(Alliance News) - Amplifon Spa announced Thursday that it has entered as a main partner in Next Age, the first accelerator in Europe that invests in startups developing products or solutions dedicated to the silver economy.

Next Age is part of the national CDP Venture Capital accelerator network, a network that now has 18 hubs throughout the country to promote and support the growth of young companies specializing in high-potential markets.

"This initiative will allow Amplifon to get in touch and collaborate with new Italian and international startups operating in the silver economy, particularly in the hearing care sector, as well as to have a privileged observatory on new technologies and new business models in the sector. At the same time, Amplifon will bring to the program its experience and expertise in innovation at the service of the silver economy as well as its vision as an Italian company with a global profile and activities in 25 countries," the hearing implants company explained.

"Our entry into Next Age," said Enrico Vita, CEO of Amplifon, "is part of the innovation path we have been on for some years now to leverage digital technologies and data to offer our customers an increasingly personalized service, developing the best multichannel experience. In this path, collaborations with innovative realities are fundamental: it was precisely from the meeting between an Italian startup, OtoHub, and our digital division that last year we formed AmplifonX, our internal startup in which we have planned investments of EUR150 million over the period 2022-2024."

Set up on the initiative of CDP Venture Capital and AC75 StartUp Accelerator, the startup accelerator promoted by Fondazione Marche together with Fondazione Cariverona and Università Politecnica delle Marche, the international venture capital firm SOSV, which manages early-stage startup development programs, Next Age aims to boost the growth of startups in the sector in the Silver Economy, the sector of products and services dedicated to the over-50 population that is estimated to reach the value of EUR5.7 trillion, or one-third of Europe's Gross Domestic Product by 2025.

Amplifon's stock is down 4.4 percent at EUR31.21 per share.

By Giuseppe Fabio Ciccomascolo, Alliance News senior reporter

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