The numbers show three very different models.
- Rome leads Italy in European research funding, with €776 million secured through Horizon 2020, and ranks second in the country for number of innovative startups.However, over the past five years the city has raised only €295 million in venture capital across 357 deals, with average funding below €1 million per startup.
- Milan remains the main innovation hub in Italy. Between 2020 and 2024, the city raised €4.1 billion in venture capital through 1,134 deals. It is home to 2,417 innovative startups and nearly half of Italy’s B2B startups (46.8%). Despite this strong ecosystem, Milan still struggles to make talent accessible to early-stage startups and to retain skilled professionals.
- Turin is gaining momentum in hard tech. The city has an ecosystem value of about $3 billion and an annual growth rate of 19%. This trend goes against the global decline of innovation ecosystems (−14%). However, Turin still lacks scale. There is limited growth-stage capital and a shortage of senior talent able to help companies move beyond their first phase of expansion.
- A survey of 100 ecosystem operators highlights both strengths and challenges of the Italian innovation landscape. The main strengths include the presence of large corporations and leading markets (52%), followed by universities and research institutions (46%). The biggest obstacles are talent shortages (55%), fragmentation among ecosystem players (41%), bureaucracy and slow public administration processes (39%), and limited access to growth-stage capital (35%).
Rome has the highest concentration of public research in Italy and the largest access to competitive European research funding. The city hosts strategic industrial sectors at the European level and produces every year a pool of scientific and technical talent that no other Italian city can match.
However, the main challenge is not the amount of resources but the structure of the ecosystem. Fragmentation among key actors, weak technology transfer, and the lack of stable collaboration mechanisms prevent this critical mass from generating systemic impact.
“If Rome succeeds in building a strong relational infrastructure that reduces the distance between laboratories and the market, it could become one of Europe’s leading hubs for public-private deep tech innovation,” says Valerio Mancini, one of the authors of the report “Chi fa innovazione e dove? Roma, Milano, Torino: player, infrastrutture e numeri comparati.” The study was produced by the Rome Business School Research Center and edited by Michele Franzese and Valerio Mancini.
What about Turin and Milan? Turin stands out for its engineering capabilities and strong ties with industry. These factors make the city a reliable testing ground for complex technologies. It also shows a strong track record in ecosystem value growth, something few European cities of similar size can claim.
Milan, on the other hand, offers the market, capital, and international connections needed for startups and scaleups to grow.
The report provides a comparative analysis of the three main innovation ecosystems in Italy. It combines institutional and international data on startups, venture capital, patents, and European funding. It also includes a proprietary survey of 100 ecosystem operators, including founders, investors, corporates, researchers, and policymakers.
In addition, the research analyzes innovation communities using data from events such as the Rome Future Week and the Torino Future Week. The result is a detailed snapshot of the dynamics that are reshaping the geography of innovation in Italy.
Rome: research powerhouse with untapped innovation potential
Rome is the leading Italian territory for attracting competitive European research funds. It secured €776 million from Horizon 2020, more than Milan and almost three times Turin. It also hosts the highest concentration of public researchers in the country.
Sapienza University of Rome is the largest university in Europe by number of students. Major national research institutions are based in the city. These include the Italian Space Agency, the National Research Council of Italy, the ENEA, and the Istituto Superiore di Sanità. Together, they have turned the Roman territory into one of the densest scientific hubs in Europe.
In the so-called Tiburtina Valley, around 250 aerospace and defense companies employ about 23,500 highly skilled workers. The cluster generates roughly €5 billion in annual revenue. It is the only Italian region that hosts the entire value chain of the space industry.
Yet Rome attracted only €295 million in venture capital over five years. The average deal size is below €1 million.
Operators rate the perceived quality of the local network at 5.9 out of 10. This is the lowest score among the three cities analyzed. Technology transfer scores 5.6.
Stakeholders describe an ecosystem where excellence exists but remains disconnected. Fragmentation among actors is cited by 58% of respondents as the main obstacle.
The most promising startups often secure seed funding through public regional instruments. These include programs managed by Lazio Innova and CDP Venture Capital. However, they struggle to find growth capital locally. As a result, many are forced to look elsewhere.
This is the paradox that defines Rome. The territory with the highest scientific density in Italy still generates the lowest systemic return compared to the resources invested.
Two main reasons explain this gap.
First, there is a lack of relational architecture. Each institution excels within its own perimeter. There are few incentives and limited infrastructure dedicated to building horizontal bridges with the private sector.
Second, wealth does not circulate efficiently. The challenge lies in the slow pace at which research reaches the market and how rarely it generates tangible economic value.
Rome hosts 10.5% of Italy’s innovative startups. Many of them survive the early stage thanks to public funding tools. But because local growth capital is scarce, they often raise their next rounds in Milan or London. In many cases, they move their headquarters there, weakening the ecosystem they originated from.
The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2025 highlights a recent improvement. Rome has moved from the 41–50 range to the 31–40 range among emerging startup ecosystems.
The key driver of this progress is Market Reach. This metric measures how quickly early-stage startups can access customers and markets.
Rome’s concentration of ministries, central public administrations, and headquarters of major corporations creates a unique proximity market. This is particularly relevant for startups operating in GovTech, Cybersecurity, and Aerospace. Few other Italian cities offer a comparable environment.
“Rome has a scientific critical mass that very few European cities can match. But the performance of an ecosystem does not depend only on the amount of research produced. It depends on the quality of the connections between its actors. When universities, companies, and capital do not interact in a stable way, knowledge remains in laboratories and struggles to turn into companies and economic growth” explains Michele Franzese.
