---
title: "Take IT(W) Away"
subtitle: "What I've learnt from brilliant minds at the Italian Tech Week"
author: "Lorenzo Ancona"
date: 2025-10-06
language: en
words: 955
canonical: https://artifactstech.substack.com/p/take-itw-away
license: CC BY 4.0
cite_as: "Take IT(W) Away by Lorenzo Ancona, Artifacts, 2025-10-06. https://artifactstech.substack.com/p/take-itw-away (CC BY 4.0)"
---
# Take IT(W) Away

**Artifacts went to the Italian Tech Week in Turin** - and will definitely go again. :)

**It’s a surprisingly well-balanced event:** the right number of people, the right mix of big names and niche players, a broad and interesting set of topics, and a crowd that neatly spans **startups, VCs, Big Tech, institutions, and media.**

Finally, a genuinely **international gathering** - not just in its lineup of speakers, but in its audience too. **People actually flew in from other countries.** Maybe that’s why the mood was so upbeat.

**There’s a growing sense that Europe might finally be finding its own rhythm in tech.**

I took notes on a few sharp ideas shared both on stage and in side chats - **here’s what stuck with me:**

(And yes, **it was great to meet people from the Artifacts community there!** Let’s do this more often.)

[![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RN2k!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a603f66-5a5a-49f1-b1d2-149735db068c_1536x1024.png)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RN2k!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a603f66-5a5a-49f1-b1d2-149735db068c_1536x1024.png)

> ***First of all,*** **AI is becoming a basic service - like electricity or cloud.**

[Laura Modiano](https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-modiano/?originalSubdomain=uk), Head of Startups EMEA at OpenAI, said it bluntly: **they’re already powering the next generation of European startups**, like Granola. These companies are building directly on AI, not just with it.

So AI is unleashing a a fractal of applications:

[![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ClYx!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f0ad299-790a-485f-9738-83f7ea1be234_3024x1646.jpeg)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ClYx!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f0ad299-790a-485f-9738-83f7ea1be234_3024x1646.jpeg)

> ***But also,*** **AI is the baby of technologies, yet it’s already teaching its parents.**

AI is also the last wave of technologies, built on cloud, data, semiconductors, and systems - **but it’s also reshaping how those technologies are designed and used.**

Think of data: we’re now able to “speak” with a database through AI. Or SaaS, that are moving faster with AI.

> ***But no,*** **engineers aren’t going anywhere.**

[![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!G7Cz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe75597f8-3d53-43da-af1c-b7627c47be8d_3024x2274.jpeg)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!G7Cz!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe75597f8-3d53-43da-af1c-b7627c47be8d_3024x2274.jpeg)

As super well explained by [Ravi Mehta](https://open.substack.com/users/9223401-ravi-mehta?utm_source=mentions) [here](https://blog.ravi-mehta.com/p/building-ai-products?hide_intro_popup=true), future is less reinventing the wheel and more **embedding AI intelligently within existing systems to solve real customers / citizens problems.**

And this is what forward deployed engineers will bring!

> ***Then,*** **Italian startups are…too Italian**

[![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!j7hG!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe9e2dddf-90a8-4486-8893-9113142ed60d_2880x1325.png)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!j7hG!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe9e2dddf-90a8-4486-8893-9113142ed60d_2880x1325.png)

**This comes with some critical issues:** market size is very limited while it should be (at least) the whole Europe, non-italian talents don’t come build / found in Italy, fundings as well are too reliant on a small ecosystem.

[![No alternative text description for this image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3Kb3!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F216673f4-c9b0-4b38-8f84-992a85d3d1e7_1920x960.jpeg "No alternative text description for this image")](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3Kb3!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F216673f4-c9b0-4b38-8f84-992a85d3d1e7_1920x960.jpeg)

> ***But that’s why*** **Italy may be the poster child for EU INC**

**Startups that think European from day one** - in product, team, and capital - **will move faster.** That’s true for early-stage ecosystems like Italy’s, but also for more mature ones across the continent.

