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What do tech companies do? Simple: they try to solve problems. With digital technology, with innovation, with the typical risk-taking of those who are not afraid to test, fail and try again. Among the companies that have been experimenting with global mobility solutions for years, from goods to people, is Uber, which is now opening up a new front: luxury start-ups. And it has chosen to try it out in Italy. Where? Right where the Dolce Vita Estiva (Summer Dolce Vita) has always found its ideal setting: Ischia, Capri and the Amalfi and Sorrento coasts, in the heart of the Gulf of Naples.
A Dolce Vita that is different from the more cinematic and wintery version in Rome, but equally iconic and exclusive. Uber is the archetype of the former Silicon Valley unicorn, a giant that has found many doors closed in Italy and Europe. What is to blame? The advantages of position, certain legislative privileges, cities protected by tailor-made regulations.
The fact is that Uber ultimately changed its strategy: no longer a head-on battle, but an alliance. Today, you can book taxis and private hire vehicles on the app. No more private cars with improvised drivers, as in other global cities. But here’s the interesting part: tech companies, the real ones, do something that few others do: they experiment. They put ideas, services and business models into practice (on the ground, in the sky and at sea). Even if it’s just to get noticed. Even if it’s just to see if it works.
And so, between Sorrento and Capri, Uber has identified a gap in the market. Or rather, two gaps. It has filled them with Uber Copter and Uber Boat: services that are not only the future of tourist mobility, but also its most spectacular present.
Why here? Because Capri has been the symbol of exclusive holidays and almost inaccessible luxury for decades. It is no coincidence that a few years ago, together with the young people of Confindustria, I launched the Capri Startup project, to try to connect different worlds where innovation goes hand in hand with luxury, just as tradition goes hand in hand with the future.
The Amalfi Coast, for its part, is not standing idly by. Here too, new premium experiences are being created by local entrepreneurs. After all, if you are in the Gulf of Naples and stop off at Capri with your yacht, how can you not stop at the Amalfi and Sorrento Coasts?
This is where Cava Regia was born, the innovative beach club developed by the Savarese family with investor Marco Cocurullo. Now considered one of the most exclusive beach clubs in Italy, it offers much more than just sun loungers and parasols: a complete service with a personal butler, dedicated chef and even a shopping corner by E.Marinella, who took care of every detail of the furnishings, from sun loungers to parasols, towels to seating.
Flying high: Uber Copter from Sorrento to Capri
The project was strongly supported by Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and is part of the ambitious Uber Copter programme, known in its early stages as Uber Air, which aims to introduce actual flying taxi services. After initial tests with drones in cities such as New York, the initiative is now coming to the Gulf of Naples, where testing is being carried out using helicopters.
Italy and Europe are thus becoming a testing ground for this new form of air transport, with the Amalfi Coast providing the ideal backdrop for an experience that is as exclusive as it is spectacular. This summer, in fact, you can fly from Sorrento to Capri by helicopter for around €290 per person. A flight of just 15 minutes takes you over the coast, dodging crowded ferries and choppy waves.
On board? Up to six passengers, managed by certified operators, with breathtaking views guaranteed. The service is available during summer weekends, particularly between late July and August, and also includes transfer to and from the heliport with Uber Black cars. Bookings must be made via the app at least 48 hours in advance.
Our sea, Uber Boat in Capri
If the sky isn’t enough, there’s also the sea. Using the app, you can now book a private or shared boat to explore Capri or the coast by sea: a real taxi on the water. There are many options, from short trips to day excursions. Rates vary depending on the type of boat and the duration of the experience. A service designed for those looking for something more than the usual boat trip.
And what are the startuppers, or perhaps it would be better to call them the innovators of the tech scene in the Gulf of Naples, doing? Are they just standing by and watching? Actually, no. They are certainly taking action. Even if with ‘different’ resources. Just think of who is behind Uber: Vanguard Group, BlackRock, Morgan Stanley, Fidelity Investments and, last but not least, Google Ventures.
Of course, they have unlimited funds. But we have hunger, vision and territories yet to be explored. What if we tried playing the game on a different field? Here, where investments, angel or venture capital, are few and far between, the ideas that emerge are often the most radical, creative and resilient. Because when you don’t have everything, you invent everything, perhaps through bootstrapping.
