The Learning Days of VulcanicaMente 6 – from talent to enterprise® represent a key moment of discussion, listening, and shared vision among institutions, partners, and entrepreneurial teams. The sixth edition of the competition promoted by the Municipality of Naples once again confirms the program's ability to capture high-impact innovative ideas that blend technology, sustainability, creativity, and social value.

Below is an overview of the startups and projects participating in the VulcanicaMente 6 path, each bringing a distinctive vision and an original approach to innovation.

RETHAIN

RethaiN develops a patented technology that enhances the digestate from biogas plants by transforming it into high-value microbial fertilizers and biostimulants. The process, modular and without chemical reagents, allows for up to a 70% reduction in digestate disposal costs and access to a rapidly growing market. With VulcanicaMente 6, the project aims for advanced scale validation (TRL 7–8) and acceleration in the go-to-market process.

NISIDA MAPS

Nisida Maps is a platform of Environmental Intelligence developed by Nisida Technologies Srl to make environmental data understandable, verifiable, and usable by entities, businesses, and citizens. By integrating GIS, open data, field surveys, satellite data, drones, sensors, and citizen science contributions, the platform allows for continuous and certified monitoring of environmental quality and pollution sources. The goal is to support more effective decisions, strengthen transparency, and rebuild the trust relationship between territories, institutions, and communities.

ONIRO

Oniro Creative Hub is a project of urban cultural manufacturing that integrates participatory co-design, digital design, and 3D printing to transform creative ideas into physical objects in limited editions. The model enhances the Neapolitan territory through identity collections, activated by citizens, designers, schools, and cultural institutions, and produced locally in modular hubs. With VulcanicaMente 6, Oniro aims to develop the MVP of the digital platform, activate the first hub in East Naples, and create a pilot collection for museums and cultural spaces.

JANUS

JANUS is an innovative startup in the process of being established and an academic spin-off from the University of Naples Federico II, born from collaboration with Stanford University. The project develops a software platform that enables the creation of customized Artificial Intelligence models from one’s own data, without programming, machine learning skills, or dedicated computing resources. The solution, already validated through an MVP in testing phase, is applicable in various engineering fields and accelerates the creation of digital twins, promoting a more accessible, inclusive, and transversal AI model.

MADHEARTS

MadHearts is a team born at the Apple Developer Academy that develops digital educational tools based on interactive storytelling and videogames. From this experience comes MadLoom, an educational framework that uses immersive digital stories to tackle complex themes such as mental health, online safety, identity, and social dynamics. By transforming informational content into narrative and emotional experiences, MadLoom fosters greater understanding, participation, and memorization by young people, making learning more effective and meaningful.

CineRent-OLA

CineRent-OLA is a digital one-stop-shop platform dedicated to the rental and sale of furniture and equipment for the entertainment sector, aimed at film, advertising, theatrical productions, events, and fairs. The solution allows consultation of a structured archive by era, style, designer, and origin, simplifying selection and contracting processes. The innovation lies in the integration of 3D digitization tools and, in the future, Artificial Intelligence systems for advanced asset searches, strengthening the Campanian audiovisual sector's offer and expanding its market access.

SofIC Robots - Soft Interactive and Intelligent Care Robots

Hybr Hand is the first product of SofIC Robots, a mechatronic system born in the clinical field that integrates rehabilitation and prosthetics into a single hybrid and modular device. Designed to overcome the current market polarization, it combines active functionality, personalization, and economic accessibility thanks to the use of 3D printing. The system consists of modular hardware components and a digital platform for managing assistance and spare parts, offering a sustainable solution for public and private healthcare facilities and better recovery paths for patients.

Minerva S&R - Scan & Recycle

Minerva 2.0 is a digital platform that turns recycling into a measurable and participatory action, using an accessible channel like WhatsApp. Through artificial intelligence, the system recognizes recycled materials, estimates their quantity, and calculates the saved CO₂, generating concrete and verifiable environmental data. The project aims to build a shared sustainability ecosystem, supporting citizens, local entities, and businesses, also offering strategic value for ESG data collection based on real behaviors. With VulcanicaMente 6, Minerva aims to strengthen the technological infrastructure, automate public dashboards, and consolidate a scalable business model.

CUTINIA

CUTINIA is a circular economy startup that transforms a by-product of the Campanian canning industry, tomato skins, into a bio-based and compostable coating for street food packaging. By extracting cutin, a natural biopolymer, the project develops Km 0 pizza paper, an alternative to traditional plastic coatings. A sustainable solution that closes the loop between the agri-food chain and urban consumption, enhancing local resources and reducing the environmental impact of disposable packaging.

