SAN MARINO – It’s Nuhpro, a startup specializing in clean-label functional foods according to the approach Food as Medicineto win the Startup World Cup – San Marino Regional 2026. The final took place on 15 October at the Kursaal Congress Center and will allow the winner to represent San Marino at the world semi-finals scheduled for 4 November in San Francisco, where the Grand Finale is scheduled for 6 November with an investment of one million dollars up for grabs.
The Most Excellent Captains Regent participated in the event, Gerardo Giovagnoli And William Casali. It was to open the day Alessandro BevitoriSecretary of State for Labour, Economic Planning, Relations with the AASS, the Ecological Transition and Technological Innovation.
“The ability of a territory to innovate is also measured by how much it manages to transform ideas into businesses, qualified jobs and new opportunities,” declared Bevitori, underlining the value of international comparison and collaboration between institutions, businesses and innovators.
The award to the winning startup was presented by Alex Lubnevskiyambassador of the Startup World Cup, e Gian Angelo Geminianipresident of San Marino Innovation, who promoted and organized the San Marino stage together with the initiative’s partners.
Nuhpro also at the AI 4 Future final
During the event, Nicolas RossiniHead of Innovation of San Marino Innovation, announced that Nuhpro will also enter the final of AI 4 Future, an international competition dedicated to startups in the field of artificial intelligence, promoted by WMF – We Make Future and scheduled for November 5th in San Francisco.
The San Marino startup will therefore have the opportunity to participate in two international events in the space of a few days, presenting its project to investors and operators in the technological ecosystem.
Ten startups in the final at the Kursaal
Presented by Diego De Simone of Fattor Comune, the competition involved ten startups selected from 50 applications: 25 from Emilia-Romagna, 15 from the Republic of San Marino and 10 from Marche.
Each finalist had four minutes to present their project in English, followed by questions from the jury, who evaluated the proposals considering elements such as sustainability of the business model, market prospects and growth possibilities.
The projects ranged from intelligent manufacturing to medicine, from insurance to space technologies, up to sustainable mobility and personal care.
In addition to Nuhpro, Airtisan, Ekua, FLEAi, Health Spectrum Laboratories, Micro-y, Moto Trainer, NeuroNEC, Parkie and Value participated.
The public award to Value
The award given by the public went to Value for Sentinel, a security system intended for elderly people who live alone. The solution uses AI-based radar to detect falls and alert family members, without using cameras or wearable devices.
The award was presented by Gian Angelo Geminianipresident of San Marino Innovation.
The jury and the partners of the initiative
The jury was composed of Maurizio Focchipresident of Focchi SpA and of the Nuove Idee Nuove Imprese association; Martino GemmaniBusiness Development at Alunova Sammarinese; Stiven Mucciolifounder and CEO of BKN301 and SM Capital; And Clelia Maria TosiHead of Fintech District.
The San Marino stage was carried out by San Marino Innovation, Startup World Cup and Pegasus Tech Ventures, in collaboration with Fattor Comune, with the patronage of the Secretariats of State for Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs, Territory, Environment and Agriculture, Work, Economic Planning, Relations with the AASS, Ecological Transition and Technological Innovation, and Industry, Crafts and Commerce, Technological Research, Telecommunications and Sport.
Italian Tech Alliance, Business Alliance and The Bologna Gathering participated as ecosystem partners. EPO and USBM were main sponsors, BKN301 was sponsor of the initiative. The event also benefited from the support of the Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of San Marino. San Marino RTV was media partner.
