This exclusive interview with the Italian Consul General Raffaella Valentin by Marlissa Collier will tell you amazing critical points in Italy's success when it comes to global technology innovation. Discover what their 50 start-up delegation brings to the table from smart homes, biotech to VR gaming. Know what Italy's plan when it comes to technology investing. In this interview, you'll see how proud Italy is with its partnership with the US boasting their export values for the past 2 years, and partnership ranking with the US market.
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00:46Alright, hey everyone, News USA, Marlissa Collier here, and I have the lovely header to the Trade Commission in Los Angeles, Ms. Rinaldi with me. How are you today?
00:55Very good. Very excited to be here and to, you know, guide this huge delegation of Italian innovators at CES 2024.
01:05I love it. Italian-U.S. collaboration is always good. And your booth is beautiful, by the way. This thing is huge, y'all. You should see it.
01:12Yeah, it's conceived as the home of the Italian innovation and so is home of the entire ecosystem and not only the 50 startups that are joining us this year.
01:23We have the third delegation, so it's a huge number. But also all the other components of the ecosystem.
01:29So we have, we have also universities, research centers, many talents, many also other delegations that are only visiting the, so, you know, it's conceived like a home where all the Italian ecosystem can find a seat and make connection.
01:46This is great. This is great. And you guys, there are like QR codes everywhere so you can learn about every one of these startups, every one of these entities within the commission.
01:54So this is great. So let's, let's talk Italy and technology and how you all are, number one, just, you know, entering the scene as far as smart homes, be it virtual reality.
02:08Like, what's your favorite kind of startup technology right now?
02:12We, the delegation this year covers, it's very representative, first of all, because the innovation comes from almost 11 regions.
02:21So it's half of Italy and more of them comes from the north, principal from the Lombardy region and Piemonte in the north of Italy.
02:32But many other regions are represented also still looking at the south, the isles of Sicilia and Sardinia.
02:40But what is very important is that they cover many fields of innovation.
02:44And so we have many solutions for smart homes, smart mobility, smart city, many innovation also in the digital healthcare that, you know, it's something in which Italy is very committed.
02:58And where we have many, we are very strong at European level for, not only for the research, but also for the application in the pharma, in the medical devices and in the biotech.
03:12And, of course, there is the virtual reality, which is a must.
03:18So we have many solutions also as regard the gaming, the metaverse and the application of AI to many manufacturer industries.
03:33And so there is a lot to discover and there is a key point that connects all these innovators, Italian innovators, is that they belong to nowadays a mature ecosystem, which count over 35,000 startups, but also an interesting ecosystem of accelerators and VC.
03:59And there is also a new trend in our ecosystem, which belongs to the commitment of many VC that are now more and more investing and comes from the traditional Italian families of the industry.
04:17So many of our big companies connected to the traditional sectors like food, beverage, but also fashion are now investing in innovation and are transforming themselves in VC as well.
04:35So this is very important because it looks that Italy, which is a manufacturing country, has the vision also to invest in the future.
04:44First of all, it's amazing, but Italy in the U.S. market has become in the last two years, the 14 commercial partners and the fourth at European level.
04:57So, and the 2022 and 2023 closed with a record of Italian exports to the U.S.
05:06For example, in the first nine months of the last year, 2023, we exported more than 50 billion euros to the U.S.
05:15So this is very relevant, so this is very relevant, it's a record, and U.S. has become the second destination market after Germany for Italy, over the France that was our second partner till last year.
05:33So this is very important, so this is very important, and give the picture of how Italy is investing in their strategic partnership with the U.S.
05:41In the innovation, this relationship and this strategy is more and more, you know, intensive because, of course, the Italian export and Made in Italy is more focused on the fashion, food, design.
05:57But what we are now trying to push is how Italy is innovative as well.
06:06So, and the design of this changement is also the opening in the U.S. of the first Italian innovation hub that was created by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in the West Coast, in Silicon Valley, in San Francisco, a couple of years ago.
06:26So it's called Innovit, and it's the home, it's the home of the innovation from Made in Italy, so it's the Italian cultural and innovation hub.
06:40What's Innovit? Innovit is the location where Italy promote Made in Italy, but also showcase all the latest technological innovation in many manufacturer industries,
06:55but also in many, you know, high-tech industries.
07:00And why it's innovation and cultural together is for the same reason that we chose this year as a slogan of the Italian, Italy where else here at CS.
07:14So, innovation is creativity, okay?
07:15So, innovation is creativity, okay?
07:16Oh, 100%, yeah.
07:17And the creativity mix with, of course, technology.
07:21And in creativity Italy, of course, has a long heritage, and that's why we choose as icon of the pavilion, Davido Michelangelo with this vision of the future.
07:39So, through our cultural heritage, we are, as Italian, we can design the future, matching, of course, with the innovation of our industry.
07:52So, this combination design the future with many, many innovative solutions that can afford the challenges of the future that we have in many, many sectors.
08:08And, you know, I just recognized the graphic for this year's convention.
08:15That is awesome, looking at the issues of the past to solve for the future.
08:19That is really cool.
08:20And there's also, like, a cultural element there, right?
08:23Some Italian culture that's at the base of your innovation.
08:26It gives you the roots and the vision as well, so the past can guide the future.
08:36That's it, that's it.
08:37That's it.
08:38Sankofa bird, guys.
08:39This is our added value, I think, also, that we can bring in the U.S. market, because behind an innovative solution, there is also a cultural heritage, but there is also, you know, memories of something that belongs to the past, and that can be a solution also for the future.
09:00That is fabulous.
09:01I think we can definitely borrow some of that logic in the way that we innovate here.
09:06Well, thank you so much for sitting with us.
09:09News USA certainly appreciates it, and we're going to explore the booth.
09:14News USA TV, top briefs, local, national, and from around the world, the Consumer Electronics Show, CES in Las Vegas.
09:35Reporting with Vanessa Vasquez, Associated Press reporting, live from the CES showroom in Las Vegas.
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