The 5 startups presenting at the first Demo Day of VITA, the Digital Health Accelerator of CDP Venture Capital's National Accelerator Network

• Evotion, HuCare, InGeno, Linari Medical and Paperbox Health are the VITA startups that presented their solutions during Demo Day
• VITA announced the 2023 call for digital health startups for the upcoming program starting in June

ROME, February 3rd, 2023 – Today, VITA Demo Day, the final event of the first accelerator dedicated entirely to digital health, took place online and at Casa Angelini. The VITA Accelerator was born from the initiative of CDP Venture Capital and realized together with Healthware Group and Accelerace, which manage the program operations.

VITA has Zambon’s research venture Zcube as its Innovation Partner, Petrone Group & SIFI Group as Corporate Partners, and Orrick as Technical Partner. Angelini Ventures, the venture capital arm of Angelini Industries’, supports the acceleration program as part of the broad network of Ecosystem Partners in the institutional, scientific, and venture capital space.

The event, moderated by Francesco Cerruti, General Director of Italian Tech Alliance, was attended by more than 100 guests including investors, startups, life sciences companies and industry experts and professionals. Among the various speakers were Sergio Marullo di Condojanni – CEO of Angelini Industries, Stefano Molino – Head of Accelerators Fund of CDP Venture Capital, and Roberto Ascione – CEO & Founder of Healthware Group.

The Demo Day event showcased the 5 startups selected out of 120 applications from 20 different countries that successfully completed the first edition of the VITA program, receiving an initial investment of €110,000 and now have the opportunity to receive follow-on funding of up to €400,000. These startups provide digital health solutions ranging from technologies for visual rehabilitation to devices for monitoring children’s health to innovative systems for screening and treating cognitive disorders such as dyslexia.

The startups arrived at Demo Day after a 4-month journey, thanks to the support of more than 50 experts and professionals from the digital health world, where they engaged in mentorship and coaching sessions, business training workshops, networking events, and working sessions with Corporate and Innovation Partners to create pilot projects to be tested in the market.

The program alternated online sessions with in-person meetings at Palazzo Innovazione, the Italian headquarters of Healthware Group and new coworking space in the historic center of Salerno, and OpenZone, Zambon’s scientific campus entirely dedicated to health in Bresso, Milan.

Then, the event also marked the official announcement of a new call for Italian and international startups interested in opening a registered office in Italy which will close on April 17th and the selection process will follow for the next acceleration program scheduled for the second half of 2023.

"The solutions presented today by the startups that participated in the first edition of VITA have shown us how technological element can be a real game changer in the approach to Health, both from the point of view of prevention and treatment and in the doctor-patient relationship,” comments Stefano Molino, Senior Partner of CDP Venture Capital and Head of the Accelerators Fund, “The startups have been guided on a very effective growth path thanks to the contribution of Healthware Group and Accelerace and the corporate and partners. As the Accelerator Fund, we remain dedicated to supporting the most promising projects, even beyond the acceleration program.”

"We are very pleased with the progress made alongside VITA partners to aid the growth of startups that provide innovative health solutions. This first acceleration program demonstrated the potential of co-creation and open innovation, leading to the creation of digital health projects that enhance patients’ lives with groundbreaking solutions. We are confident that the next call for applications, open until April 17th, will also enable us to intercept as many talented teams with excellent digital health solutions. Additionally, VITA Accelerator and all partners will continue strive to make the accelerator a benchmark for the Italian and international ecosystem,” said Paolo Borella, Managing Partner of VITA Accelerator.

"Digital innovation is fast and open, it passes through the ability to collaborate and make systems between research, industry, universities and investors. In this initiative, Zcube has brought the skills and experience of Zambon’s open innovation system, and together with VITA and its ecosystem, we want to launch these young entrepreneurial realities to revolutionize the healthcare system of today and tomorrow,” explains Alessandro Porcu, president and CEO of OpenZone and board member of Zcube – Zambon Research Venture.

“We went beyond the concept of partnership by proposing places and spaces, mentorship and managerial experience, opening the fantastic OpenZone community and our network to VITA, creating valuable opportunities to meet and exchange. The evolution of the digital health ecosystem in Italy greatly benefits from a program like VITA. The program gives startups access to the tools necessary to accelerate projects that aim to have a positive impact on health”, says Paolo Di Giorgio, CEO and Managing Director of Angelini Ventures. “For Angelini Ventures, it is important to support startups that will shape the future of healthcare, in the various stages of their development. We are excited to enhance our partnership with VITA by hosting one of the landmark events of it’s accelerator program, Demo Day."

The event gathers a community of investors, investment managers and entrepreneurs and couldn’t be more aligned with the dynamic and innovation-focused environment we look to build at Casa Angelini and across our global operations.

The VITA accelerator’s first batch of startups that presented their solutions at Demo Day are:

• Evotion has developed a smart wearable for monitoring the health status of children by detecting key biometric parameters and offering constant monitoring, even during sleep.
• HuCare is a secure platform that empowers communication between patients and physicians to streamline medical overhead communication.
• InGeno is the first platform that combines DNA testing with proprietary algorithms to create personalized solutions to health problems and beauty and wellness needs.
• Linari Medical develops the innovative patented AvDesk technology for remote visual rehabilitation for visually impaired brain-injured patients.
• Paperbox Health proposes an “end-to-end” solution to make early identification and preventive intervention of childhood cognitive disorders totally accessible and effective.