Demo Day Batch 15, second acceleration program of Berkley SkyDeck Europe, Milano

Berkeley SkyDeck Europe, Milano: Second batch of startups has collected € 1.3 million in equity investments. Today the selected startups were presented to investors from all over Europe.

An AI-enabled supply chain planning solution, a cleantech system to measure and reduce software energy consumption and CO2 emissions, solutions to optimize warehouse management of perishables and pharmaceutical items, a genAI contract management platform, a software solution to simplify clinical documentation, and an RNA test for blood infections: these are some of the innovative projects that the 9 selected startups (3 of which are Italian) have presented today to international investors during the ‘Demo Day’ at the end of an acceleration program that started in November.

Berkeley SkyDeck Europe, Milano was launched by UC Berkeley SkyDeck (the accelerator of the University of California, Berkeley), the Italian innovation hub Cariplo Factory, and the international real estate group Lendlease. The project is financially supported by the Lombardy Region and the Cariplo Foundation.

Milan, April 27th, 2023 — Berkeley SkyDeck Europe, Milano announces today its second Demo Day showcasing nine startups to Italian and international investors at the end of its second acceleration program. The program was launched by UC Berkeley SkyDeck (the accelerator of the University of California, Berkeley), the Italian innovation hub Cariplo Factory, and the international real estate, infrastructure, and urban regeneration group Lendlease, and created with the contribution of Lombardy Region and Cariplo Foundation. The selected startups have collected 1.3 million euros in in equity investments.

Today’s Demo Day comes at the end of a 6-month acceleration program that took place both in Milan (at MIND – Milano Innovation District) and in Berkeley. The startup founders have had the opportunity to meet with the advisors of both SkyDeck Europe, Milano and Berkeley SkyDeck, as well as to access strategic training and connect with relevant companies, that could be interested in a commercial collaboration, and qualified financial operators, that can support them with equity investments.

Overall, in just 18 months, Berkeley SkyDeck Europe, Milano has accompanied the growth of 18 startups from Italy, Germany, France, Armenia, Ukraine, Switzerland, UK, USA and generated equity investments for a total of 2.6 million euros. Indeed, each startup has received an investment of €145,000 by Lendlease’s private investment fund.

The startups of Berkeley SkyDeck Europe, Milano’s second batch

The nine startups were selected from 528 applicants. The companies come from Armenia, Italy, UK, USA, Switzerland, Ukraine and are working on innovative projects in many technological sectors, including biotechnology, logistics, artificial intelligence, cleantech, retail tech, legal tech, medtech. Here is a short description of each startup:

· Cambridge Nucleomics is developing the fastest test for sepsis, blood poisoning, a top 5 killer in the US and worldwide. Their RNA analysis platform technology can also be used by pharmaceutical companies to optimize personalized medicine drug development programs.

· Cargoful is building an AI-enabled supply-chain planning solution focused on transportation that help logistic companies reduce their fuel costs by 10+%, while saving more than 75% of planning time and reducing their environmental footprint.

· Dedalo AI is a cleantech startup that measures and reduces the energy consumption and CO2 emissions of software. Their service aims to help companies become more environmentally conscious and reduce their carbon footprint, while improving their bottom line through increased efficiency.

· FiveBrane is the ultimate AI team assistant in building medical image-based AI solutions. FiveBrane is equipped with extensive analytical tools allowing it to extract meaningful images from unstructured data and smart AI-powered tools to automate image annotation and new image generation.

· Helean empowers retail companies selling perishable items with accurate demand forecasts to manage their inventory and avoid leftovers and stockouts. Their software plugs directly into the data providers of stores and allows to reduce waste by 50% and stockouts by 90%.

· Pricer24 is an Enterprise SaaS BI-solution for category managers of brands and online stores. The company provides clients with a comprehensive platform that offers insights on the pricing, promotional status, and reviews of products where they can organize large data sets to compare and contrast their own offerings, benchmark their product positioning, and ensure they are competitively positioned.

· Profiter provides a single platform for stock management and reorder processes in the pharmaceutical industry. The AI model analyzes hundreds of data points which provide accurate demand forecast, optimize the inventory and automate all reordering processes.

· SpeedLegal is a genAI Contract Management Platform that translates contracts into everyday language and verifies that each term complies with the market standards. SpeedLegal helps CEOs/CFOs reduce 75% of their time when checking contracts/redlines for approval and save $100k+/year in outside legal fees for their SMEs ($500k+/year for Enterprise organizations).

· Typeless empowers clinicians to regain valuable time with their patients by streamlining clinical documentation. Our software eliminates the need for clinicians to spend 2-4 hours per day manually typing reports. Instead, Typeless seamlessly integrates various patient-related documents into well-organized and compliant reports.

A system that welcomes innovation

SkyDeck Europe, Milano aims at shaping a strong European ecosystem of innovative companies. The project’s objective is to improve research through the integration of methodologies and best practices, thanks to the collaboration of the University of California, Berkeley. It also aims to strengthen the local ecosystem by pooling the skills of universities and local incubators through a model of widespread collaboration, also thanks to the support of institutions such as Lombardy Region and Cariplo Foundation.

A virtuous example of this model is the experimentation conducted by a startup named THEO together with the Municipality of Rho, which is adjacent to the MIND area. THEO was founded in Berlin by Victor Borsche and Aswin Ramachandran and took part to the first SkyDeck Europe, Milano acceleration program. THEO has developed a semi-autonomous delivery robot, optimized for cycle lanes and suitable to the new L4 autonomous driving law as it reduces the last mile delivery cost by up to 80%. Thanks to the opportunities generated by the Skydeck Europe, Milano, THEO could to start an urban month-long experimentation and manage the delivery of documents, medicines, and books on five different routes of the Rho cycle lanes.

“Berkeley SkyDeck Europe is a crucial part of our mission to look beyond Silicon Valley in search of new ideas and new ways of doing business. Innovation can come from anywhere, and each of these nine companies are proof of that – said Caroline Winnett, Executive Director, Berkeley SkyDeck. – We are proud of all that each company has accomplished so far and to have hosted them here in Berkeley for half of their program, and we look forward to seeing what they accomplish in the future.”

“Speed is a crucial factor for innovation and Berkeley SkyDeck Europe, Milano runs fast: in just 18 months we have selected, prepared for the market and invested in 18 startups from all over Europe – added Enrico Noseda, Chief Innovation Advisor at Cariplo Factory. – This proves that not only can Italy dialogue at the highest level with the international innovation ecosystem, given that part of the program takes place at the SkyDeck Berkeley headquarters in California, but also that we are on our way to becoming a point of reference for European startups.”

“We are pleased to renew our commitment as seed investors and venture capitalists and to witness the growth of the ecosystem of innovators at MIND – declared Andrea Ruckstuhl, Head of Italy and Continental Europe of Lendlease – As we have done for the first 9 startups six months ago, we have supported this second batch with an initial investment, and so we will do in the future, so that these excellent companies can grow to contribute to the economic development and technological progress of the ecosystem and attract further investments to the area.”

“The data confirm that through this program the Lombardy system has won the challenge of attracting not just investments but also young innovative ideas from all over Europe” – stated Guido Guidesi, Councilor for Economic Development of the Lombardy Region.

“We are happy that startups from all over the world and with such great potential have chosen our acceleration program as part of their journey to growth – concluded Carlo Mango, Director of the Scientific and Technological Research Area at Cariplo Foundation. – In addition to supporting founders with the tools to compete on a global scale, and through a large network of investors and corporates, SkyDeck Europe is proving to be increasingly integrated with the players of the MIND district, bringing value also within our ecosystem of innovation.”