Leonardo launches Business Innovation Factory (BIF), the startup accelerator created in partnership with LVenture Group

Rome  25 January 2022 10:43

  • 3 years to select 30 startups through specific calls for ideas. In 2022, for the first international call, startups are invited to propose innovative solutions in the servitization and autonomous systems sectors
  • Online applications are open until 14 March: the selected startups will attend a 5-month acceleration program at Leonardo's BIF spaces within the LVenture Group Hub
  • After the program, the most successful startups will be able to access further investments and develop a Proof of Concept (PoC) with the various business units of Leonardo

 

The Italian innovation ecosystem is enriched with a new center of excellence to boost high-potential technological solutions. Today marks the debut of the Business Innovation Factory (BIF), Leonardo's startup accelerator created in partnership with LVenture Group. Leonardo's new accelerator aims to select, for the next three years, up to 10 startups a year that will develop innovative solutions capable of expanding the company’s offer of digital services, enhancing one of the world leaders in Aerospace, Defence & Security.
 
The first call is open to national and international university startups and spin-offs - also in the constitution phase – and it focuses on two specific verticals. The first is the servitization area, valuing solutions and platforms for data collection and data exploitation to create and deliver innovative services in Anything-as-a-service (Xaas) mode. The second includes solutions for mobility, navigation, planning and interaction of movements for autonomous systems and for the integration and enhancement of existing systems.
 
Until March 14 startups will be able to apply directly online on the www.leonardoaccelerator.com website, by filling out the dedicated form. Startups must have developed software solutions with a working Minimum Viable Product (MVP) or hardware with consolidated traction in the two verticals of interest. Exploiting technologies such as Cloud, 5G and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a plus.
  
The selected startups will participate in the five-month acceleration program in the Business Innovation Factory spaces at the Hub of LVenture Group, one of the leading innovation hubs in Europe.
 
The program, carried out by LVenture Group, will share the vertical skills of its team in the main strategic areas for business growth with the startups, according to their unique Full-Stack approach: a 360° support from acceleration to exit.
 
The most successful startups after the acceleration program will access a further investment by Leonardo and LVenture Group and will be able to develop a Proof of Concept (PoC), to test their technological solutions with the various business units of Leonardo.

The launch of the Business Innovation Factory is part of Leonardo's approach to innovation that is based, according to the Be Tomorrow 2030 strategic growth plan, on interaction and collaboration between different internal and external players, to encourage the sharing of ideas and knowledge, fueling opportunities for new essential technological solutions.


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Leonardo, a global high-technology company, is among the top world players in Aerospace, Defence and Security and Italy’s main industrial company. Organized into five business divisions, Leonardo has a significant industrial presence in Italy, the United Kingdom, Poland and the USA, where it also operates through subsidiaries that include Leonardo DRS (defence electronics), and joint ventures and partnerships: ATR, MBDA, Telespazio, Thales Alenia Space and Avio. Leonardo competes in the most important international markets by leveraging its areas of technological and product leadership (Helicopters, Aircraft, Aerostructures, Electronics, Cyber Security and Space). Listed on the Milan Stock Exchange (LDO), in 2020 Leonardo recorded consolidated revenues of €13.4 billion and invested €1.6 billion in Research and Development. The company has been part of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) since 2010 and has been confirmed among the global sustainability leaders in 2021. Leonardo is also included in the MIB ESG index.

leonardo.com

Press Office 
Ph. +39 0632473313 leonardopressoffice@leonardo.com 


LVenture Group S.p.A. is a holding company listed on the Italian Stock Exchange (Euronext Milan), operating in the field of Venture Capital. It owns the Startup Accelerator LUISS EnLabs, born from a joint venture with Luiss Guido Carli University which has grown into a point of reference in Italian innovation ecosystem. LVenture Group provides a 9,000 sqm Hub in Rome’s Termini Station, in addition to a dedicated office space in Milan, at the Milan LUISS Hub. Today the investment portfolio includes 90+ startups, characterized by high digital innovation and scalability. Our business model is based mainly on capital gains from the exits of our startups.

www.lventuregroup.com 
Press Kit

Head of Communications              
Monica Cassano
Via Marsala, 29/h – 00185 Roma
M +39 338 4932993
monica.cassano@lventuregroup.com
 
Press Office Manager
Luca Zanon
Via Marsala, 29/h – 00185 Roma
M +39 333 6653365
luca.zanon@lventuregroup.com