Italy's startup calendar is busiest in Milan, but the big moments are spread across the country: Wave by Vento (formerly Italian Tech Week) in Turin in October, the national university startup final in Bari in December, and the AI and innovation fairs in Milan and Bologna from February to June.
This guide lists startup, tech, investor and women-founder events in Italy from October 2026 to the end of 2027. We checked every date on the organiser's own website. Where a date isn't published yet, we say so, and we mark each event as Confirmed (date on the official site), Announced (date from a reliable second source) or Expected (based on past editions only).
This article is regularly updated with new events. Do you know about an event that needs to be added? Send us some info and we will see if it's a fit.
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Best Startup Events in Italy 2026–2027: Calendar from October 2026 to October 2027
Autumn 2026: October to December
Start Cup Toscana final: 19 October 2026
Tuscany's university startup competition holds its regional final at the IMT School's Cappella Guinigi in Lucca. Winners go on to the national PNI final in Bari in December. IMT Lucca events
CES Unveiled Milan: 21 October 2026
The pitch winner gets a space in Eureka Park at CES 2027 in Las Vegas; pitch submissions are already closed. On the same day InnovUp and Assolombarda present new research on jobs created by Italy's innovation ecosystem.
Maker Faire Rome: 23–25 October 2026
Run by the Rome Chamber of Commerce. A big public showcase, best for hardware, agritech and education startups that can demo a product.
Codemotion Milan: 28–29 October 2026
Italy's largest developer conference. Go to hire engineers or find a technical co-founder.
Spark! Corporate Innovation Summit: 29 October 2026
The second edition, with the Open Innovation Awards. The 2025 edition brought together more than 600 managers and 100 startups, which makes it a good place to find pilot customers.
SMAU Milano: 3–4 November 2026
Many Italian regions fund stands for their startups at SMAU, so check with your region. SMAU also holds regional days, including Abruzzo on 27 November and Umbria on 10 December 2026.
Premio GammaDonna: 20 October and 5 November 2026
Italy's main award for women entrepreneurs, with investors in the room. Before the final, the GammaDonna roadshow stops at the DHL Express Gateway in Naples on 20 October 2026 for a workshop on international logistics, one of the few women-founder events in the South this year.
Founders Cove: 13–14 November 2026
Run by Startup Geeks, Italy's large founder community. The event most built for bootstrappers and first-time founders in this list, with more than 700 people expected.
Techstars Startup Weekends: 6 November to 6 December 2026
Five Italian cities host a Techstars Startup Weekend this autumn: 54 hours to form a team, build a first version of an idea and pitch it to a jury. Tickets cost about €20 to €55. A good first step if you don't have a co-founder yet.
Also in the South: a free Startup Pitch Day run by the Fare Impresa incubator in Caserta on 13 November. Details
Investor Days and Grand Prix Innovation: 25–26 November 2026
Investor Days, run by Regione Lombardia and Finlombarda with the Enterprise Europe Network, are free one-to-one meetings with investors; registration closes on 18 October. The fifth Grand Prix Innovation of the French Chamber of Commerce in Italy is held at the Milan stock exchange building, with the startup contest and awards from 20:00.
CASSINI Hackathon Turin: 27–29 November 2026
Turin is one of the host cities of the 12th CASSINI Hackathon, the EU space programme's hackathon on using space data, this time on peace and resilience. No space experience is needed, and prizes go up to €9,000. cassini.eu
NSE New Space Economy Expoforum: 25–27 November 2026
The eighth edition of Italy's main space-sector meeting. The 2025 edition had a startup pitch competition; no 2026 pitch page is online yet.
PNI national innovation prize: 3–4 December 2026
Italy's biggest academic startup competition. Even if you aren't competing, it's the best place to see the country's research spin-offs in one room.
SIOS26 Winter: 16 December 2026
StartupItalia's year-end summit, where it names its Startup of the Year and presents its yearly investment report.
Also on the calendar
- Foodseed Demo Day, 27 October 2026, UniCredit Verona: a free demo day of Italian foodtech startups. Details
- Le Booster final, 28 October 2026, French Chamber of Commerce, Milan: the final of its startup accelerator programme.
- UNIMED Start Cup, 23–24 November 2026, European Training Foundation, Turin: a competition for Mediterranean university teams, entered through member universities.
- Startup Grind Rome Christmas dinner, 18 December 2026, near Piazza Navona. Startup Grind Rome
- Italian Lifestyle Accelerator demo day, January 2027, Nana Bianca, Florence: run by Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, Fondazione CR Firenze and Nana Bianca (exact day not published).
2027: February to October
AI Festival: 11–12 February 2027
The fourth edition, run by the We Make Future team, with a startup competition and a Call 4 Investors.
GITEX AI Mediterranean Italy: 21–22 April 2027
The first Italian edition of the GITEX brand. The organisers expect more than 300 startups and 100 investors.
AI Week: 25–26 May 2027
A large buyer audience: the organisers claim more than 35,000 attendees. Go if you sell AI tools to Italian companies.
WMF – We Make Future: 10–12 June 2027
Italy's biggest innovation fair, with more than 800 exhibitors in 2026 and a Startup District.
Wave by Vento (formerly Italian Tech Week): 6–8 October 2027
Italian Tech Week has been renamed Wave by Vento. The 2026 edition ran on 7–9 October at OGR Torino and was the first paid edition. It is Italy's top founder and VC event.
Dates not announced yet
- Festival dell'Economia di Trento. Announced for 18–22 May 2027 by the Province of Trento; the festival's own site still shows 2026. A policy and economics festival, not a pitch event.
- Global Entrepreneurship Week Italy. The global week runs on 16–22 November 2026, but no Italian host or programme has been published.
