Start Cup Toscana is the competition that rewards the best entrepreneurial initiatives with high technological content and coming from the world of research and offers the possibility of transforming an idea into a business, with the support of training activities and assistance in drafting the business plan. It initially had a territorial extension limited to the province of Pisa. Since 2006 it has expanded to the regional context and represents the first phase of a national competition, called “National Innovation Award”, which rewards the ideas of innovative companies and since 2003 it has evaluated over 2000 projects involving more than thirty Italian universities.

The Start Cup Tuscany is organized by the University of Florence, the University of Pisa, the University of Siena, the University for Foreigners of Siena, the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, the IMT School of Advanced Studies Lucca and the Scuola Normale Superiore. Furthermore, it is financed and sponsored by the Tuscany Region and is part of Giovanisì.

The 2024 edition will end on Monday 14 October, with the award ceremony of the winners at the University of Florence.