Design Momentum, first batch completed with eight start-ups

The acceleration programme realised by Designtech with the support of the Lombardy Region is now preparing for its second edition

Events

12 Jun 2025

The acceleration programme realised by Designtech with the support of the Lombardy Region is now preparing for its second edition

Author

Editorial Staff

Companies

Designtech

First batch start-ups

Aura System

Creator of the NBS (Nature Based Solution) called ‘modular forest’, a bio-filtering wall that purifies and naturalises the air in the room in which it is inserted, helping to maintain a bioclimate that reduces the use of air conditioners, improves acoustics and people’s well-being. Design Momentum was an opportunity to develop the solution for the consumer target, flanking a B2B model with a B2C one. The ecosystem was then fundamental for testing the new product and accompanying the definition of the final look and feel.

Deesup

It created a vertical marketplace specialising in luxury furniture, which works to give a second life to designer furniture, with a focus on the circular economy; a bridge between new and second-hand, to extend the life cycle of products. During the acceleration process, it used its experience and reflections shared with mentors to expand its model with an innovative B2B solution for manufacturers, the resale-as-a-service. A white-label B2B software that makes it possible to valorise and convey design products for display and unsold products, involving the entire supply chain. The focus on design players positioned in the high-end made possible the publication of Molteni&C’s first Resale channel, powered by Deesup.

Kindof

An example of circular economy, the outdoor furniture brand has refined the use of ribbed steel rod, traditionally used for reinforced concrete, transforming it into design products with high empathic charge and narrative value. As part of the programme, Kindof realised the opportunity to reorient its offer from a consumer to a B2B and B2G clientele, with reference to the urban regeneration market.

Materially

It supports companies in the development and dissemination of innovation and sustainability starting with materials, giving access to a wide selection of materials through its partner Material ConneXion’s material library and a proprietary library. The course was a great opportunity to define and design a new archiving, use and cataloguing tool; the first relational CRM dedicated to materials.

Prismed

A developer of high-tech solutions for the world of healthcare, it has created a system that uses new technologies such as robotics, augmented reality and big data, to monitor infections in a hospital environment. The initiative was an opportunity to capitalise on the results of the first real-world tests with the aim of building relationships with the healthcare system in Lombardy, opening up to new cycles of testing the technology and collecting validation data.

Puntozero

It helps companies make the most of additive manufacturing opportunities: concepts and designs are approached in a digitally native way, thinking about different additive technologies and exploiting the concepts of generative design, topological optimisation and implicit modelling. This approach, together with fruitful collaboration and test sessions with ecosystem realities, gave birth to the first additive-printed furniture product designed by Puntozero for the Designtech Originals collection.

R3plica

It has created a digital platform that collects smart 3D assets of made-in-Italy design icons, and more, efficiently managing finishes and materials together with the respective technical information of the products in the virtual environment. The replicas, faithful and certified, give designers the freedom to realise any architectural project in real time, exploiting the rendering potential of the Unreal Engine 3D computer graphics engine. The acceleration programme enabled the startup to set up and inaugurate a dedicated Parametric Design office at CoFactory where architects and designers can be trained on the R3plica platform.

Traxit

Specialising in the aerial tracking of goods such as luggage and cargo with a patented and tested IOT device for any operational and climatic conditions (with temperatures from -50° to +80°), compliant with air transport safety regulations, with smart insurance contracts. As part of the journey, it seized the opportunity to transform an application initially aimed at the consumer to the world of logistics, with particular reference to the transport of luxury goods such as art and design. The Designtech ecosystem also helped in finding the right partner. The innovations applied to the projects described are the most significant outputs in terms of environmental and social sustainability, inclusive design and the application of advanced technologies.

Verso la seconda edizione

The aim of this final event is to further facilitate the market entry of the developed products by fostering new strategic partnerships and investment opportunities.

In order to achieve these goals, Designtech – which we would like to remind you is also the publisher of Startupbusiness.it – has made available to the accelerated realities the advanced technologies in the CoFactory production area, a space dedicated to rapid prototyping and digital manufacturing. The available resources include hybrid systems for additive manufacturing and milling, versatile machining centres for processing plastics, advanced materials, light metals and wood derivatives. In addition, specialised 3D printers for super polymers and composite materials were used, as well as a robot with linear axis motion capability, ideal for complex assemblies and printing of unconventional materials and formats.

Ivan Tallarico, CEO and co-founder of Designtech, says: “Design Momentum is not a traditional accelerator: it reinterprets acceleration from the specificities of design and manufacturing. In nine months we accompany teams from business, team and product consolidation to prototyping and field validation, thanks to expertise, advanced technologies and industrial partners. It is a laboratory of three-dimensional and phygital innovation, with a focus on product and user experience, where access to the market precedes and facilitates the raising of capital’.

“I deeply believe in the value of the encounter between the tradition of ‘savoir-faire’ and the drive of technological innovation, especially in two areas that are symbolic for the economic and cultural identity of our region: fashion and design,’ said Barbara Mazzali, Councillor for Tourism, Territorial Marketing and Fashion of the Lombardy Region, who opened the final event. ‘Since the beginning of my mandate, I have looked with interest at the experience of Designtech, a reality that embodies exactly this synergy, and today I can say with satisfaction that we are beginning to see concrete results. In the world of fashion as well as in industrial design, today more than ever the challenge is played out on the intelligent and responsible use of resources. And this challenge is won through innovation, with solutions that position Lombardy in an increasingly international dimension, becoming not just a showcase, but a living laboratory of the future’.

The second edition of the Design Momentum programme is about to start, the relevant regional call for applications closed at the beginning of May and the selection of new participants has just been published in the BURL of 4 June. This selection sees an increase in the number of participating start-ups, which will be 13, and maintains the high quality of the projects, the rate of innovation and the focus on sustainability aspects, as was the case for the first batch.