Start Cup Lazio 2026: Deskk takes a podium place, and Husk AI receives two special awards
Collaboration between universities, research organisations, institutions, and businesses is one of the key elements of Start Cup Lazio, the regional Business Plan Competition that supports the development of innovative start-ups and spin-offs emerging from the world of research. This is a model for harnessing knowledge that, as Roberta Angelilli, Vice President of the Lazio Region, has highlighted, helps to turn innovation into opportunities for growth and development for the local area.
The twelfth edition of the competition, which concluded on 7 October at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, attracted 56 project entries, of which 27 were selected to take part in the final. Among the achievements of the Luiss teams were Deskk's third place in the Student Teams category and the award of two special prizes to Husk AI, both of which were developed in collaboration with other universities.
In the Student Teams category, first place went to Kinchel, a project from Roma Tre University and the Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome focused on developing a low-nickel alternative to chocolate. Second place went to Energy-as-a-SIM, from the University of Rome Tor Vergata, which presented a solution for the portable management of electricity. Rounding out the podium was Deskk, a project by the Luiss team developed in collaboration with the University of Padua.
Having already taken centre stage in the previous round of the competition, Deskk offers an artificial intelligence-based platform designed to enhance operational efficiency in the hotel industry. Using autonomous AI agents, the solution automates administrative and operational tasks – from managing communications to handling sales processes – and integrates with the management software already in use at hospitality establishments.
Another award went to Husk AI, a project developed by Luiss in collaboration with Roma Tre University, which offers an artificial intelligence-based solution to automate the management and secure handling of company documents. The entrepreneurial project was awarded the Peekaboo Special Prize, which includes a year of free access to the accelerator platform and an hour of mentorship focused on fundraising. In addition, there is the Zest Special Award, which gives the team the opportunity for direct engagement with Zest’s acceleration experts and programme managers, aimed at supporting the development of their entrepreneurial venture.
The achievements of the two teams form part of an effort to nurture entrepreneurial ideas developed within universities, highlighting the role of collaboration between universities and access to expertise and support tools in helping to transfer innovation to the market.