- Premio Marisa Bellisario 2027. Expected in June 2027 in Rome; the 2026 edition was the 38th.
- Milano Digital Week 2027. The 2026 edition ran from 30 September to 4 October.
- RomeCup 2027. The 2026 edition was on 28–30 April in Rome.
- University Startup Challenge 2027. The 2026 edition, with PoliMi, Bocconi and Bicocca, ran from April to May in Milan.
Recurring meetups and communities
- SheTech: events and online sessions for women in tech and digital, including a welcome meeting on 19 October and an event in Turin on 20 October 2026. shetechitaly.org
- Silicon Startup (formerly Silicon Drinkabout Italy): about one networking evening a month in Rome, Milan and other cities. It changed its name on 16 September 2026. silicondrinkabout.it
- Innovation Match meetups: small networking evenings for corporate innovators in Milan, Rome, Turin, Padova and Bologna; the next in Rome is on 26 November 2026.
- Tech Startups on the Terrace: a monthly Milan meetup with startup pitch battles, free to attend.
- Regional Start Cups: yearly university startup competitions in each region, leading to the PNI final.
For a weekly list of tech events in Milan, the Milano Tech Events newsletter is the most complete source we found.
Some events from earlier versions of this guide could not be confirmed. We found no "BAN Startup Night" in Florence on 17 July 2026 (BAN Firenze held a VC day on 22 July instead), no "Puglia Startup Conference" in Bari in September (the closest is Puglia Orizzonti in Taranto in July), and no Startup Crash Test events since 2017.
Events for women founders in Italy
- Premio GammaDonna: the final on 5 November 2026 in Turin, plus a roadshow with live and online stops through the year.
- SheTech: a community with regular events and online sessions for women in tech.
- Women in Tech Milano: casual monthly drinks, such as the one on 20 October 2026.
- Women Value Company (Fondazione Bellisario and Intesa Sanpaolo): an award for companies that support women, presented at the Premio Bellisario ceremony, expected in Rome in June 2027.
Two national schemes give women founders better terms: Smart&Start Italia covers 90% instead of 80% of costs for all-women teams, and ON – Oltre Nuove imprese a tasso zero is reserved for teams that are mostly women or under 36. If you organise an event for women founders in Italy, send it to us and we'll add it.
Funding and support to know before you go
- Innovative startup status (startup innovativa): companies up to 5 years old with turnover under €5 million that meet one of three innovation tests can register for lower fees, equity crowdfunding and easier credit. MIMIT
- Investor tax relief: individuals can deduct 65% of an investment in an innovative startup from their income tax, within EU de minimis limits.
- Smart&Start Italia (Invitalia): a zero-interest loan for 80% of costs, or 90% for teams made up entirely of women or people under 36, plus a 30% grant in central and southern Italy. Invitalia
- ON – Oltre Nuove imprese a tasso zero: for companies mostly owned by women or people aged 18–35. Since 1 July 2026 only the subsidised loan is available, because the grant budget has run out. Invitalia
- CDP Venture Capital: Italy's state-backed VC manager, with €4.9 billion under management across 15 funds.
- Italia Startup Visa: a visa route for non-EU founders, applied for directly or through a certified Italian incubator. italiastartupvisa.mise.gov.it
For more options, see our lists of government grants for startups in Italy, angel investors in Italy and startup incubators in Italy.
How to get the most out of Italian startup events
- Base yourself in Milan, but plan trips. Most events are in Milan, but Wave by Vento (Turin), PNI (Bari), WMF (Bologna) and GITEX AI (Rome) are the ones with the biggest audiences.
- Buy early. AI Festival, WMF and Wave all sell early tickets at a fraction of the full price.
- Ask your region about SMAU. Regions often pay for startup stands at SMAU Milano.
- Use competitions as a door. Start Cups, PNI, the AI 4 Future competition and GITEX's Supernova pitch all put you in front of investors. See more startup competitions.
- Expect Italian. Many smaller events run in Italian; the big conferences (Wave, GITEX, CES Unveiled, Codemotion) have English programmes.
List your event in this guide
Do you run a startup, tech or investor event in Italy? Send us the name, dates, venue and official link, and we'll check whether it fits this guide. We list events for founders, with a real date and an official page.
This article is regularly updated with new events. Do you know about an event that needs to be added? Send us some info and we will see if it's a fit.
🔗 Add an awesome event
Startup events in other countries
- Best startup events in Europe (with all country guides)
- Startup events in Malta
- Startup events in Cyprus
FAQ
What happened to Italian Tech Week?
It was renamed Wave by Vento. The 2026 edition ran on 7–9 October at OGR Torino, and the 2027 edition is on 6–8 October in Turin, with early passes at €100 plus VAT.
What are the biggest startup events in Italy?
Wave by Vento in Turin, WMF – We Make Future in Bologna, SMAU in Milan, the PNI national innovation prize, and the AI Festival and AI Week in Milan.
Are there free startup events in Italy?
Yes. The first 150 tickets for SIOS26 Winter are free, Tech Startups on the Terrace in Milan is free, and Maker Faire Rome costs €13 a day.
Are there events for women founders in Italy?
Yes. The Premio GammaDonna final is on 5 November 2026 in Turin, and SheTech and Women in Tech Milano run regular events.
Where can I pitch my startup in Italy?
At regional Start Cups and the PNI final (for university teams), the AI 4 Future competition at AI Festival, GITEX's Supernova pitch in Rome, CES Unveiled Milan and Milan's monthly pitch battles.
What funding is there for women founders in Italy?
Smart&Start Italia covers 90% of costs for all-women teams. ON – Oltre Nuove imprese a tasso zero is for teams that are mostly women or under 36, but since July 2026 it offers only the subsidised loan.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
