Applications are now open for the 2026 edition of Start Cup Piemonte Valle d’Aosta, the business plan competition that promotes the creation of innovative start-ups in the Italian regions of Piedmont and Aosta Valley.
Now in its 22nd edition, the initiative is organized by I3P, the Innovative Companies Incubator of Politecnico di Torino, and 2i3T, the Business Incubator of the University of Turin. The competition is held under the patronage of Regione Piemonte and is part of the National Innovation Award (PNI), Italy’s most important event dedicated to new knowledge-intensive companies.
The two Stages of the initiative
The competition consists of two stages. Stage I is the Ideas Competition, which rewards the best business ideas with free support and consulting services provided by business incubators, aimed at developing a business plan. Participants will also have access to technical and immersive workshops focused on climate neutrality and sustainable urban mobility, organized in collaboration with the City of Turin and 5T, with technical and scientific support from Politecnico di Torino, as part of the City of Turin’s Living Lab ToMove and CTE NEXT 2.0 projects.
Participants will also be able to take advantage of free guidance and support services provided by experts from Invitalia, Official Partner of the National Innovation Award, to assist with the submission of grant applications for start-ups.
The deadline to apply for Stage I is June 16, 2026. To apply, teams must complete the application form on the competition’s official website, www.startcup-piemonte-vda.it. Selected teams will be contacted directly by the organizing incubators to begin the mentoring process.
The initiative's Stage II, the Business Plan Competition, will begin on June 17 and end on July 28, 2026, with the selected teams advancing to the final round and the winners receiving cash prizes and services. To participate, each team has to submit a business plan describing an innovative entrepreneurial project via the competition’s official platform.
Participants may take part in either one or both stages, free of charge, by submitting a business idea or an entrepreneurial project that - regardless of its stage of development - is the result of the work of an individual or a group of individuals and is aimed at launching an innovative start-up.
Who can join the competition
Eligible applicants include aspiring entrepreneurs who are at least 18 years of age, as well as university students and faculty members from universities and research centers (undergraduate students, graduates, doctoral candidates, postdoctoral researchers, research fellows, professors, and researchers), either individually or in groups. Also eligible are owners of businesses incorporated after October 1, 2025, or that began operations on or after that date.
During the online application process, applicants must select a host incubator, choosing from I3P, 2i3T, or the Pépinières d’Entreprises in Aosta or Pont-Saint-Martin if applying for the Valle d’Aosta Prize.
Business ideas and projects must fall into one of the following competing categories:
- Life Sciences: innovative products and/or services to improve people's health.
- ICT: innovative products and/or services in information technology and new media for cybersecurity and cloud computing (for example, e-commerce, social media, mobile gaming) and innovative hardware and software technologies (for example, microelectronics and photonics devices, advanced materials for ICT, new computational architectures, AI/LLM technologies, imaging).
- Cleantech & Energy: innovative products and/or services aimed at improving environmental sustainability, environmental protection, and energy management.
- Industrial: innovative products and/or services for industrial production that do not fall into the above categories, which are innovative in terms of technology or market.
- Tourism and Cultural & Creative Industry: innovative products and/or services targeting the tourism sector and the industries related to culture and creativity.
The organizing committee of Start Cup Piemonte Valle d’Aosta, composed of the two Piedmontese incubators, emphasized how the initiative continues to play a key role in bringing highly innovative business ideas to life: “The competition remains an effective tool for bringing to the forefront projects that originate in academic and research settings, guiding them through a process of validation and development. We go beyond the competitive dimension: Start Cup serves as a bridge between scientific expertise, the market, and the local community, helping to strengthen the regional system’s ability to transform knowledge into business. The value we recognize lies in collaboration among diverse stakeholders and in leveraging widespread expertise: elements that make the innovation process more structured and sustainable.”
Prize pool: over €60,000
The final phase of the competition will conclude by October 30, 2026, with an awards ceremony held in Turin. The best business projects participating in the Business Plan Competition (Phase II) will receive awards and special mentions selected by a jury composed of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and business angels.
Thanks to the funding provided by the initiative’s sponsors and supporters for the 2026 edition, the total prize pool amounts to over €60,000, consisting of prizes in cash and in services provided by the initiative’s partners.
The three overall winners will receive cash prizes: €7,500 for first place, €5,000 for second place, and €2,500 for third place. The top six projects will also be guaranteed a spot in the PNI 2026 - the Italian National Innovation Award taking place in Bari on December 3 and 4 - with the €1,000 registration fee covered by the competition organizers.
Through the support of the sponsors and partners which are particularly committed to making a tangible contribution to the advancement of innovation, Start Cup Piemonte Valle d’Aosta also offers a series of special prizes:
- the Fondazione CRC Prize, worth €10,000, for the best entrepreneurial project establishing the company in the Italian Province of Cuneo, sponsored by Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Cuneo;
- the Valle d'Aosta Prize, worth €7,500, for the best entrepreneurial project establishing the company in the Pépinière d’Entreprises of Aosta or Pont-Saint-Martin, sponsored by the Autonomous Region of Valle d’Aosta;
- the "City of the Future and Sustainability" Prize, worth €7,500 aggregate, for the best entrepreneurial projects, chosen according to merit-based principles (up to 2 winning teams) proposing innovative products or services based on sustainability technologies, sponsored by LINKS Foundation and awarded as redeemable credit for technical services delivered by LINKS personnel;
- Three “Tech for Climate & Mobility” Prizes, in services, awarded to the three best entrepreneurial projects on climate neutrality and smart, sustainable urban mobility, provided within the framework of the projects Living Lab ToMove and CTE NEXT 2.0 of the City of Turin;
- the "Domenico Appendino" Prize, worth €10,000 in services for the best innovative entrepreneurial project considering the theme of Cleantech & Energy that proposes innovative products or services aimed at reducing environmental impact, improving energy efficiency, and promoting the sustainable use of natural resources, sponsored by Ame Ventures Srl of Milan.
There will also be four special mentions: “Women in Entrepreneurship”, “Social Innovation”, “Open Innovation / Industrial Spin-offs”, and “Climate Change”.
For more information and to download the full regulations, it is possible to consult the contest's official website.
