After 48 hours of presentations and pitches, on Friday, December 5, 2025, the winners of the 23rd edition of the National Innovation Award were announced. The Premio Nazionale per l'Innovazione (PNI), the most important and widespread business plan competition in Italy, is promoted by PNICube, the Italian network of universities, academic incubators and regional Start Cups, and organized this year with the University of Ferrara, the main sponsorship of Gruppo Iren and Prysmian Group, and the main partnership of Almaviva.
The winners represent the best innovative, knowledge-intensive business projects selected from 17 regional competitions (Start Cups) organized by 59 universities and research institutions participating in PNICube in 18 regions of Italy, including Start Cup Piemonte Valle d'Aosta. The awarded projects were chosen from among 76 finalist start-ups by a jury composed of representatives from the worlds of business, research, and venture capital, based on criteria such as the value of the technological or knowledge content, technical feasibility and development potential, adequacy of the team's skills, and market attractiveness.
The start-ups awarded at PNI 2025
During the awards ceremony, held at Ferrara Expo at the end of two days of pitches and round tables, numerous prizes and special mentions were awarded, as tangible signs of the support of PNI partners for young innovative entrepreneurs with particularly promising projects.
Four of the start-ups receiving sponsor prizes at PNI 2025 come from Piedmont: they were among the finalists of PNI 2025 thanks to their selection among the best projects of this year's Start Cup Piemonte Valle d'Aosta, which ended in late October in Turin.
Among the projects awarded the CDP Venture Prize, given to 16 finalist teams from the PNI to enable them to gain more informed and accelerated access to the capital market, those chosen were Rcalls for the ICT category, BrainTex for the Industrial category, and Hematica for the Life Sciences-MedTech category.
The Invitalia Special Prize for Female Entrepreneurship, promoted in collaboration with OSIF (Scientific Observatory for Female Enterprises) for the best innovative female start-ups in research, was awarded to NewOilFactory, alongside other young companies.
Luigi Gallo, Head of Incentives and Innovation at Invitalia, commented: "Once again this year, the Agency confirms its commitment to promoting research and development projects led by women, awarding the Invitalia Special Prize for Female Entrepreneurship to start-ups that have distinguished themselves by proposing innovative solutions in the cleantech, Blue Economy, and food sustainability sectors. The Award is part of the Agency's broader objective of stimulating the creation and growth of businesses by promoting their positioning in the markets."
NewOilFactory received two more awards:
the Young Entrepreneur Program (YEP) Special Prize, consisting of 10 grants for a 7-day stay at two Pépites (Pôles Étudiants pour l’Innovation, le Transfert et l’Entrepreneuriat) in the France network, with a program of personalized meetings to promote the development of entrepreneurial skills, together with nine other young companies from other regions of Italy;
the Day One “Deep Tech Outliers” Special Prize, dedicated to the most promising deep tech technologies, won in exclusive.
The value of technology transfer
“The PNI 2025 final has once again confirmed how rich the Italian innovation ecosystem is in talent and ideas capable of generating concrete impact”, commented Paola M.A. Paniccia, President of PNICube and Delegate for Business Development, Start-ups, and Spin-offs for the University of Rome Tor Vergata. “All the projects presented on stage, not just the finalists, demonstrate how excellence in research can be transformed into businesses capable of responding to major social and environmental challenges. Strengthening innovative ecosystems means supporting this ability to translate knowledge into lasting, high-impact innovation, supporting its scale-up, which is an urgent issue for the country's competitiveness.”
“The PNI reminds us that knowledge cannot remain confined to laboratories: it must be transformed into business, into solutions, into opportunities for the country”, said Laura Ramaciotti, Rector of the University of Ferrara. "Universities and research institutions offer fertile ground for youth and female entrepreneurship, which, as a system, we must continue to support and nurture. The PNI is not just a competition and it is not just an award. It is a powerful educational journey, in which teaching meets the reality of business, research leaves the laboratories and is measured against the market and people, I am thinking above all of our students, who learn to put themselves out there, to accept risk, to work in a team, to translate an idea into a credible project. The real result is not just the podium, but the awareness of being part of an ecosystem, that of universities, research bodies, institutions, and businesses, which has decided to invest seriously in innovation."
“In a context marked by rapid transitions, new technologies, and strategic competition, supporting our technology supply chains is essential”, said Antonio Tajani, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. “The National Innovation Award is an integral part of this great effort by our country. I renew my congratulations to the organizers and to all the young companies that innovate and enter the markets with courage and passion.”