DRIVE-F

DRIVE-F is a women-led academic spin-off from the University of Naples Federico II that develops digital solutions for measuring and predicting the economic, social, environmental, and cultural impact of organizations. The A.R.T.E.M.I.S.I.A. platform integrates predictive modeling, risk analysis, and ESG indicators in interactive dashboards and automatic reports compliant with CSRD and GRI standards. With VulcanicaMente, the project aims to develop the beta version and scale the solution for SMEs, making advanced sustainability and resilience evaluation tools accessible.

SMARTAG Team

SMARTAG develops biodegradable smart labels for monitoring food freshness and reducing waste along the agri-food supply chain. The project uses bacterial cellulose obtained from fermentation of agri-food waste from the Campanian territory as a matrix for natural colorimetric sensors, capable of detecting pH, temperature, and spoilage variations. Integrated with a mobile app for digital data reading, the solution combines sustainable biotechnologies, natural sensing, and accessible digitization, offering an innovative tool for consumers and supply chain operators.

AutoRepair Team

AutoRepair is an autonomous software repair agent designed to operate in local and high-security environments. Unlike traditional programming assistants, the system analyzes and executes code in an on-premise sandbox, identifies syntax, logic, or security errors, and autonomously applies corrective patches through iterative self-healing cycles. The privacy-first architecture, based on open-source language models executed locally, ensures full data protection and makes the solution particularly suitable for critical contexts like finance, healthcare, and defense.

Enneci

Enneci is a marine upcycling project, born from the idea of two Fashion Design students, that transforms plastic waste from the Tyrrhenian Sea – discarded fishing nets, ropes, and plastics recovered along the Neapolitan coast – into modular bags and accessories with contemporary design. The materials are regenerated and artisanally processed in Campania, through an innovative seam-free system based on magnetic modules. Each product is unique, traceable, and tells the origin of the material, combining environmental sustainability, Neapolitan craftsmanship, and circular fashion.

MindFormula

MindFormula is a B2B platform that transforms psychological research findings into operational tools for organizational well-being. Through quick assessments and psychoeducational protocols based on scientific evidence, the platform supports companies in analyzing and managing issues like work-related stress, burnout, and internal climate challenges. Thanks to customizable dashboards and dedicated reporting, MindFormula enables targeted interventions that improve team well-being and contribute to increasing performance, retention, and organizational efficiency.

Unicorn Donkeys

Unicorn Donkeys offers Defenso, a digital platform that makes legal consultancy simpler, more accessible, and transparent for citizens. Through a guided path, clear costs from the start, and the support of a dedicated legal tutor, the platform helps people navigate complex situations and interact consciously with the most suitable lawyer for their case. At the same time, Defenso enhances the legal profession by providing lawyers with operational support, digital management of practices, and secure payments, improving efficiency, service quality, and market access.

Duality AI

VoiceAI is an Artificial Intelligence voice agent designed to automate call management in commercial activities. The solution answers phone calls, manages orders and reservations, proposes smart upselling activities, and automatically sends requests to the venue's POS system. The project aims to reduce missed calls and improve operational efficiency, contributing to a significant increase in revenue. With VulcanicaMente 6, Duality AI aims to develop the MVP, integrate with the main POS used in the territory, and validate the solution through a network of pilot pizzerias.

Jobs Valley

Jobs Valley is a digital platform based on Artificial Intelligence that aims to drastically reduce the time to match job demand and supply. Through advanced job matching algorithms, the solution allows businesses and workers to find professional opportunities in minutes rather than days or weeks. The project specifically targets the market for occasional, temporary, and high-turnover jobs, offering an effective tool for SMEs, micro-enterprises, and freelance workers. Currently, a prototype of the mobile interface is available; the next developments involve backend completion, AI model training, and validation with the first real users.

Voilà – La cucina di casa, a portata di click

Voilà is a digital platform (app and web) that connects home cooks with users interested in authentic homemade dishes, at accessible prices. The project values home-made cooking through a vertical marketplace based on trust, proximity, and personal storytelling of the cooks. With VulcanicaMente 6, Voilà aims to develop the MVP, experiment across the territory of Naples, and validate a subscription-based business model for home cooks and commission-based on orders, with scalability prospects to other Italian cities.

Eat Like Italy

ELI — Eat Like Italy is a B2B channel dedicated to the distribution of authentic Italian products to foreign restaurants, with an initial focus on France and the quality fine dining and bistro segment. The project aims to simplify procurement through a selected catalog of