# VeniSIA - Venice, the oldest city of the future®

> VeniSIA is a Venice-based deep-tech venture studio that turns university research and intellectual property into startups, matches validated technologies with corporate challenges, and connects prototypes with industrial production. Conceived at Ca’ Foscari University in 2020 by Carlo Bagnoli and Maria Claudia Pignata, it became a recognised university spin-off in 2024. Its work spans sustainability, materials, biodiversity, agritech and corporate entrepreneurship.

- **Founded:** 2020
- **Headquarters:** Venice, Italy
- **Founders:** Carlo Bagnoli (Co-founder and Head of Strategy), Maria Claudia Pignata (Co-founder and CEO)
- **Products:** Venture Building, Co-Innovation, Manufacturing Accelerator, Human Venturing, Argo Tourism and Traveltech Accelerator
- **Notable:** Recognised as a Ca’ Foscari University spin-off in 2024., Company reported nearly 7,000 startups scouted across 74 countries and 17 winning startups across three Co-Innovation editions in its April 2024 recap., University of Palermo programme collected 23 proposals and selected eight projects on 8 October 2025.

## Products & services

- **Venture Building** — Scouts university and research-centre projects and IP, assesses readiness, and supports validation, IP strategy, acceleration and venture development. The 2026 presentation describes technologies generally starting at TRL 1.
- **Co-Innovation** — Maps industrial partners’ challenges, scouts validated technologies, selects startups and facilitates pilots. The July 2026 presentation targets TRL 7–9 solutions.
- **Manufacturing Accelerator** — Matches full-scale prototypes with manufacturers’ assets; supports prototype tests, manufacturing feasibility, strategic planning and production arrangements. Publicly introduced in March 2025.
- **Human Venturing** — Corporate intrapreneurship programme with training, idea generation, refinement and pitches to management. The current structure includes a two-hour kickoff, four four-hour sessions and a two-hour closing pitch.
- **Argo Tourism and Traveltech Accelerator** — CDP Venture Capital accelerator launched in December 2022 and operated with LVenture Group, subsequently Zest, and VeniSIA. The initial design included five-month acceleration and approximately €75,000 pre-seed investments per selected startup.
- **Biodiversity Venture Building with UniPa** — University of Palermo and NBFC-related research-commercialisation programme launched through a July 2025 call; 23 applications led to eight projects selected in October 2025.
- **Next-Generation Materials Co-Innovation** — Fifth Co-Innovation edition, launched in June 2026 with Eni Joule, industrial support from Versalis, and Fassa Bortolo; covers polymers, elastomers, advanced mechanical recycling and AI-assisted materials discovery.

## Achievements

- Recognised as a Ca’ Foscari University spin-off in 2024.
- Company reported nearly 7,000 startups scouted across 74 countries and 17 winning startups across three Co-Innovation editions in its April 2024 recap.
- University of Palermo programme collected 23 proposals and selected eight projects on 8 October 2025.
- Launched fifth Co-Innovation edition on Next-Generation Materials in June 2026.
- Featured in MIT Technology Review Italia on 5 February 2026 for its research-to-industrialisation model.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Launched fifth Co-Innovation edition, Next-Generation Materials, with Eni Joule, Versalis and Fassa Bortolo; the partner announcement dates the opening event to 17 June.
- **2026-03** — Current public presentations describe Venture Building, Manufacturing Accelerator and Human Venturing operating models.
- **2026-02** — MIT Technology Review Italia published a feature describing VeniSIA’s Venture Maturity Index and manufacturing model.
- **2025-10** — Eight research projects selected for the University of Palermo biodiversity venture-building programme.
- **2025-07** — University of Palermo biodiversity programme issued its call on 21 July.

## Links

- Website: https://www.venisia.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/venisiavenezia/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/venisia.eu/

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Last updated: 2026-10-08