PLAI, Mondadori Group's start-up accelerator aimed at transforming ideas based on the use of artificial intelligence into successful businesses, closed its second acceleration cycle with its Demo Day, held on November 20 in Milan, Italy.
The seven young companies that participated in the 2025 batch and stood out for their transformative potential in the field of Artificial Intelligence - Billd, BoostEd AI, Cicero.Live, Compri, LIA, Math Legacy, MemorAlz - had the opportunity, at the Vodafone Theatre in Milan, after the opening of the day's proceedings by Antonio Porro, CEO of Mondadori Group and President of PLAI, to take the stage and present their achievements and future projects, with the aim of attracting capital and resources to support their growth.
The event took place in front of an audience of professionals consisting of entrepreneurs, representatives of the project's partner companies, venture capitalists, decision makers, and representatives of the innovation ecosystem, including the Incubator of Politecnico di Torino (I3P), Core Operational Ally of PLAI Accelerator.
A path to success
“Artificial Intelligence is now a significant factor in the transformation of the content and applied services industry", commented Antonio Porro, CEO of Mondadori Group. "At Mondadori Group, we have chosen not only to adopt these technologies in various areas, but also to promote a new model of open innovation capable of generating value. The success of PLAI confirms that investing in AI means investing in the future of the country: a future made up of intelligent processes and new opportunities for people and businesses. We will continue to resolutely support this path because we believe in innovation that does not replace but enhances, in full compliance with the rules."
The Demo Day marked the end of a six-month journey. During the second edition of the program, over 30 workshops and 10 meetings from successful founders were organized, for a total of more than 40 plenary sessions amounting to over 90 hours. In addition, 160 hours were dedicated to individual coaching sessions and more than 50 hours to champion support. Thirty speakers were involved.
“The second acceleration cycle also ended with great results", said Stefano Argiolas, CEO of PLAI and Chief AI Officer of Mondadori Group. "The more than 1,000 applications received in just 12 months - from which the 16 start-ups that participated in the first and second batches were selected - and the goals already achieved in a very short period of time testify to our ability to combine speed of experimentation, technological quality, and market opportunities for the selected young companies. Looking ahead, we want to further consolidate our role as a reference platform for applied AI, continuing to bridge the gap between the creativity of the start-up ecosystem and the real needs of production chains.”
The projects in progress
Some business areas of Mondadori Group have already launched internal innovation projects as Proof-of-concepts (POCs) in collaboration with a number of start-ups, such as the optimization of customer service, the automation of editorial processes and, more recently, the digitization of purchase requests and supplier selection to support order monitoring through AI.
Moreover, Mondadori Group's stake in AD cube, an AdTech start-up from the first acceleration batch, was further increased, also signed by AdKaora, the leading international digital Martech agency in mobile advertising, proximity marketing, and the development of full funnel solutions for brands and publishers. The agreement, signed through a "put&call option" mechanism, will allow the Mondadori Group to acquire 100% of the company in the coming years.
In a day of meetings dedicated to AI, the Demo Day 2025 laid the foundations for new synergies and strategic collaborations between start-ups and established companies, promoting positive cross-pollination and supporting the future of innovation.
The event of November 20 was also an opportunity to discuss the state of the art of AI with Marc Jellema, CEO of Startupbootcamp, in his presentation “State of AI – an overview of the impact of AI in the innovation ecosystem”. In addition, during the “Round Table – Rethinking Tomorrow: How AI Is Shaping What's Next”, participants exchanged views - with Luigi Bianchi, Innovation Leader, Fastweb + Vodafone; Marcello Cicerone, Head of Tech, Media, Travel & Services at Meta, Alessandro Conca, GTM Director at ElevenLabs, Luisa Damiano, Full Professor, Logic and Philosophy of Science Director at IULM University, and Antonio D'Ortenzio, Solutions Architect Manager at AWS Italia - on how artificial intelligence is transforming the way we think, create, and build tomorrow through dialogue between industry and research, and on the direction innovation is truly taking.
PLAI took the opportunity to thank the Italian and international partners who decided to join the project: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Codemotion, ElevenLabs, Fastweb + Vodafone, I3P – Incubator of Politecnico di Torino, IFAB – International Foundation Big Data and Artificial Intelligence for Human Development, Multiversity Group, PwC Italy, Startupbootcamp, StartupItalia, Ventive, WPP Media Italy.
The 7 start-ups of the 2025 batch
BILLD – retail
Every year, Europe produces 230 billion receipts made of non-recyclable thermal paper, creating a considerable environmental impact and important storage limitations. Furthermore, 93% of offline data remains unused for advertising and trend analysis purposes. Billd is a green fintech start-up offering an innovative HaaS (hardware as a service) for digital receipts, collecting and analysing big data from the offline market. The device developed by Billd is easy to install and compatible with any cash register.
BOOSTED AI – education
The student drop-out rate is high (12% at university level), less than half of students receive adequate, personalised feedback and poor digitisation wastes money for educational institutions and demotivates students. Boosted AI is an intelligent platform that transforms study materials into a personalised digital learning pathway and automates assessment.
CICERO.LIVE – retail
Companies rely on hypothetical interpretations to assess the involvement in and results of conferences, trade fairs and sales spaces. Cicero.Live is a machine learning system that tracks the performance of live events by calculating the audience’s level of attention, involvement and sentiment and correlating it with the movements and words of the speaker on stage.
COMPRI – procurement
Traditional procurement tools are rigid and outdated, often add complexity and still rely on email, Excel and ERP systems that are not built for modern needs, consequently wasting time. Buy centralises all procurement activities in one platform supported by an AI assistant, and automates operational and strategic processes: from requisitions to order management, supplier qualification, compliance, RFQs, budgeting and analysis.
LIA – procurement
In Italy, more than half of B2B SMEs with an annual turnover of less than €15 million collect payments more than 60 days late, delaying growth, limiting liquidity and burdening administrative teams. The AI-based LIA platform acts as a virtual administrative and legal assistant. It sends white-label reminders, analyses customer behaviour, suggests repayment plans and manages legal steps, all while preserving customer relationships. Through customised messaging, it reduces collection times by up to 80%, lowers costs and works on a fixed fee model without commissions.
MATH LEGACY – education
Current EdTech solutions for the school system are based on quizzes and superficial gamification, but they no longer work because students do not learn. Globally, performance in mathematics continues to deteriorate and in Italy, 44% of secondary school students do not even learn the basic skills. Math Legacy is a suite of video games — one for each topic — with a shared engine, engaging narrative and recognisable visual identity. In its first tests with over 5,000 students in 30 schools, Math Legacy – awarded Best Italian EdTech 2024 (GESAwards) – recorded a 23% increase in scores in just one month.
MEMORAIZ – education
Educational, publishing and cultural institutions struggle to integrate AI sustainably without disrupting workflows or replacing the digital tools currently in use. MemorAlz provides flexible artificial intelligence modules that can be integrated into existing processes and tools to transform content, personalise experiences and support pedagogical interaction, meeting the needs of individual organisations in education, publishing and culture.