With NAStartUp and UpStudio, the laboratory created a year ago to test a startup studio dedicated to the creation and growth of new businesses, we have embarked on unconventional paths. Here too, unusual, given that we are a non-profit organisation. Paths that accelerate, but above all refine opportunities and business models. A concrete example is The Skipper Academy, Antonino Russo’s EduTech, which is training new professionals to fuel the maritime and nautical tourism industry. The scenario is clear for all to see: hundreds of boats stuck in ports for months, growing demand for chartering, and a huge shortage of certified skippers able to sail them. The answer? Training. But also foreign languages, digital skills, and the use of drones to recount the customer experience. A true start-up that, like Airbnb, redistributes opportunities, reallocates resources, and creates value on multiple levels.
And then there are those who work on technological innovation applied to sustainability, such as Adriano Cirasa, founder of Wave Naval Dynamics. Despite being only 18 years old, he has been developing systems for a couple of years to make boats increasingly environmentally friendly, recovering energy directly from the motion of the sea.
That’s not all.
There are also those, such as Mattia Barbarossa, founder of Sidereus Space, who are studying how to build marine platforms for launching space vehicles. Every innovator has their own ambition. Others, however, are developing gourmet delivery services for restaurants and chefs dedicated to yachting: not only fine wines and niche spirits, but also fresh, rare and selected ingredients, with tailor-made logistics. Here too, the market is ready. The demand exists. The challenge is to be able to intercept it before others do. And often, you don’t see the start-ups that innovate in this sector coming. Because they arrive via app, via web, via QR code.
With the America’s Cup coming to Naples, preparations are underway for a new acceleration in the maritime innovation ecosystem. The course is clear: sea-blue economy, experiential tourism and, why not, an idea of evolved, sustainable, visionary luxury. The America’s Cup is not just sailing: it is innovation in its purest form.
Matteo de Nora, a visionary entrepreneur who founded The Mates Group in 2000, the network of investors that supported Team New Zealand in four trophy victories, is convinced of this. For De Nora, the America’s Cup represents, and must represent, the frontier of innovation, not only in the nautical field.
He proves this with facts: he was one of the promoters of the introduction of sustainable technologies, such as hydrogen engines, on support boats. These solutions are already being tested during the Series training regattas and may also be used during the Louis Vuitton Cup of the 38th edition of the America’s Cup.
There is energy in the Gulf of Naples. But large international funds are still lacking. To start new businesses, mentors are needed, experienced entrepreneurs who know how to network and give time even before capital. Time that is worth more than money.
The sea is generous in this respect: Gianluigi Aponte, owner of MSC, the world’s largest operator in terms of number of ships, with a fleet of over 900 vessels, has already hosted NAStartUp’s monthly events on several occasions. Today, he is also a sponsor of the America’s Cup. Not just a fleet, but a vision.
Among the shipowners, innovators and investors who are already charting new courses is Salvatore Lauro, founder of Lauro.IT, who has turned his dream into a business and his business into a motto: ‘volaviamare’ (fly to love). Time is precious, even more so when travelling by sea to the islands. And so, while the world dreams of flying, he is experimenting in the Gulf of Naples with a nautical vehicle that takes off, glides and lands directly on the water. A sort of hydrofoil of the future, capable of redesigning mobility in the Mediterranean. And to quote him, he recently wrote a book entitled “From La Dolce Vita to The Perfect Storm!”.
What is the perfect storm? Not just luxury, but a model
Some may view it as a whim for affluent tourists. Perhaps it is. However, it is also a sign: tech companies do not wait for tenders and regulations, nor do they seek permission to dream. They experiment. They create models. They challenge saturated markets with hybrid ideas. Where there is a void (and there are many in Italy), they attempt to fill it.
That’s why this double launch by Uber, in the air and at sea, deserves attention and encourages start-ups in Italy, in the south in Naples. Not just as a curious piece of August news, but as an indicator of how far innovation can go when you have the courage to dare. (in the photo: Cava Regia beach club)
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