REGGIO EMILIA - Intesa Sanpaolo is stepping up efforts to help Italian companies expand internationally with a new U.S. business mission involving 12 innovative, high-growth small and midsize companies from across Italy that operate in the aerospace supply chain. The companies were selected by the bank in partnership with Innovit, the Italian Innovation and Culture Hub, as part of a growth program in Silicon Valley.

Among them is Dino Paoli, a Reggio Emilia company based in the Pieve Modolena district. The precision-engineering company designs high-performance mechanical and electronic components. Best known for its wheel guns used in Formula 1 pit stops, Dino Paoli now serves the motorsports, underwater environments and automotive industries and is developing products for the aerospace and defense sectors.

The mission is part of Intesa Sanpaolo Group’s broader strategy to support the international expansion of Italian industry, particularly through the bank’s Banca dei Territori division, led by Stefano Barrese. The division helps finance Italian companies’ new international operations and facilities, connect them with foreign investors and support the global growth of high-tech industries considered strategic to the Italian economy.

The Intesa Sanpaolo mission was led by Barrese, head of the Banca dei Territori division, accompanied by Anna Roscio, Executive Director of Sales and Marketing for businesses at Banca dei Territori, and Nicola Baiocchi di Silvestri, U.S. and Americas Country Manager for the bank’s IMI Corporate & Investment Banking division.

The initiative was supported by Massimo Carnelos, Italy’s Consul General in San Francisco, and Filippo Fusaro, Director of the Italian Trade Agency’s Houston office. It was organized through the Italian Innovation Center, headed by Alberto Acito at Innovit in San Francisco.

During the mission, Banca dei Territori also unveiled Connecting Markets, a new AI-powered digital platform designed to help Italian small and midsize companies find and connect with international partners.

Intesa Sanpaolo customers can use the platform to access data on more than 560 million companies across more than 2,000 industries in more than 170 countries. The tool is designed to help the bank’s corporate customers identify new business opportunities and expand internationally.

The 12 aerospace companies taking part in the Silicon Valley mission were selected from more than 200,000 small and midsize businesses that are customers of Intesa Sanpaolo’s Banca dei Territori division. Together, they represent some of the best of Italy’s manufacturing expertise in the aerospace sector.

This year’s immersive program gave the participating companies direct access to leaders in the U.S. space industry through working sessions, training, firsthand industry presentations and meetings with potential investors and business partners.

The new U.S. mission is another step in the strategy outlined by CEO Carlo Messina when he presented Intesa Sanpaolo’s 2026–2029 business plan. The bank has developed an extensive program to support the international expansion of Italian companies that represent some of the country’s leading Made in Italy businesses and that Intesa Sanpaolo believes are ready to compete for new partners, investors and markets.

As the first European commercial bank to join the European Space Agency’s Investor Network, Intesa Sanpaolo has already provided more than €1 billion in financing to more than 500 companies in the aerospace supply chain.

Intesa Sanpaolo is also the only Italian bank, and the first in Europe, to have entered into a partnership with the European Investment Bank and the European Space Agency. The agreement, signed in July, will unlock €300 million in new funding for small and midsize businesses seeking to invest in the sector, backed by European resources