Early-stage startups had the opportunity to pitch their business on July 4, 2025 to a jury of high-profile journalists from outlets including the BBC, Wired, Forbes, and Fortune at the Casa delle Technologie Emergenti di Roma (CTE Roma) in Rome, Italy.
In celebrating urban innovation, digital public relations agency Publicize organized the latest session of its Connect event series, aimed at linking startups and influential voices of the media industry. The company has previously organized similar competitions in cities around the world, from Mexico City to London and Barcelona.
Seven startups participated in this Connect: Roma event, showcasing innovative solutions in urban development including sustainable road surfaces, food services and cultural initiatives.
Urban innovation spotlight
The winning pitch at the event was MineCrime, a centralized database on crime and urban degradation. The MineCrime database holds millions of geocoded crime events, from which the company produces predictive risk models accompanied by technical reports. These can be used to understand how crime phenomena might change in the future and deploy more effective risk-mitigation procedures accordingly.
Earning second place was EDY, a platform that supports the transportation infrastructure sector in civil engineering by visualizing and managing digital models through augmented reality. The company aims to help construction workers and engineers use digital tools on building sites through simplification and safety prioritization.
RECO2, landing in third place, is dedicated to creating sustainable building materials. Their product “Vytreum” is made out of 100% industrial by-products, which reduces CO2 emissions by 90%. RECO2’s business model is flexible and scalable, with three different revenue streams: product sales, carbon credits and the recovery and reuse of second-hand building materials.
Bridging media and entrepreneurship
The startups were judged by a prestigious panel of Italian journalists. Among these figures were Luca Zorloni, Head of Editorial Content at Wired Italia, Giorgio Claudio Midulla, Head of Next Leaders Forbes Italia, Davide Ghiglione, Senior Journalist for the BBC, Barbara Gasperini, Journalist for La Repubblica, and Leonardo Donato, Editor of Fortune Italia.
Key players in the Roman innovation ecosystem also attended and engaged in the event. Federico Belli from Peekaboo, a startup accelerator based in Rome, underlined the evolution of investments in Italian startups. When he founded the company in 2015, investments in Italian startups were around €550 million. “Now, ten years later,” he explained, “investments are around a billion and a half. And this ecosystem is growing fast, thanks to initiatives like [the CTE].”
Joline Birle, Innovation Analyst at Zest Innovation, the Italian leader in early-stage venture capital and startup acceleration, underlined the company’s investment in early-stage startups. She explained how Zest helps businesses from the embryonic stage of their development, for which they continue to believe in the value of physical spaces such as CTE Roma.
A catalyst for digital transformation
CTE Roma is an innovation hub supported by the City of Rome and the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy. By supporting the digital transformation of small and medium-sized businesses through the provision of startup acceleration programs, critical resources, and coworking spaces, CTE Roma is a prime example of Italy’s initiative to foster innovation.
These efforts, especially in urban development, remind us – as Monica Lucarelli, the city’s Councillor for Productive Activities and Equal Opportunities, noted – that “innovating, ultimately, is a form of civic engagement.” The Municipality of Rome celebrated the event’s success, describing it as further confirmation of Rome’s position as a leader in urban innovation and an attractive destination for international investment.
Startups are a key response to the evolving demands of our modern cities, addressing everyday problems relating to smart mobility, tourism, safety, education and entertainment. Publicize’s Connect event offered a glimpse into Rome’s promising startup ecosystem, while offering it the chance to garner the attention it deserves.
