Finapp S.r.l.
Nowadays, water sensing is still a challenge in many applications. Proper water measurement is a prerequisite for many applications: from agriculture, to flood, landslide, and avalanche pre-warning systems, to water resource management for energy production. Finapp has developed an innovative water sensing probe based on the measurement of environmental neutrons produced by cosmic rays (Cosmic-Ray Neutron Sensing). The probe uses innovative materials coupled with proprietary software and components developed in-house and is an innovative way to measure water content. It brings the state of water monitoring technology closer to everyday use, bringing significant advantages over other market technologies.
Company details
Find locations served, office locations
- Business Type:
- Technology
- Industry Type:
- Water and Wastewater - Water Monitoring and Testing
- Market Focus:
- Globally (various continents)
- Year Founded:
- 2018
- Employees:
- 11-100
Finapp Special Stages
inapp is an innovative startup, a spinoff of the University of Padua, born in December 2018. The original idea of using neutron detectors to measure water content dates back to Autumn 2016: since then, step by step, the idea has taken shape, becoming first a project, then a prototype and finally a company that perfectly represents the idea of technology transfer from university to industry. The company is based in the North East of Italy, one of Italy’s most dynamic industrial regions. The team, which started with four university researchers, currently consists of 19 people and is continuously expanding. Finapp’s innovative technology has won some important awards:
- StartCup Veneto 2017: first place in the Cleantech & Energy category.
- National Innovation Award 2017.
- Seed & Chips, May 2018, Milan: among the best 60 strartups in the world in the agritech category and among the best 4 for the sustainable use of water resources.
- New prestigious shareholders such as Credit Agricole, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and the Progress Tech Transfer fund joined the company, raising € 1.4 million.
- Winners of ‘BeLeaf 2022’ by Philip Morris Italia and ‘Cortina Smart Road 2022’ by Foundation Open Factory and Anas.
- Winners of the EIC Accelerator – March 2023 call for proposals of the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) with a grant of over €2 million.
- Selected to participate in NYU Stern University’s “Endells Frontieris Lab 2023” programme.
- Winners of the “AI/ML solutions for Climate Change Innovation Factory”, a competition launched on the occasion of the AI for Good Global Summit 2023 by the International
- Telecommunication Union (ITU), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations
- Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
- Delegate to the United Nations Climate Change Conference – United Arab Emirates 2023, COP28, presenting at the Crowdsourcing AI Solutions for Climate Change event.
Finapp at Cop28
FINAPP was honored at COP28 for its innovative solution using Cosmic Rays and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to address the impact of climate change on food security, sustainable water resources, and disaster mitigation.
Dubai (UAE) 2nd December 2023 – According to the IPCC Climate Change Report 2022, climate change is projected to cause an increase in global temperatures, with increasingly frequent heat waves and shifts in climate zones. Droughts and floods will become more severe, affecting freshwater availability and quality. Addressing the complex global challenges related to water, food and agriculture will require more than human capabilities alone.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Bank (WB), have launched a new challenge: to advance the development of solutions using artificial intelligence (AI) to address and mitigate the impact of climate change on food security and sustainable water resources.
During the COP28 held in Dubai in the recent days, Finapp was recognized among the winners of this challenge because of its solution to measure soil water content on a large scale, in depth and in real time; measurement obtained by innovative CRNS probes, which use cosmic rays and artificial intelligence to measure soil moisture.
Artificial intelligence plays a crucial role in this area, as it can effectively process and analyze data obtained by various methods and at different resolutions. This makes it possible to create detailed and accurate terrain maps that provide Valuable guidance for proper irrigation strategy from an agriculture 4.0 perspective, environmental monitoring and implementing appropriate land management decisions.
By automating this complex analysis, the artificial intelligence built into the Finapp solution reduces human effort and accelerates the process of understanding soil dynamics on a regional or even global scale.
Finapp probes, thanks to neutrons generated by cosmic rays, provide valuable information on soil moisture over an area of between 1 and 30 hectares depending on the type of installation of altitude. By integrating this data with other analyses, artificial intelligence can provide a comprehensive and up-to-date view of soil moisture dynamics, benefiting agriculture, water resource management, drought prediction and climate change adaptation efforts.
The competition, which rewarded the soul of Finapp, was the springboard for presenting artificial intelligence-based solutions that have the potential to revolutionize the approach to climate change.
At the award ceremony in Dubai, Angelo Amicarelli, CTO and Finapp founder explained to the assembly: “With its positive impact on agricultural irrigation practices, the Finapp solution, reduces water consumption, increases productivity and limits CO2 production, mitigating the effects of climate change. In addition, by measuring soil moisture on a large scale and in depth, and by estimating its dynamics in the days ahead, Finapp provides a site-specific early warning system, increasing resilience and reducing the impact on society.”
Finapp winner of the EIC
The European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) today published the results of the evaluation of the projects presented at the March 2023 cut-off of the EIC Accelerator call. We are very proud to announce that Finapp, having won 2.08 million euros, is among the winning projects. The European Innovation Council - EIC represents the main instrument to support innovation promoted by the European Commission within Horizon Europe. The EIC, in particular, is the most relevant initiative within Pillar 3 – Innovative Europe which aims to identify and support technologies based on revolutionary and disruptive innovation that have scalability potential at European and international level and become thus a market leader, offering integrated and agile support by supporting all phases of innovation: from Research and Development (R&D) on the scientific foundations of the technologies, to their validation and demonstration. The main objective of the EIC is to respond to real needs, supporting the entire innovation cycle up to the scale-up phase and entry into the European and international market. (www.eic.ec.europa.eu).
Finapp has been admitted to the "Endless Frontier Labs"
It is with great pride that we announce that we have been admitted to the 'Endless Frontier Labs', a nine-month mentoring program focused on maximizing the potential of highly scalable science and technology startups, organized by the NYU Stern School of Business, one of the most prestigious universities in the world, famous for the MBA - Master in Business Administration courses.
For more information: https://endlessfrontierlabs.com/