Milano is scaling rapidly as a central hub for the development of innovative technologies and digital solutions, being home to over 2,700 innovative startups and the Smartest city in Italy thanks to the Digital Transformation Plan, the municipal project that combine digital and social innovation to make digital services more easily accessible.

The city counts 22 data centers (30% of the national amount), 3,375 patents registered in the last 4 years, 1,300 between Research and Technology Transfer Centers and business activities in the innovation field. 18% of Milano’s population is composed of digital natives and the city is a pioneer in digital payment (over 3 million of transactions), contactless technologies and sharing mobility, giving birth to 2 Fintech Unicorns: Scalapay and Satispay.

13,500 Companies dealing with ICT (more than an half of the total regional amount) chose Milano as their headquarters, experiencing +22.6% year-over-year growth compared to 2020, employing over 140,000 people and contributing with a €15.9 billion turnover.

The technological focus of Milanese ICT innovative startups and SMEs concentrates on: AI/Machine Learning (12%), Big data and Cloud (10%), IoT and Industry 4.0 (19%), Cybersecurity & Crypto (2%) welcoming international and national tech giants like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco and ABB.