Open Innovation Network: the ecosystem that unites startups, industry and research
The Open Innovation Network as a growth lever for Italy
Italy’s startup ecosystem is gaining momentum.In the first half of 2025, investm...
Today, over 75% of Europeans live in urban areas, according to Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, and this share is expected to reach 80% by 2050, as reported in the UN-Habitat World Cities Report 2024.
Although cities cover less than 5% of the world’s land area, they account for nearly 70% of global CO₂ emissions (European Environment Agency).
The global Smart Cities market reflects this urgency: it was valued at $877 billion in 2024 and is projected to exceed $3.7 trillion by 2030, growing at an annual rate of 29%, according to Grand View Research.
In Europe, public and private investments are also expanding, with over $56 billion expected by 2028, as noted by IDC Europe.
The most advanced cities are no longer focused merely on digitalizing services or installing sensors. They are moving from widespread technology adoption to systemic integration, where data, infrastructure, and people communicate seamlessly.
The goal is not to have more connected cities, but better-functioning cities: more sustainable from an environmental standpoint, more inclusive in their services, and more capable of improving quality of life.
At e-Novia, we believe that technology alone is not enough.
Innovation generates real value only when it connects diverse competencies and transforms research into practical applications.
Through our Innovation Consulting activity and Venture Studio model, we support corporations, institutions, and startups in developing new solutions based on Physical AI, integrating artificial intelligence, sensor technology, and mechatronic systems.
Our goal is to turn technological potential into measurable results: products, processes, and services capable of creating tangible impact across industries — from manufacturing to mobility, from energy to digital services.
For us, innovation means building ecosystems where technology and people evolve together, generating sustainable value for both territories and markets.
Our venture Blimp.ai embodies the analytical dimension of smart cities.
Using proprietary sensors and computer vision algorithms, Blimp.ai measures pedestrian and vehicle flows, providing anonymized, aggregated data that help optimize transport, safety, and urban planning.
The technology is privacy-by-design: data are anonymized at source, ensuring full GDPR compliance while enabling evidence-based decision-making.
This approach aligns with broader European trends. In Barcelona, the introduction of IoT sensors for urban management has reduced waste collection costs by 15% and energy consumption by 30%, thanks to intelligent lighting systems.
This initiative, part of the city’s “Barcelona Smart City” plan, is one of Europe’s first examples of data-driven urban management, where real-time information is used to optimize public services.
Blimp.ai operates under the same principle but with proprietary technology and a different focus: applying real-time analytics to mobility and spatial intelligence, providing insights that make cities more efficient, sustainable, and responsive to citizens’ needs.
With YAPE, one of our ventures, we bring Physical AI into the world of mobility.
YAPE is a vehicle-agnostic software platform that enables autonomous driving across multiple types of vehicles, adapting to different operational contexts.
Its mapless navigation system allows vehicles to perceive and interpret their surroundings in real time, moving safely and flexibly along sidewalks, bike lanes, and pedestrian zones.
After more than eight years of research and development, YAPE is now part of several European innovation programs on autonomous mobility, such as Horizon Europe, and participates in vertical experiments across industrial and agricultural sectors, where autonomy and human–machine collaboration open new frontiers of efficiency.
YAPE demonstrates how urban robotics can become part of cities and production processes, improving sustainability and operational performance without requiring invasive infrastructure or altering urban morphology.
Physical AI represents the convergence of artificial intelligence, sensor networks and physical systems.
In an urban context, it makes it possible to:
With this approach, we integrate intelligence into the fabric of the city, creating adaptive and sustainable ecosystems.
For us, innovating means designing technologies that blend into everyday life, improving it without replacing it (e-Novia: Empowering Innovation).
Europe’s most dynamic cities — Barcelona, Milan, Helsinki, Copenhagen, and Oslo — share a common vision: collaboration between the public and private sectors, and data governance as strategic infrastructure.
The European mission “100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities 2030” involves 112 cities and mobilizes over €650 billion in investments.
Within this transformation, we leverage our Innovation Consulting expertise to support companies, startups, and public institutions in defining integrated strategies based on Physical AI and measurable impact.
The smart cities of the future will not be defined by the number of sensors or connected devices, but by their capacity to communicate and generate collective value.
The goal is not to create hyper-digitalized cities, but integrated ecosystems where artificial intelligence, sensor networks, and physical systems work together to make urban life more efficient, safe, and sustainable.
When technology is designed to enhance human intelligence instead of replacing it, innovation stops being an experiment and becomes civic infrastructure — an integral part of everyday life and collective well-being.
👉 Discover how e-Novia supports companies and startups in developing intelligent and sustainable ecosystems where AI becomes a tool for progress, not an end in itself.
