Darya Majidi

Entrepreneur, author, mentor, lecturer and keynote speaker, Darya Majidi is one of the pioneers and visionaries of Information Technology in Italy. She has been actively participating in the digital transformation for over 30 years.

She has made a significant contribution to innovation, not only through the companies she has founded but also as a mentor to startups, Innovation Councilor to the Livorno Municipality, and as strategic consultant to numerous companies.

As a social innovator and futurist, she was featured on the cover of Fortune Italia’s “50 Most Powerful Women” in October 2023, mentioned by “Io Donna” of Corriere della Sera as one of the “10 Women Impacting Italy in 2022,” and by “D di Repubblica” as one of the “100 Women Changing the World in 2021.” She is among the 100 experts selected by the Bracco Foundation, sits on the “Gender Governance” technical committee at the Chamber of Deputies, aiming to promote female technological leadership at a political level, is a member of the Industrial Board of the Italian Association of Artificial Intelligence, and serves as the Vice President of the ARTES 4.0 Competence Center, led by the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna.

Today, as the CEO of Daxo Group, she defines and supports the digital transformation of client companies with a focus on inclusion. In 2021, Daxo Group became the first company in Italy to receive ISO 30415 certification for Diversity & Inclusion.
Since 2022, she has been the founder and President of Donne 4.0, an association dedicated to promoting technology as a tool for the personal and professional growth of women. Her commitment has led to the implementation of unique projects for the new generation, including AIxGIRLS, the first female-focused Summer Tech Camp in AI and Data Science, AIxWOMEN, a program to introduce women to AI led by an all-female faculty, and StartupHER, the first online call for startups designed exclusively for digital female entrepreneurs.
Over the years, Darya Majidi has taught courses on Digital Transformation, AI, Leadership, and Business Strategy at various institutions, including the University of Pisa, the University of Siena, the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, the University of Pisa, SDA Bocconi in Milan, and is currently an associate professor at the Rome Business School in the Executive Data Science Master’s program.

As a serial entrepreneur, she has co-founded several startups in the ICT technology sector, some of which received significant recognition in digital healthcare and attracted funding from top-tier venture capital firms, resulting in mergers and acquisitions by corporate players. Her startup Synapsis, focused on Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and established in 1996, was the first female-led spinoff of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna and the first company in Italy to create web solutions in the healthcare sector, thanks to expertise gained through co-financed projects by the European Commission. Synapsis grew over the years through strategic collaborations with companies like Siemens, Engineering, and Dedalus, which eventually acquired it. The second startup, Daxo, founded in 2005, focused on Industry 4.0 enabling technologies, especially in Mobile and IoT solutions, collaborating with clients such as Barilla, Enel, Benetti, Magna, and Prysmian in tracking their production and logistics processes. In 2011, Darya founded the Daxo Group holding company, specializing in strategic consulting and training for Digital Transformation in Industry 4.0, and in a joint venture with Dedalus, created Dcare, the only Italian entity dedicated to IoT in healthcare. In 2015, she established the subsidiary Daxolab, the only women-managed business incubator in Italy, which has nurtured approximately 30 startups, supported by Majidi as a senior advisor and mentor.
In 2023, Darya Majidi represented the Donne 4.0 Association at the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67), the United Nations’ most significant annual meeting on gender equality, the empowerment of all women and girls, and their human rights.

She is the author of two books on women’s empowerment, “Donne 4.0” and “Sorellanza Digitale,” and is a recognized commentator on gender digital divide, strategy, entrepreneurship, and leadership. As a speaker and teacher, Majidi is sought after as an inspirational role model for new generations, executives, and managers as an advisor in their digital transformation journeys, and for public and private companies as an expert in digital gender gap and women’s empowerment. Her TEDx talk was dedicated to women’s contributions to artificial intelligence.

Darya Majidi served as the Innovation Councilor for the Livorno Municipality for 5 years (2009-2014), transforming her city into a smart city. In her youth, she was the President of the Young Entrepreneurs of Confindustria in Livorno (2004-2007) and a competitive international sailor.

Thanks to her educational background (a degree in Information Sciences with a specialisation in Artificial Intelligence from the prestigious Department of Computer Science at the University of Pisa, a Master’s in Corporate Strategy & Governance from the University of Pisa, and a Master’s in Women’s Leadership from Yale University) and her professional journey as a startup creator and mentor for innovative startups, Darya Majidi is one of the few female entrepreneurs with expertise in international digital transformation, innovative startups, artificial intelligence, data science, and ethics.