Milan’s Bocconi, Politecnico universities fold startup hubs into ION-backed foundation

MILAN, Jan 20 (Reuters) – Milan’s Bocconi and Politecnico universities are placing their operations that promote startup ventures into Tech Europe Foundation (TEF), a foundation backed by global fintech and data group ION, TEF said.

The Fondazione Politecnico di Milano will transfer its deep-tech hub PoliHub, while Bocconi will contribute its Bocconi for Innovation (B4i) hub including its venture capital B4i Fund SIS, it added. 

Almost half of the founders of Italian startups come from the two Milan-based universities, according to Dealroom data for 2020–2024.

Over the same period, entrepreneurs from the two institutions raised about 92% of the total capital gathered by graduates of Italian universities, amounting to 5.9 billion euros ($6.9 billion).

PoliHub has since 2013 supported the growth of more than 5,350 startups and 20,150 projects, helping attract over 6.55 billion euros in investment. 

B4i was launched in 2019, helping 68 startups raise more than 70 million euros in capital.

Among B4i-backed ventures is Rilemo, a medtech startup whose technology combines electromagnetic imaging with artificial intelligence to offer real‑time brain imaging in situations where a hospital scan is not available but a fast neurological assessment can support time-critical medical decisions.

($1 = 0.8528 euros)

(Reporting by Valentina ZaEditing by Keith Weir)