What VeniSIA does

VeniSIA Srl is a Venice-headquartered Deep Tech venture studio operating as an Italian private limited company (Srl), founded in 2020 at Ca' Foscari University of Venice by Professor Carlo Bagnoli (Founder & Scientific Director) and Maria Claudia Pignata (CEO) and formally designated a university spin-off in 2024. The company exists to commercialize scientific discoveries originating from universities and research centers by structuring them into market-ready startups and proof-of-concept engagements with industrial partners, with sustainability positioned as the unifying theme and Venice framed as a living laboratory for solutions intended to scale globally.

The studio delivers four named programs: the Venture Building Program, which supports researchers and early-stage founders with mentoring, strategic advisory, pitch days to international VCs, coworking facilities in Venice, and a €20k cash prize; the Co-Innovation Program, which matches industrial partners' needs with startups to develop proof-of-concept solutions (the 5th edition is themed Next-Generation Materials and anchored by Eni Joule and Fassa Bortolo); the Manufacturing Accelerator, which leverages industrial partner assets to industrialize and market-launch innovations; and the Human Venturing Program, which develops intrapreneurial capability inside corporates. Revenue is generated through professional services arrangements — program fees from venture building cohorts and corporate co-innovation/manufacturing engagements — with pricing quote-based and not publicly disclosed.

VeniSIA's customer base spans three primary persona segments — researchers and scientists seeking commercialization pathways, early-stage Deep Tech founders seeking structured risk reduction, and industrial partners seeking innovation sourcing — plus a secondary corporate-employee segment for intrapreneurship. Its partner ecosystem includes Eni Joule, Fassa Bortolo, Ca' Foscari University, University of Palermo, the National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), Intesa Sanpaolo, Zest, the European Space Agency, and Future Farming, with Cisco, Edison, Snam, and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti listed as past partners. Distribution is primarily direct (program applications, university outreach) and event-driven through the annual Strategy Innovation Forum and content marketing via White Papers, LinkedIn, Instagram, and earned media in MIT Technology Review Italia, HBR Italia, Wired Italia, and others. Operating geographies are listed as Italy, though the studio markets itself as a global platform for sustainability ventures validated locally in Venice.

Name

VeniSIA

Legal name

VeniSIA Srl

Website

https://venisia.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

VeniSIA is a Venice-based Deep Tech venture studio that transforms university research and scientific discoveries into market-ready startups. It serves researchers, early-stage founders, and industrial partners through structured venture building, co-innovation, and manufacturing acceleration programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Deep Tech Venture Studio Services

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Technical Universities with Entrepreneurship & Incubation Focus (EDAHAEAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Innovation & Technology Scouting Units (with investment mandate) (FSANAHAI), Corporate Strategic Partnership & Ecosystem Investment Arms (FSANAHAF)

Keywords

• Venture studio services
• Deep tech incubation
• Technology transfer programs
• Corporate innovation consulting
• Startup venture building

Headquarters

HQ city

Venice

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Venture Building Program Fees: Programs supporting researchers and early-stage founders transform scientific discoveries into market-ready ventures, with €20k money prize for participants and coworking facilities provided in Venice.
2. Corporate Co-Innovation Programs: Matching industrial partners' needs to develop proof-of-concept solutions, facilitating collaboration between established companies and innovative startups.
3. Manufacturing Accelerator: Accelerating industrialization and market launch of innovative solutions by leveraging industrial partners' assets.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

VeniSIA operates a Deep Tech Venture Studio in Venice that runs structured programs to transform university and research-center intellectual property into market-ready startups. Its portfolio includes the Venture Building Program (for researchers and founders, offering a €20k prize, mentoring, strategic advisory, pitch days with international VCs, and coworking facilities in Venice), the Co-Innovation Program (matching industrial partners' needs with proof-of-concept solutions), the Manufacturing Accelerator (accelerating industrialization using partners' assets), and the Human Venturing Program (intrapreneurship for corporate employees).

Product overview

VeniSIA operates as a Deep Tech Venture Studio offering a portfolio of structured programs focused on technology transfer and venture creation. The core offering is the Venture Building Program, which transforms university research and intellectual property into market-ready startups. This is complemented by corporate-facing programs: the Co-Innovation Program (matching industrial partners' needs to develop POCs), the Manufacturing Accelerator (accelerating industrialization), and the Human Venturing Program (intrapreneurship and idea development). These programs collectively support sustainability-focused deep tech innovation from research through to market launch.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Venture Building Program

Quantifiable outcome

• €20k money prize for Venture Building participants
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Eni (Joule - entrepreneurship school)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Eni Joule serves as Main Partner for Co-Innovation programs, particularly the 5th edition focused on Next-Generation Materials. Joule is Eni's entrepreneurship school supporting sustainable innovation initiatives.
• Fassa BortolocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInnovation Partner for the Next-Generation Materials Co-Innovation Program, facilitating collaboration between established companies and innovative startups.
• University of Palermo (UniPa)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenture Building program collaboration supporting UniPa faculty and researchers in transforming innovative ideas on biodiversity and sustainability into startups and spin-offs.
• National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Venture Building program supporting biodiversity and sustainability-focused startups and spin-offs from university research.
• Future FarmingsupportingTechnology or IntegrationTechnology Transfer Partner supporting innovation in agriculture and food technology sectors.
• Ca' Foscari University of VenicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding institution where VeniSIA was established in 2020; became a university spin-off in 2024. Located at San Giobbe campus.
• European Space Agency (ESA)supportingOthersInstitutional partner in Venice's innovation ecosystem.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Science Inc. Venture studio and operating company that builds, funds, and launches new startups alongside entrepreneurs. Comparable to VeniSIA's model of pairing external founders with studio resources.
• idealab: Pioneer US venture studio that creates and launches technology companies through an in-house ideation and build process. Comparable operating model to VeniSIA's structured venture building process.
• Antler: Global early-stage venture builder running structured cohort programs across multiple geographies, supporting founders from idea stage through seed. Comparable business model to VeniSIA's multi-program venture studio approach.
• Entrepreneur First: Global talent-first venture builder that assembles technical founders (often PhDs) into startups before product ideas are formed. Highly comparable to VeniSIA's Venture Building program for early-stage Deep Tech founders.
• Creative Destruction Lab: University-affiliated, seed-stage venture builder focused on science- and technology-based startups, founded at the Rotman School of Management. Directly comparable to VeniSIA in using an academic platform to incubate Deep Tech founders.
• Activate (formerly Cyclotron Road): US-based fellowship for emerging science and engineering innovators to translate research into startups. Closely comparable to VeniSIA's mission of commercializing Deep Tech discoveries from research institutions.

Regional players

• H-FARM: Italy's largest innovation platform combining venture capital, accelerator programs, and education for early-stage tech companies. Comparable to VeniSIA in providing structured startup creation and corporate-innovation services in Italy.
• PoliHub: Innovation district and startup incubator of Politecnico di Milano, one of Italy's leading technical universities. Comparable as an Italian university-affiliated deep tech and science-based incubator.
• I3P: Politecnico di Torino's incubator supporting innovative startups from university research. Comparable to VeniSIA as an Italian university spin-off-focused incubator for technology-transfer ventures.
• CDP Venture Capital: Italy's largest venture capital operator backed by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, with dedicated funds for university spinoffs and Deep Tech. Comparable as an Italian institutional backer of technology-transfer ventures; also a past partner of VeniSIA.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/venisiaecosystem
• Instagraminstagram.com/venisia.eu

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 VeniSIA