The start of the second edition of BIF – Business Innovation Factory - is now under way, a three-year programme that Leonardo began in 2022 – in collaboration with LVenture – for the selection of up to ten start-ups each year capable of expanding the company’s range of digital services with innovative solutions.
Online candidacies may be submitted in response to the call for applications from today until March 24; the six-month acceleration programme will take place in Leonardo’s BIF spaces in the LVenture hub in Rome. Meanwhile the results of the first edition of BIF are now appearing, with the identification of the two companies judged to be of greatest interest. These have been selected for an equity investment by Leonardo (of up to 500 thousand euro each) through an increase in their reserved share capital.
The first edition of BIF, which concluded in October 2022, attracted more than 170 applications, 41% of which arrived from outside Italy. Analysis of the projects, with a focus on servitisation and autonomous systems, allowed the judges to draw up a shortlist of 20 start-ups. The ten best projects were then selected for admission to the acceleration programme, in which Leonardo has invested about one million euro. Two companies will also benefit from additional resources.
The two areas of interest in the second edition of BIF, open to start-ups and university spin-offs in Italy and abroad, are simulation and gamification and networking & cybersecurity. To respond to the call for applications, these can be submitted online at leonardoaccelerator.com. During the period in which applications are open a promotional roadshow will be held in Naples, Milan (where an investor day will be held), Tel Aviv, London and Munich.