MIND is the largest public-private urban regeneration project in Italy, being constructed in the area where the Expo stood in 2015.

It is a 1 mln sqm innovation park district with a unique international platform to capitalize the global and local research and business excellences. Started in 2018, the project is promoted by LendLease, site developer together with Arexpo and in partnership with local institutions and the Italian Government.

The MIND Village, 15,000 thousand square meters, is the first concept of what the neighborhood will be. AstraZeneca, Illumina, Rold and Bio4 Dreams all have their headquarters in the old "service slats'' of Expo. On the other side of the long Decumano, there will be coworking spaces, which will house the headquarters of SkyDeck, the start-up accelerator of the University of Berkeley, and Federated Innovation, a network of 37 companies that will put their best minds at work in this early microcosm of MIND’s city of innovation and research.

The goal of this initiative is to work together in a virtuous and collaborative environment, to accelerate the translation of ideas into new products, processes, and services that will contribute to the economic revival of Italy.

This model is designed to go beyond open innovation and proprietary innovation, while contributing to the goal of making MIND a unique scientific park where all the players contribute to the ecosystem and make themselves available to create value for the whole territory.

In May 2022 Berkeley SkyDeck, the global startup accelerator of Berkeley University, California, chose Milano as the first base in Europe for the new program aimed at accelerating European-based startups.  

Berkeley SkyDeck Europe enables European startups to have easier access to the vast network of advisors, mentors, VCs and companies that Berkeley SkyDeck has built over the past 10 years.  

The accelerator is a collaborative effort between three key players: Berkeley SkyDeck, Cariplo Factory, the innovation hub specialized  in entrepreneurial programs, and Lendlease, the global real estate and investment group.  

The acceleration program will take place in the first European headquarters of SkyDeck in the inspiring context of MIND - Milano Innovation District.

PoliHub is Politecnico di Milano’s Innovation Park & Startup Accelerator.   

It is an ecosystem where startups, companies, experts, institutions and investors find fertile ground to cultivate new business opportunities. It aims at supporting the creation of deep tech startups that will generate value for society and the economy, steering them towards a model of sustainable progress based on science and technology, by levering on Politecnico di Milano’s ecosystem.

Polihub is awarded as the 3rd best university incubator in the world in the UBI Global World Top University Business Incubator Rankings 2019-2020.

Accenture chose Milano to set up two of its new innovation centers. 

ACIN Milan - Accenture Customer Innovation Network is a dynamic innovation hub in the heart of Milan’s Digital Innovation District that works with clients to explore how emerging technologies can transform businesses. Its areas of expertise include: experience and service design, virtual reality, fast prototyping, design thinking, digital giants and emerging technology. 

Milan Industry X Innovation Center for engineering is Accenture's first ever center that specializes in driving innovation solutions for large industrial projects. The aim of the center is to bring to the market a unique mix of digital and sector experience to create new solutions. Through access to new, cutting-edge, technologies the center helps projects achieve higher levels of security, transparency and collaboration. 

B4i is an initiative of Bocconi University that acts as a catalyst for the most innovative and high potential ideas and startups in the Italian entrepreneurial ecosystem. Building on the unique experience, know-how and legacy of the business school, ranked 6th worldwide for Business & Finance, aims at promoting entrepreneurial culture, encouraging and supporting innovative startups,and developing innovation within companies. The initiative offers to business ideas and startups that propose innovative solutions to real market needs a Pre-Acceleration and Acceleration program, having access to training, mentorship, coaching, networking opportunities and capital investments. Project applications to B4i programs are open twice a year. 

Le Village is an open ecosystem that supports the growth of startups and accelerates the innovation of companies thanks to the synergies between large corporates, SMEs, startups, and the international group Crédit Agricole. At Le Village startups benefit of tailor-made support program, designed on their needs with the aim to scale their business. The services for our startups include: business matching, fundraising and internationalization. For partner companies, services include: business matching, networking, open innovation and innovation training. 

The biggest startups accelerator in the world expanded in Milano because of the city’s richness in talented entrepreneurs and original inventions. Plug&Play connects the best startups with the most innovative corporations to lead the Italian foodtech, fintech and sustainability industries into the future. They provide game-changing technology solutions to the country’s main corporations and catalyze their digital transformation. 

Founded in Italy in 2011, Talent Garden is Europe’s leading digital education player and the largest community of tech ecosystem innovators in Europe. Talent Garden offers an combination of creative coworking campuses, an internal educational institution and industry-driven events to connect tech talents, with the mission to support the growth of people and organizations by creating training and networking opportunities in the digital ecosystem. 

Is one of the top incubators and accelerators in Italy aimed at building successful companies based on innovative and cutting-edge technologies. In 2021 Digital Magics announced the new growth plan aimed at creating in the coming years €100 million of Portfolio target value by 2025 and 200 equity holdings with investments of over €10 million.