InnovUp

What InnovUp does

InnovUp is an Italian non-profit industry association founded in 2012 and headquartered in Milan that represents the Italian innovation ecosystem, with a particular focus on startups and SMEs in the life sciences sector. The organization does not operate as a commercial entity with proprietary products, platforms, or technology offerings; instead, it functions as a representative body and ecosystem convener. Its core activity centers on producing market intelligence and ecosystem reports — most notably the Listup report, whose fifth edition was published in 2025 in collaboration with Indicon, Italian Tech Alliance, and Growth Capital. These reports track investment trends, new venture formation, AI adoption, and sector performance across the Italian life sciences startup ecosystem.

The association serves Italian life sciences startups, SMEs, and the broader innovation stakeholder base, including investors, corporates, and policymakers. Its 2025 Listup report documented that Italian life sciences startups and SMEs raised €414.1 million in 2025, with €279.5 million (67.5%) raised in H2 2025 — a 135% increase versus H2 2024. The report also tracked 1,591 innovative healthtech companies in Italy, AI adoption in 39.7% of new ventures, and sector dominance (biotech/pharma at 91% of H2 2025 funding), and provided comparative benchmarking against France's 2,738 healthtech companies and €2.3 billion raised. As a non-profit association, InnovUp's revenue model relies on membership dues, partner sponsorships, and collaborative funding rather than commercial product sales; with 1-10 employees, it operates as a lean representative body rather than a scaled commercial organization.

Name

InnovUp

Website

https://innovup.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

InnovUp is an Italian non-profit industry association founded in 2012 that represents the country's innovation ecosystem, collaborating with partners to publish market intelligence such as the Listup report on life sciences startup investment trends.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industry Association Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Data Analytics & Business Intelligence Services (BPAHALAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Economic Research, Statistics & Policy Advisory (BPADAMAJ)

Keywords

• Italian innovation ecosystem
• Industry association
• Startup ecosystem reporting
• Life sciences market intelligence
• Innovation policy advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Milan

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations

Core offering

InnovUp is the Italian association representing the country's innovation ecosystem. It collaborates with partner organizations to publish market intelligence reports, such as the Listup report, which tracks investment trends, new venture formation, and sector performance of Italian life sciences startups and SMEs. The association advocates for and represents the interests of innovative Italian startups and SMEs.

Product overview

InnovUp is an Italian industry association representing startups and SMEs in the life sciences and innovation sectors. Based on available source data, no specific product offerings, platforms, or named services were identified. The organization is primarily referenced in the context of industry reports and ecosystem collaboration rather than product provision.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Listup Report

Quantifiable outcome

• Italian life sciences startups raised €414.1 million in 2025, with €279.5 million (67.5%) raised in H2 2025 — a 135% increase vs H2 2024

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• IndiconcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Indicon collaborated with InnovUp, Italian Tech Alliance, and Growth Capital to publish the fifth edition of the Listup report, which tracks Italian life sciences startup and SME investment trends and ecosystem performance.
• Italian Tech AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Italian Tech Alliance collaborated with InnovUp, Indicon, and Growth Capital to publish the fifth edition of the Listup report covering Italian life sciences startup ecosystem data, including investment figures, new venture formation, and sector analysis.
• Growth CapitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Growth Capital collaborated with InnovUp, Indicon, and Italian Tech Alliance to publish the fifth edition of the Listup report on Italian life sciences startups and SMEs, providing investment data and ecosystem analysis.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Dealroom.co: Global startup and venture capital intelligence platform tracking funding data; comparable in producing the underlying investment datasets that ecosystem reports like Listup reference and analyze.

Direct peers

• EU-Startups: Online media and research platform focused on European startup ecosystem reporting; comparable in curating European startup data and producing investment-trend content aligned with InnovUp's Listup work.
• Italia Startup Association: Historical Italian association representing the national startup ecosystem; comparable as a non-profit trade body engaging in policy advocacy and ecosystem reporting for Italian innovative startups.
• Assobiotec (Italian Association for the Development of Biotechnology): Italian biotech industry association producing ecosystem data and policy advocacy for life sciences startups and SMEs; overlaps directly with InnovUp's life-sciences coverage within the Italian innovation ecosystem.
• Indicon (Informatico): Italian management consulting firm and core co-publisher of the Listup report; comparable as a data-driven research partner working on Italian innovation ecosystem analytics.
• Mind the Bridge: Non-profit organization supporting Italian and European startup scaleup and corporate-open-innovation programs; comparable as an Italian-rooted ecosystem association running reports and corporate-startup bridging programs.
• Italian Tech Alliance: Italian innovation ecosystem association and direct co-publisher of the Listup report alongside InnovUp; comparable as a non-profit representing Italian tech startups and SMEs, producing sector data and advocacy.

Emerging players

• Startup Genome: Global startup ecosystem research and ranking organization that produces reports akin to Listup; comparable in publishing investment trend reports and ecosystem benchmarking across geographies.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Innovupnet
• Facebookfacebook.com/innovupnet
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/innovupnet

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about InnovUp