Some leave, while others decide to return. And when they do, they bring with them skills, international vision and an implicit question for the country: is there a space today that can truly recognise them? It is also around this challenge that Fusion AI Labs was born, a centre for applied artificial intelligence founded in 2025 and based in Genoa.
Fusion AI Labs was created to bridge the gap between academic research and the industrial application of artificial intelligence, focusing on applied research that starts with mature technologies and tests their impact in real-world contexts. The goal is to enable companies to experiment with, understand and adopt AI in a safe and sustainable way, transforming innovation into tangible value.
The project is the result of a private joint venture between Expert.ai, a company specialising in the implementation of enterprise artificial intelligence solutions led by Dario Pardi, and AI Fusion Holding, led by Andrea Pescino. The AI Fusion Holding team is one of the most interesting elements of the initiative: IT and AI professionals who, after years of working abroad, have decided to return to Italy to offer their wealth of expertise gained on an international scale.
Following last October’s launch conference, which Startupbusiness attended, Andrea Pescino was the guest of honour at the first 2026 event of Startup Social Club, a series of meetings open to the city organised by the Genoa Startup Foundation.
During the meeting, a significant fact emerged: from October 2025 to January 2026, the Fusion AI Labs team grew to 15 people, and the goal is to reach 34 by June. However, the focus is already further ahead: by 2028, the Labs expect to have 130 researchers and professionals on board, with a clear breakdown: 40% local talent, 30% from other Italian regions and 30% from abroad.
“We have hired young people from the University of Genoa with very high profiles,” says Pescino, “all with at least a PhD and often with international experience. We have also hired a young man from Lebanon and a young man from Liguria who was working in Tokyo for a self-driving drone company. This shows that if you create real opportunities, brilliant minds will come, stay and return.”
Alongside research, Fusion AI Labs also invests in training through an academy designed as a space for continuous learning and the development of new ideas, in a context that values professional growth over time.
Finally, it is no coincidence that all this is happening in Genoa. The city offers not only a recognised quality of life, but above all an ecosystem of relationships with the University, the CNR and the IIT that encourages the exchange of knowledge and cross-fertilisation between different worlds: a key factor in attracting and retaining highly specialised skills.
On the subject of skills, Andrea Pescino emphasises: “In Italy, the market struggles to truly recognise them. This limitation affects salaries and motivation to stay. It is an obstacle that we want to help remove, because we are convinced that we have what it takes to succeed.”
The return of expats is no longer just a hope, but a real possibility. Artificial intelligence, when accompanied by vision and investment in people, can become a lever for redesigning the Italian labour market. The challenge is on, and the opportunity must be seized.
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