[![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kwBC!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F907ce21b-e63d-44e5-b7b0-1c8d64c0d1eb_768x634.jpeg)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kwBC!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F907ce21b-e63d-44e5-b7b0-1c8d64c0d1eb_768x634.jpeg)

> ***Also because,*** **building and scaling in Europe makes it easier to scale in other countries**

As signalled by Sequoia and OpenAI, winning and tackling the complexity of 27 markets and 24 languages (before we get to EU INC and the 28th regime) is tough, **but it trains startups that make it to then go and conquer other markets with ease.**

> ***Yet, for this to happen,*** **institutions need to drive and lead innovation - top-down, even.**

A recurring theme was **how far institutions still are from driving real innovation**, despite Ursula von der Leyen’s presence.

Public leadership matters. Governments and the EU can (and should) set the tone, supporting those already trying to build in Europe. A great panel on this point had local institutions debating how to bridge that gap, moderated by [Virginia](https://open.substack.com/users/151607-virginia?utm_source=mentions) !

> ***On top of this,*** **innovation** ***in*** **and** ***from*** **the public sector is what makes governments more agile and the tech ecosystem quicker in thriving**

Probably my favorite panel had [Leonardo Quattrucci](https://open.substack.com/users/194414315-leonardo-quattrucci?utm_source=mentions) in conversation with **Diego Piacentini** (ex Apple & Amazon, and then leading GovTech for the 🇮🇹 Government) reminding that we need more tech-savvy people in government (maybe more than lawyers 😅).

And he dropped the line of the week: ***“A politician who doesn’t care about the outcome of their policies is like a CEO who doesn’t care about the outcome of their product.”***

> ***Especially if*** **complexity is preventing businesses from scaling.**

As found by FutureProofSociety and shared by [Alessandro Tommasi](https://open.substack.com/users/36549296-alessandro-tommasi?utm_source=mentions), over 80% of businesses have missed out on growth opportunities due to excessive bureaucracy, one in three spend more than €30,000 a year on burocratic compliance, and on average, entrepreneurs dedicate seven hours a week to it. **Time to move ahead!**

> ***And finally,*** **the world is divided in scientists and artists, and we need both!**

A friend told me this - great quote :)

> ### Save for Later

A great chat [with the CEO of Bending Spoons.](https://www.italian.tech/dossier/italian-tech-week-2025/2025/10/02/video/itw_25_-_quando_chiudere_la_tua_startup_e_quando_continuare_a_lottare-424886649/) And, again on Italy, [how are things going for brains in AI?](https://www.interface-eu.org/publications/italy-case-study) A lot of data!

OpenAI made a new TikTok - [did we need it?](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/789126/openai-made-a-tiktok-for-deepfakes-and-its-getting-hard-to-tell-whats-real) But they’re also trying to [better protect children](https://openai.com/index/introducing-parental-controls/)

And Meta [will use your chats](https://www.theverge.com/news/789168/meta-ai-chats-personalized-advertising) to personalise your feeds. But maybe we’re [past the peak use of social media?](https://www.ft.com/content/a0724dd9-0346-4df3-80f5-d6572c93a863)

So please, stop reading and [get bored!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orQKfIXMiA8)

My colleague and friend Maya Moussa was awarded the [UNESCO Prize for Girls’ and Women’s Education](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAIxQzbOTrE) for her “All Girls Code” project!

> ### The Bookshelf

[![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Tl9z!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a0fb117-209c-4f73-9b6d-746206387eae_1080x1080.png)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Tl9z!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0a0fb117-209c-4f73-9b6d-746206387eae_1080x1080.png)

Inspired by being in Turin, I immersed myself in ***"The Mysterious Affair at Olivetti”,*** the story of one of the biggest missed opportunity of European tech. A fascinating project of culture, technology and vision well ahead of time.

📚 **All the books** I’ve read and recommended in Artifacts are [here.](https://airtable.com/appK7fMPX1DMkQYzL/shrRh8TgI7GtmgBxM)

> ### Nerding

[![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!lH95!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9c855fc0-13fe-49e5-85ad-4635ba4ee52a_1350x1350.png)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!lH95!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9c855fc0-13fe-49e5-85ad-4635ba4ee52a_1350x1350.png)

If you wish to run small LLMs in local (so with no Internet connection), [Ollama](https://ollama.com/) is the perfect suite for that. It used to be only for terminal, but now has a nice and simple interface that makes it even easier!

> ### **☕?**

If you want to know more about Artifacts, where it all started, or just want to connect...

[Let's grab a virtual coffee ☕](https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ2ibxlzyU7rgnuoTgqXb_DFc19dfHmJeu1OAu17IY0_oHrtcJtvtctAJnMabirgZNx5Z5NAPGs0)