Italy is emerging as an unexpected powerhouse in artificial intelligence, with breakthroughs that combine cutting-edge performance, cultural identity and real-world impact. From enterprise systems outperforming global tech giants to life-saving applications rooted in dialects, recent developments show how innovation can grow from local strengths.
One of the most striking results comes from Ipazia, a Milan-based startup founded in 2021. In a benchmark organized by ServiceNow, its AI system achieved a score of 90.3%, outperforming some of the most advanced models in the world. Google’s Gemini-3 Flash reached 86.1%, OpenAI’s GPT-5 stopped at 79.1%, and Anthropic’s Claude-4 Sonnet at 63.3%.
