CRIF Invests in Foolfarm’s Share Capital

Founded in Milan in July 2020 by Andrea Cinelli, one of the pioneers of Italian digital technology, FoolFarm is the first European Start-Up Studio specializing in Artificial Intelligence. FoolFarm’s innovative idea is, for the first time, to join the Start-Up Studio model – which develops new start-ups – with the Corporate Venture model – which supports companies in AI-Transformation – creating a “Corp-Up Studio”, poised to become an outsourcing AI innovation hub.

CRIF is the second largest shareholder among the investors. Giorgio Costantino, CRIF Executive Director – Global Transformation Services, joins the board.

“CRIF has decided to contribute to the growth of this initiative, the only one of its kind in Italy, through which we believe we can develop cutting-edge ideas in the world of Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain. For us, the development of advanced analytics, together with digital evolution and frontier technologies such as Blockchain, are essential areas for the development of a digital data-driven business. The FoolFarm model will enable us to identify potentially successful initiatives, bringing our solutions, ideas, and innovation projects to the table,” commented Carlo Gherardi, CEO of CRIF.

The aim of the Start-Up Studio is to develop an innovative enterprise in a different way from that of traditional accelerators and incubators, through an original format of “Call for Ideas and Talents” known as Casty, similar to a television format, lasting three days and repeated every quarter. The first will be launched by June, and both the best entrepreneurial AI projects to incubate and turn into start-ups and the best talent to train through a coaching path and place into the created start-ups will be selected and funded. FoolFarm will provide all the necessary services, right from the start, through a shared center which, according to forecasts, accelerates the start-up development process by up to three times: from software development to customer experience, from legal services, human resources, networking and mentorship, to sales. Young talent only needs to worry about developing the best possible product.

In 2021, FoolFarm is aiming to create and develop in parallel at least eight new start-ups from entrepreneurial projects and ideas and six on-demand start-ups, based on the needs and demands of businesses.