italian-startup
(3)
Futurely
Futurely is a Milan-based edtech startup that builds a digital orientation pathway to help middle and high school students figure out what to study - and who to become - before they pick a university. Founded in 2019 by two Politecnico di Milano engineers who went on to MIT and Harvard, the platform mixes self-assessment, gamified courses, expert sessions and one-on-one mentorship to cut university dropout rates and the mismatch between young people and the jobs they end up in. It reaches students through schools, corporate welfare programs and directly, and raised $1.5M in 2021 from Italian Angels for Growth, Angels4Women and notable tech angels.
Waveful
Waveful is an AI-powered social app where creators and fans connect through content, challenges and communities, with creators earning money from day one. Built by Italian brothers Steven and Dennis Motta, it splits 50% of revenue with creators and grew from a few hundred thousand to millions of users after joining Andreessen Horowitz's a16z Speedrun accelerator, raising a $2.1M seed round in September 2025.
Elisa Piscitelli
Elisa Piscitelli is the CEO and co-founder of Futurely (myfuturely.com), an Italian edtech platform that uses data and structured self-discovery to help teenagers choose what to study and who to become. A management engineer from Politecnico di Milano who went on to McKinsey and an MIT Master in Business Analytics on a Zegna scholarship, she traded a data-science career in California to build a company that now guides over 14,000 students a year across 50 schools and 30 companies. She was named to Forbes Italia's 30 Under 30 in 2021 for her work in education.