In the ever-evolving landscape of entrepreneurship, there exists a profound belief in the transformative power of collaboration. This belief holds true at CERN, where cutting-edge technologies are developed for accelerators, detectors, and computing through international collaborative efforts. CERN's unique environment fosters an atmosphere where talented individuals collaborate, ideas flourish, and technologies with the potential to revolutionise the world are born.
It is within this extraordinary setting that remarkable stories unfold, such as that of Andrea Apollonio, former LHC Hardware Commissioning Coordinator. While working at CERN, Andrea immersed himself in the intricate world of fault tracking, risk and reliability analysis, data management, machine learning and performance monitoring for the CERN accelerator complex. After a decade at CERN, his entrepreneurial spirit prompted him to envision the creation of a venture centred around the cutting-edge Accelerator Fault Tracker (AFT) technology developed at CERN.
Reshape.systems s.r.l. was thus born, out of Andrea's vision to leverage AI-driven risk analysis to create robust, fail-safe systems for a variety of applicarions. Teaming up with co-founder Thomas Cartier-Michaud, another CERN alumnus, Andrea embarked on a transformative journey of securing funding for crucial prototype development and gaining access to advanced computing infrastructure and AI services.
Pivotal to this journey was the newly-created CERN Venture Connect programme (CVC), initiated in 2023, which aims to connect start-ups to the best operators in the entrepreneurial sphere - venture capitalists, corporate partners, incubators and mentors. CVC sets up streamlined and standardised licensing agreements that are optimised for fast execution, novel deal structure - 2% royalty payable only when the start-up reaches 1 million CHF in sales.
In establishing CVC, CERN's Entrepreneurship team entered discussions with Microsoft, with the aim to better leverage the Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub within the CVC programme, and, crucially, introduced Reshape.systems s.r.l. to Microsoft. The partnership between Microsoft and CVC proved to be a game-changer for Andrea's start-up that initiated a formal application into Founders Hub. By qualifying for access to the Microsoft for Startups program, Reshape.systems are now able to access industry-leading AI services, expert guidance, and the essential technology needed to build a future-proofed startup.
"Working with Andrea to re-shape fault tracking for CERN's accelerator complex, resulted in much improved operational visibility and brought high strategic value. Now, through Reshape.systems s.r.l., other organisations can also benefit from working with Andrea to boost their own value streams." says Chris Roderick, Head of Beams Control Software and Services at CERN.
"Andrea Apollonio's journey from CERN to entrepreneurship serves as a testament to the boundless possibilities that emerge when passion, expertise, and the spirit of innovation converge, supported by visionary organisations like CERN. CERN Venture Connect (CVC) is precisely designed to nurture such ambitions, empowering the next generation of scientist entrepreneurs, shaping the future with technology", says Ash Ravikumar from the CERN Entrepreneurship team of CERN's Knowledge Transfer group.
If you are interested in knowing more about CERN Venture Connect, hearing how Microsoft is supporting start-ups and listening to Andrea's journey, come to CERN on 30 October or connect online. Register here: https://indico.cern.ch/event/1306729/
