Pragmatica Selected by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region to Bring Italian AI to SMAU New York 2026

The Trieste-based startup, powered by a scientific team with roots at CERN in Geneva, will present qb-Agentic and qb-smart — the AI operating system transforming how service companies manage operations and empower their workforce — to US investors, corporates, and institutions.

Trieste, Italy — March 26, 2026

Pragmatica SRL, an innovative startup headquartered in Trieste, Italy, has been officially selected to participate in SMAU New York 2026 (June 10–12), the New York edition of Europe’s premier innovation and international business matching circuit. The selection was made through a competitive call organized by SMAU in partnership with Agenzia Lavoro & SviluppoImpresa – Select Friuli Venezia Giulia, the economic development agency of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, targeting the region’s most promising startups and innovative SMEs.

In New York, Pragmatica will showcase two flagship solutions: qb-Agentic and qb-smart, the core components of qb-OS, the company’s Agentic AI Operating System designed to radically transform operations management and workforce empowerment across service industries. qb-Agentic is a multi-agent system built on a proprietary Graph Neural Network (GNN) architecture that delivers real-time decision support to frontline staff with sub-800ms response times. qb-smart automates shift planning, task assignment, and operational cost control. Together, they form an intelligent end-to-end system adaptable to any service sector—from hospitality to retail, banking to healthcare.

Pragmatica’s competitive edge lies in its exceptional scientific team. The company’s technology core is built by researchers and scientists with backgrounds at CERN in Geneva, the world’s largest particle physics laboratory, who bring unique expertise in complex systems modeling, neural architectures, and multi-agent relational reasoning. This scientific DNA is what sets qb-OS apart from any other operational AI solution on the market today.

The qb-OS architecture is domain-agnostic by design: the operational knowledge graph powering the GNN engine adapts to any sector with structured transactional data. The same system that guides a hotel receptionist through a guest complaint can support a bank teller navigating a regulatory query or a retail associate personalizing a recommendation. Pragmatica is already validating vertical expansion into retail, financial services, and healthcare.

SMAU New York features three days of high-impact programming: an evening reception at the Italian Embassy with over 200 attendees including institutional leaders, investors, and American corporates; a full day of matching sessions, speed pitching, and thematic panels with international operators; and a guided tour of New York’s top incubators and accelerators.

This selection reinforces Pragmatica’s internationalization trajectory, already backed by accelerator programs with ITA – Italian Trade Agency, LMarks (UK), OpportunItaly, and Italian Startup. The company, led by co-founders Alessandro Pericolo (CEO) and Mike De Petris (CTO), has already incorporated its commercial subsidiary QB Hotel Ltd in London and is actively expanding across European and transatlantic markets. Pragmatica is also an EIC Accelerator (Horizon Europe) applicant for its technology and commercial scale-up phase.

“We’re bringing something to New York that doesn’t exist on the global market yet: an AI operating system that doesn’t replace people—it makes them extraordinarily more effective. Our team has its roots in fundamental research at CERN, and today we apply that same scientific rigor to solve one of the most pressing challenges in the service economy: how to deliver operational knowledge in real time to the people who need it most. SMAU New York is the ideal stage to show the world what Italian innovation can do.”

— Alessandro Pericolo, CEO & Co-Founder, Pragmatica SRL

About Pragmatica  |  Chi è Pragmatica

Pragmatica SRL (Trieste, Italy) builds qb-OS, the Agentic AI Operating System for workforce empowerment across service industries. Founded in 2024, the company combines 30+ years of hospitality operations DNA with a scientific team rooted at CERN, creating deep-tech AI solutions that deliver real-time decision support, intelligent automation, and contextual micro-learning to frontline workers. qb-OS is domain-agnostic and designed to scale from hospitality to retail, banking, and healthcare. Pragmatica is accelerated by ITA, LMarks, OpportunItaly, and Italian Startup, and is an EIC Accelerator (Horizon Europe) applicant.

About SMAU

SMAU is Europe’s leading innovation platform, engaging over 50,000 companies annually through an international roadshow spanning Milan, London, Paris, Berlin, Stockholm, New York, and San Francisco. SMAU connects startups, corporates, investors, institutions, and enablers to foster open innovation, partnerships, and international expansion.

MEDIA CONTACT  |  CONTATTO STAMPA

Pragmatica SRL — Press Office

Email: ai@pragmatica.ai

Web: www.pragmatica.ai  |  

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/pragmatica-ai

Tel: +39 040 9892697