From startup accelerator to open innovation hub and strategic partnerships. Just under a year after the launch of the Call for startup 2026, PLAI today presented the first results of its evolution and the progress of projects developed using AI, capping a journey that began three years ago and has led to the overall scouting of over 1,600 innovative companies.

Speaking about this transformation, which translates into the opportunity for high-impact startups to collaborate with the Mondadori Group, were Antonio Porro, Chief Executive Officer of the Mondadori Group, and Stefano Argiolas, Chief Executive Officer of PLAI and Chief AI Officer of the Group, during the PLAI IMPACT CONFERENCE held today at PwC Tower with the participation of some of the main players in the AI sector and prominent figures from the hi-tech industry.

“In three years of activity with PLAI, we have evaluated more than 1,600 startups, screening a vast number of innovative projects that have allowed us to gain a privileged perspective on the artificial intelligence market. We have invested in around 20 companies, examples of excellence including, for instance, AD cube, a startup specialized in AI applied to advertising, which we brought inside our Group,” stated Antonio Porro, Chief Executive Officer of the Mondadori Group. “Today, our commitment takes a further step forward: we have developed an evolved PLAI model, more functional and integrated which, in addition to being a startup accelerator, has also become an open innovation tool capable of generating even greater value within the Group’s business units. Our intention is to continue investing in this sector. We believe it is important to be present on this frontier of innovation, while keeping our publisher values firmly grounded,” Porro concluded.

“PLAI evolves, but remains faithful to its original vocation: serving as a strategic observatory on AI innovation. We have entered a new chapter at full speed, offering the most promising startups the opportunity to collaborate ever more closely with the Mondadori Group, triggering a virtuous exchange between the potential and creativity of more structured entities and our Group’s know-how and organizational solidity,” explained Stefano Argiolas, Chief Executive Officer of PLAI and Chief AI Officer of the Mondadori Group. “This model rests on the projects and results that have accompanied PLAI’s growth over these years. Our Call for startup is always open, and we are ready to discover the next technological excellences that will shape the future of the sector,” Argiolas concluded.

STARTUP PROJECTS AND NEW INVESTMENTS Over recent months, based on solution value, maturity level, and strategic fit with the Mondadori Group, PLAI identified three new startups that presented their projects today:

• Hi Twin: an AI platform, in which PLAI has just finalized an investment, designed to create “virtual models” (digital twins) of real users to test messages, creative assets, and communication campaigns while delivering real-time audience insights;

• Tuduu: a B2B food-data infrastructure, with which PLAI and the Mondadori Group are evaluating a strategic collaboration, connecting nutrition, food, and e-commerce into a single API-first platform, providing ready-to-customize branded tools that easily integrate into client systems for nutritional data analysis;

• Wordlift: an AI discovery platform for brands, with which discussions are currently underway to finalize a collaboration, useful for transforming and organizing enterprise data into intelligent “data maps” and web-recognized codes, making a brand’s products and content more visible and understandable for search engines and AI assistants.

AI APPLICATIONS IN THE MONDADORI GROUP Evidence of PLAI and the Mondadori Group’s evolution in the AI sector also includes projects integrating artificial intelligence tools developed directly within the business units. Among them stand out:

• Reprint Management: predictive model to optimize book reprint orders and management, reducing waste along the supply chain. Active since October 2025 in internal adoption and monitoring, the AI tool was developed by Mondadori Libri together with Olivia, a successful startup from the PLAI 2024 batch;

• Tutor AI: a tool comprising AI assistants integrated into digital textbooks, designed by the Group’s Education area to support students in daily learning and teachers in creating lesson plans, active since September 2025;

• Studenti+: a new section within Studenti, Mondadori Digital‘s leading brand in digital education, accessible via registration, designed to enhance every student’s potential through personalized pathways and AI-empowered tools;

• Good Choice: a project by GialloZafferano, Mondadori Digital‘s number one food media brand in Italy, expanding its culinary editorial offering with new AI-based services designed to guide users in making more conscious grocery shopping choices.

THE IMPACT OF AI IN PUBLISHING: THE MARKET SCENARIO The PLAI IMPACT CONFERENCE was also an opportunity to assess the state of the art in AI. Highlights included contributions from Matteo Flora, entrepreneur, communicator & professor AI and SI security, and participants in the panel discussion titled “Sharpen your vision of the future“: Luigi Bianchi, Innovation Leader, Fastweb + Vodafone; Alessandro Conca, GTM Director, ElevenLabs; Luisa Damiano, Full Professor, Logic and Philosophy of Science, IULM University; Antonio D’Ortenzio, Solutions Architect Manager, AWS Italia.

During the conference, the report “From experimentation to adoption: how to industrialize AI through Open Innovation“, produced by PwC Italia and PLAI, was also presented, analyzing the relationship between the publishing sector and artificial intelligence. The data shows that publishing represents an advanced area of AI experimentation and adoption: in Italy, 39% of companies in the sector use at least one artificial intelligence technology, compared to 16% on average among Italian businesses. More specifically, a survey conducted in 2025 by the Research Office of the Italian Publishers Association (AIE) among 97 publishing houses highlights that 75.3% use AI tools in their processes. The most widespread applications concern drafting paratexts and metadata (67.1%), creating covers and illustrations (50.7%), and editing, proofreading, and translation activities (49.3%). The report also reveals a progressive shift in focus from content generation alone toward process automation and efficiency. In the survey conducted within the Mondadori Group regarding organizational maturity in artificial intelligence, 88% of respondents identified process automation among the most promising AI applications for their area over the next 12 months, followed by advanced data analysis (63%); content generation stood at 13%.

PLAI thanks the partners who decided to stand alongside the project: Amazon Web Services (AWS), ElevenLabs, Fastweb + Vodafone, I3P – Incubator of Politecnico di Torino, IFAB – International Foundation Big Data and Artificial Intelligence for Human Development, Multiversity Group, PwC Italy, Startupbootcamp, StartupItalia.

PLAI is the Mondadori Group’s startup accelerator supporting AI-driven startups with the aim of transforming innovative solutions into concrete entrepreneurial projects, fostering integration between technology, market, and real industrial contexts. It operates as an open innovation and industrial collaboration platform, offering selected startups the opportunity to develop PoCs, co-development projects, and application initiatives in synergy with the Mondadori Group and its ecosystem. Active in Early-Stage and Growth phases, PLAI selects and invests in Italian and international startups, providing capital, corporate expertise, and access to real use cases, with flexible and tailor-made support focused on value creation and concrete solution adoption.

PLAI’s Call for startup 2026 is open all year round: the Mondadori Group accelerator continues to actively evaluate new ventures, innovative solutions, and further collaboration projects for the future. All information and the application form are available at: https://www.plai-accelerator.com/call-2026/