogue with Cristina Balbo, regional director of Veneto West and Trentino Alto Adige Intesa Sanpaolo, Luca Buratto, founder & ceo Lubu Technologies, Amedeo Cesco, AI specialist Digital Automations and Vitruvian Intelligence AI, Nicola Michelon, ceo Unox, and the speech by Carlo Alberto Carnevale Maffè, professor of Business Strategy and Business Economics, SDA Bocconi School of Management, who elaborated on the possibility of creating a Green Kilometre and the objectives when fully operational (10 years) of the Shared Infrastructure, to make Veneto an intelligent platform of Europe.

Carlo Alberto Carnevale Maffè

With 619 patent applications submitted to the Epo (European Patent Office) in 2025 (the third largest region in Italy), a solid and competitive manufacturing base and 696 innovative start-ups, Veneto confirms the vitality of its entrepreneurial system. In 2025, 17.6% of companies in the North-East (at least 10 employees) used at least one artificial intelligence technology, a significant increase compared to 9.2% in 2024, but SMEs still struggle. Lack of appropriate skills held back AI adoption in over 67% of companies, difficulties with data availability or quality in 43.1%.

Paola Carron

In her greeting to the Young Entrepreneurs, the president of Confindustria Veneto Est, Paola Carron, emphasised: 'We are living in a global context of uncertainty and volatility, of ever deeper and more intense technological and skills acceleration. Veneto has shown itself to be competitive even in complex scenarios, capable of dealing with great turbulence. This has taught us a new logic in being businesses and being a community, which can and must focus on collaboration as the infrastructure of innovation'.

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