Rome therefore emerges as a knowledge-driven ecosystem. It is rich in scientific capital but still lacks the relational infrastructure needed to systematically transform research, patents, and expertise into new companies and technology scaleups
Milan: Italy’s benchmark for innovation and venture capital
While Rome represents the territory with the highest concentration of scientific research, Milan remains the main reference point for entrepreneurial innovation in Italy.
Between 2020 and 2024, the Milan ecosystem attracted more than €4.1 billion in venture capital across 1,134 deals. The city hosts 2,417 innovative startups and nearly half of Italy’s B2B startups (46.8%).
The most relevant aspect, however, is not only the volume of investment but the density of relationships among ecosystem actors.
Universities, companies, investors, and accelerators operate within a relatively integrated system. In this environment, entrepreneurial ideas more easily find capital, skills, and market access.
The academic system feeds a constant pipeline of technical and managerial talent. At the same time, hubs and accelerators serve as key entry points for startups and new entrepreneurial projects.
Innovation infrastructures also play an important role. One of the most significant is MIND – Milano Innovation District, which integrates research, companies, and advanced healthcare in one of Europe’s largest districts dedicated to life sciences.
The survey conducted as part of the research reflects this structure. Milan records the highest values across the main ecosystem dimensions. Network quality scores 7.3 out of 10, access to capital reaches 7.6, and overall vitality stands at 7.7.
For this reason, the research defines Milan as a market-driven ecosystem. Demand for innovation from companies and investors creates a self-reinforcing cycle. More capital and market opportunities attract startups, which in turn further strengthen the ecosystem’s density.
However, Milan also faces the cost of a system that works well.
The city does not struggle to attract talent. The challenge is making that talent accessible to younger companies and retaining it when salary competition from large corporations pushes recruiting costs beyond what an early-stage startup can afford.
“An ecosystem that becomes too competitive internally risks selecting only those who can afford to participate. Over time, it may lose the diversity of profiles and perspectives that truly fuels long-term innovation,” says Mancini
Turin: engineering strength and hard tech growth
Historically linked to the automotive industry, Turin has gradually transformed its industrial identity into a platform for advanced technological innovation. The city is increasingly specialized in sectors such as artificial intelligence, aerospace, and hard tech.
According to data from Startup Genome, the Turin ecosystem today has an estimated Ecosystem Value of around $3 billion. In recent years it has recorded an average annual growth rate of 19%.
This trend contrasts with the global dynamic observed in the same period. Many ecosystems worldwide have experienced an average contraction of around −14%.
At the core of this transformation is a particularly cohesive network of academic institutions, incubators, and innovation infrastructures.
Politecnico di Torino is one of Europe’s leading hubs for engineering and STEM disciplines. Incubators and technology transfer centers such as I3P – Innovative Companies Incubator of Politecnico di Torino and 2i3T – Business Incubator of the University of Turin have supported the creation of numerous deep tech startups.
Alongside these institutions operate innovation hubs such as OGR Tech and new industrial infrastructures like Argotec SpacePark, one of the largest European centers dedicated to satellite production.
In recent years the city has also strengthened its international positioning in artificial intelligence. This has happened through initiatives such as AI4I – Italian Institute for Artificial Intelligence for Industry and new investment instruments dedicated to advanced technological innovation.
Among these initiatives are the funds launched by Neva SGR, which together exceed €565 million.
The growing global visibility of the ecosystem has also been confirmed by Italian Tech Week, one of Europe’s leading technology events. The 2025 edition brought major figures in global innovation to Turin, including Jeff Bezos.
According to the survey conducted as part of the research, Turin shows a relatively compact ecosystem. Network quality is rated 6.4 out of 10, higher than Rome but lower than Milan.
The main weaknesses concern access to capital, which scores 5.8, and the availability of senior technical talent. Both factors affect the ability of startups to grow beyond the early stage.
For this reason, the research defines Turin as an engineering-driven ecosystem. It is characterized by strong technical expertise and a close relationship with the manufacturing industry. This relationship represents both its main strength and a limitation when it comes to scaling rapidly at the international level
Three ecosystems, one challenge for Italian innovation
The comparison between the three ecosystems shows how Italian innovation is evolving along different but complementary trajectories.
Milan has gradually built a system in which capital, market demand, and skills interact with relative fluidity. This environment makes the transition from innovation to business growth faster and more efficient.
Rome hosts the largest concentration of public research and competitive European funding in Italy. However, it still needs stronger connections between universities, companies, and capital in order to turn this critical mass into scaleups and sustained entrepreneurial growth.
Turin, by contrast, has transformed its industrial legacy into a highly engineering-driven ecosystem. The city is increasingly specialized in hard tech, aerospace, and artificial intelligence. Its main challenge today is to scale by attracting more capital and senior technical talent.
The comparison highlights a crucial distinction between vibrant ecosystems and productive ecosystems.
Vitality is visible. It appears through startups, events, and public programs. Productivity, instead, is measured by the ability to transform research into companies, startups into scaleups, and relationships into investment.
Not surprisingly, the survey identifies three main priorities for ecosystem development.
The first is stronger ecosystem governance, indicated by 51% of respondents.
The second is more effective technology transfer mechanisms, cited by 44% overall and by 60% among universities and research centers.
The third is territorial programs aimed at attracting and developing talent, identified as a priority by 62% of respondents.
The next decade will depend on the ability to transform existing resources into stable connections between research, companies, and capital.
“The future of Italian innovation will not depend on a single technological capital, but on the ability to connect Milan, Rome, and Turin into a more integrated and competitive national ecosystem,” says Franzese.
From a European perspective, Italy could evolve toward a polycentric innovation model. In this scenario, Milan would act as the financial and commercial platform, Rome as the scientific and deep-tech engine, and Turin as an advanced industrial laboratory.
Such a distributed system could become more resilient and more competitive than many of Europe’s large, centralized technology hubs