AI 4 Future

The WMF is a certified International Trade Fair on Innovation that has been a landmark for entrepreneurial culture, creating opportunities and connections within the international innovation ecosystem since over 10 years. Spreading entrepreneurial culture and creating development opportunities for the Italian and international innovative ecosystem, WMF aims to facilitate a flow of opportunities between Italy and abroad.

Within WMF, takes place the World Startup Fest - the international reference event for startups, scaleups, and investors. In the previous edition, it recorded over 70.000 attendees from more than 90 countries, including more than 3.000 startups and investors.

Among its many initiatives, WMF also organizes the largest International Startup Competition, now in its 13th edition, with the involvement of major international players in the fields of innovation and entrepreneurship. The Competition's final will take place on the Mainstage during WMF 2025, scheduled for June 4th, 5th, and 6th in Bologna (Italy), and will be globally live-streamed. Some of the startups at WMF are chosen, in fact, from the WMF main call for startups, while some others are selected from the competitions of the local events organized in the framework of the WMF International Roadshow.

The call for Startup AI 4 Future will select 4 Italian and 4 American AI startups to compete in the final during the Silicon Valley event, with the opportunity to organize B2B meetings with international investors and VCs.

The call to compete is now closed: the 8 finalists will be announced soon.

For the AI For Future Startup competition will be selected 8 startups (4 Italians and 4 Americans) all with projects that integrate AI. They will have the unique chance to compete during the Silicon Valley event.

The selected startups have the opportunity to:

1. Introduce themselves to a Competent and Industry Audience:

   Thanks to an audience composed of investors, leading companies in the sector and participants who gravitate around the growing business related to AI technologies.

2. Live a unique networking experience during the Silicon Valley WMF event:

   Thanks to the WMF business community composed of investors, VCs, open innovation stakeholders, entrepreneurs and potential commercial partners with whom it will be easy to connect during and after the event.

3. Gain Wide Visibility:

   The involved startups are in the spotlight of a wide audience and receive the attention of media, influencers and industry operators

4. Compete for Awards and Recognitions:

   The competition winners will gain the participation at the WMF - We Make Future 2025, in BolognaFiere (4-6 June 2025). During the AI For Future Startup Competition in the Silicon Valley will be rewarded 2 Italian and 2 American AI startups.

5. Access the WMF - International Fair on AI, Tech & Digital Innovation:

   To connect with new clients and international venture capitalists, corporations and institutions, through a rich program of activities, including pitch sessions, B2B meetings, panels with investors and interventions by AI experts such as Nestor Maslej, Research Manager of HAI - Human Centered Articial Intelligence.

6. Access to the Tecnopolo in Bologna, which hosts the supercomputer Leonardo:

   Thanks to the partnership between WMF, the Tecnopolo and the Metropolitan City of Bologna, the best startups which will be distinguished by the competitors for their innovative projects or ideas in the technological and digital AI sector, will gain access to the Tecnopolo spaces in Bologna. This is a unique opportunity for speed up development and business growth.

The call is dedicated to startups and companies composed of teams with innovative projects or ideas in the technological and digital AI sector. Furthermore, those innovative projects aimed at generating a positive impact on territories and society through the use of artificial intelligence are considered with particular interest.

The Silicon Valley event is part of the WMF For AI 2025 initiative.

Candidate projects are selected based on the following criteria:

• Integration of Artificial Intelligence and its scalability in the project;

• Team skills, knowledge of the sector, feasibility of the project;

• Stage of development of the product/service;

• Degree of innovation and its defensibility;

• Competitive context and positioning;

• Respondence to market and customer needs and size of the same;

• Business potential of the idea;

• Completeness of the documentation presented.

Once the call is closed, and the candidates evaluated, the WMF's Innovation Team will announce the 8 startups that will have the opportunity to pitch and present their project to the jury and the attendees on the Silicon Valley event. Each team will have 3 minutes to present the key elements of their business idea. The jury of investors, will then have another 2 minutes to ask further questions. A round of votes at the end will then announce the winners.

→ Read further details in the instruction page

The elevator pitch is a brief presentation where you describe your business venture in a nutshell. A solid elevator pitch needs to convey the business idea in a concise manner, so as to attract the audience's attention quickly.

→ Download the support material

→ Watch the winning pitches from past editions of WMF