We are happy to share that PerSEAve has won first place at Impresa Campus Unifi 2026, the University of Florence’s programme for young academic entrepreneurs.
In April, we announced that we had been selected to take part in the programme. Six months later, after a period of training, mentoring, and work on our business model, we concluded the journey in first place.
The event
The final event took place on 5 October 2026 at the First Lab in Novoli, Florence, and concluded the first call of 2026, the twenty-first edition of the programme.
Five teams from the University of Florence presented the projects developed throughout the programme. The event was attended by Marco Pierini, Vice-Rector for Technology Transfer, Cultural Activities, and Social Impact.
PerSEAve received first prize, followed by ASSO, a smart pepper spray with a built-in eSIM, in second place, and CuralinX, a digital platform supporting patients with chronic conditions between medical appointments, in third. Congratulations to both teams and to all the participants for their excellent work.
The PerSEAve project
PerSEAve is a software platform that transforms underwater survey data into actionable information. It combines sonar, camera, and navigation data, processes them using AI developed in marine robotics research, and delivers results in a format that helps operators make informed decisions.
The platform is designed for navies, offshore operators, and ocean scientists, with applications in three main areas: seabed security and defence, critical infrastructure inspection, and environmental monitoring.
During the pitch presentations, Guido Lazzerini explained one of the platform’s key use cases: monitoring and maintaining subsea fibre-optic cables, which carry around 99% of global internet traffic. This application illustrates how automated underwater analysis can support the inspection of critical infrastructure and help operators identify issues more efficiently.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the University of Florence’s Knowledge Transfer Office (KTO), particularly Simone Chiordi, Cristiana Mazzuoli, and Chiara Mazzi, for their guidance throughout the programme. We are also grateful to Massimo Canalicchio and Andrea Nunnari from Zest Group for the lectures and valuable feedback on our business model.
Our thanks also go to the Fondazione per la Ricerca e l’Innovazione, Fondazione CR Firenze and Federmanager Toscana for making Impresa Campus possible.
Finally, we would like to thank our mentor, Bruno Stucchi, for his advice, availability, and support throughout these six months.
What comes next
This result obtained at Impresa Campus is an encouraging step for PerSEAve and a useful opportunity to validate the work we have done so far on our business model and value proposition.
Our focus now is on putting that work into practice: developing new pilot projects, building partnerships, and bringing the platform into real offshore operations.
Read the official announcement here.