Super Sapiens Europe: here are the 9 selected deep tech start-ups

Nine cutting-edge tech gems, these are the innovative start-ups chosen by the European competition Super Sapiens Europe, ready to attract investment and scale internationally.

Scientifica Venture Capital today announces the start-ups selected through the Call4Ideas Super Sapiens Europe initiative, developed in collaboration with IREFI (Institute for Economic Relations between Italy and France), which played a key role in organizing the competition. With its institutional standing, IREFI helped build a strategic bridge between the Italian and French innovation ecosystems, fostering dialogue among companies, investors, and major industrial groups.

After receiving over 450 applications from across Europe – a number that exceeded the organizers’ expectations – the evaluation board selected 9 start-ups that will now join an international network of connections. This network will offer them the opportunity to initiate potential strategic collaborations with large corporates and industrial groups, fostering open innovation synergies. They will also have access to potential investment from Scientifica Venture Capital, which – with its operational VC approach – supports start-ups throughout their entire growth journey, from pre-seed to the growth stage, facilitating their scale-up and international expansion.

The selected start-ups are:

• Daidalos, which has designed an innovative hardware accelerator specifically for AI, capable of delivering greater computing power with reduced energy consumption
• Layer Logic, which has developed a high-precision biosensor that reduces the time needed to detect bacteria in food products, such as fish and cheese, from days to minutes
• Materys, with its AI-powered platform that automates the technical complexities involved in the effective discovery and analysis of materials
• Spuma, which has developed a patented, biodegradable bio-additive for the removal of PFAS from contaminated water, achieving over 90% effectiveness without generating secondary waste – unlike traditional filtration methods
• Next Generation Robotics, which has created advanced robotic systems for the inspection and monitoring of railway rolling stock (trains, subways, freight trains, and rail vehicles in general), with the goal of digitizing and remotely managing the visual inspection process
• Ningaloo Biosystem, which has developed a platform that applies dynamic control based on optogenetics to bioreactor processes, optimizing biopharmaceutical production
• QSensAto, which develops miniaturized atomic sensors based on Laser-Written Vapor Cells (LWVCs), using quantum technology to perform ultra-precise and accurate measurements
• Quidditas, with its innovative genomic editing platform that enables controlled recombination of large DNA fragments
• Inflant, which has developed a solution that reduces the inflammatory response in the intestine without compromising the immune system’s overall ability to fight infections

The nine selected start-ups operate in strategic sectors such as Generative Artificial Intelligence, Smart Materials, Agritech, Smart City & Mobility, Advanced Manufacturing, Quantum Technologies, and Climate Tech.
In addition to Italian ventures, the group includes teams from Germany, Belgium, France, and Sweden, perfectly aligned with Super Sapiens Europe’s mission to foster a Europe-wide innovation landscape and identify the most promising investment opportunities in the technological innovation market.

“Europe is an emerging hub for deep tech start-ups, with untapped potential that deserves to be recognized and supported. With initiatives like Super Sapiens Europe, we aim to accelerate the growth of a more integrated and globally competitive ecosystem,” said Riccardo D’Alessandri, Managing Partner at Scientifica Venture Capital. “The selected start-ups will embark on a structured path of validation and scale-up, strengthening their business models and developing effective go-to-market strategies to position themselves as leaders in their respective fields.”

“The creation of an Italian-French innovation ecosystem – which lies at the heart of the Super Sapiens Europe initiative – has taken its first step with this selection,” said Fabrizio Maria Romano, President of IREFI. “The collaboration among corporates, start-ups, venture capital firms and research centers from both Italy and France represents a great potential – one we hope will be recognized at the institutional level – to effectively support the strategic autonomy and sovereignty strategies that Europe needs now more than ever and to which Italy and France can jointly make a significant contribution.”

Super Sapiens Europe also involved several of IREFI’s partners, leading innovation players such as Edison, Eni, STMicroelectronics, Fincantieri, Generali and Thales.
Their participation confirms the strong interest of major industrial groups in establishing strategic collaborations with start-ups, adopting open innovation models to accelerate the development of new technologies and market solutions.
This is why initiatives like the Call4Ideas Super Sapiens Europe represent a concrete opportunity to position Europe as a global hub for innovation.

About IREFI
IREFI (Institut pour les Relations Économiques France-Italie) is an independent bilateral institute whose primary mission is to facilitate business relations between France and Italy.
IREFI brings together entrepreneurs (including large corporations, SMEs, and start-ups), their associations, managers and representatives from both public and private institutions in the two countries.
In this context, IREFI organizes bilateral institutional-level events, drawing inspiration from the guidelines of the Quirinal Treaty and focusing on key strategic areas for Franco-Italian relations: Innovation, Defense, and Infrastructure in the aerospace, energy, and transport sectors.