OpenTalk
A che punto è il vostro progetto e quali sono gli obiettivi per il futuro?
Our product is built on the belief that empowered staff drive exceptional guest experiences and business growth. This is our first pillar: Staff Empowerment through AI. Our AI Smart Co-Pilot is designed to train, nurture, and support hospitality teams directly within real-life scenarios — whether it’s a busy dinner service, a hectic check-in rush, or a guest with a complaint. Acting as a real-time guide, it helps staff make confident decisions, enhance communication, and deliver memorable service moments. The second pillar is our Predictive AI Platform, which connects all IT and IoT systems — from reservations and reviews to smart devices — and transforms complex data into clear, actionable insights. By simplifying operations and anticipating needs, it enables businesses to optimize resources, identify new upselling opportunities, and elevate the guest experience. Together, these two pillars create an intelligent ecosystem that empowers teams, enhances performance, and drives sustainable revenue growth — all while putting people back at the heart of hospitality.
Quando e come nasce l'idea?
The global hospitality market is expected to grow from $5.38 trillion in 2024 to $5.72 trillion in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7% (source: MarketsandMarkets). In Italy, the market is growing at 5% annually, with a strong focus on SMEs in the hospitality sector.
Despite this ongoing growth, the industry continues to face significant challenges, including a shortage of staff and high employee turnover. Many hospitality businesses struggle to automate repetitive tasks and are unable to manage guest data effectively, leaving valuable customer insights untapped. This lack of personalized offerings leads to a clear loss of potential ancillary revenue.
Our team brings over 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry and has faced these challenges firsthand. This led to the idea of leveraging our deep industry knowledge and expertise to develop a solution that offers the market an AI-based automation system designed to accelerate digital transformation.
The market landscape is highly fragmented, with numerous local operators and few international players offering integrated, customized solutions. This presents a significant opportunity to establish a leadership position in a highly specialized niche segment.
Qual è la caratteristica che vi distingue dai competitor e che potrà essere la chiave del vostro successo?
Our Smart AI Co-Pilot solution goes beyond the standard use of programmed chatbots and integrate this technology to empower skills and delight Guests. Happy guests buy upsells and upgrades that drive business’ growth.
Fare startup significa anche affrontare sfide di varie entità nel proprio percorso: qual è stato il momento più "challenging" e qual è la lezione più importante che avete imparato?
The worst moment we experienced as a start-up was when we found ourselves stuck between slow R&D progress and a serious lack of funding. Our development timeline kept slipping because we underestimated the technical complexity, and at the same time we struggled to convince investors to support us without a working prototype. It felt like a deadlock: we needed resources to accelerate R&D, but we needed R&D results to secure resources.
The key lesson we learned is that resilience and transparency are essential.
We realized the importance of:
Setting realistic development milestones, even if they seem conservative.
Communicating openly with investors, showing both progress and obstacles.
Diversifying funding strategies, instead of relying on a single source.
Testing early and iterating quickly, so progress is always visible and measurable.
That tough period forced us to mature as a team and build processes that now form the foundation of our long-term stability and credibility.
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