The Advisor Contexts Services PRIME™ Method Areas of Expertise Signals Contacts
Innovation Analytix — Scientific & Innovation Advisory

Scientific
Validation.
Informed Decisions.

Independent scientific and technical advisory for investors, funds, corporate ventures and innovation programmes.

We translate technological complexity into structured, reproducible and defensible assessments for technical and financial audiences.

Start a conversation Discover the PRIME™ Method
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Advisor Profile

Adriano Ambrosi,
PhD

Founder & Scientific Innovation Advisor

Innovation Analytix is led by Adriano Ambrosi, a researcher with over 20 years of international academic experience, personally responsible for all scientific and technical assessments delivered to clients.

The practice is grounded in direct expertise in the assessed domains: advanced materials and nanomaterials, electrocatalysis for green hydrogen, additive manufacturing, electrochemical sensing and biosensors, 2D materials.

All analyses are conducted independently, verifying technical assumptions and producing a rigorous interpretation of R&D content to support high-complexity strategic decisions.

Advisory is provided without executive or operational roles, to preserve the neutrality and credibility of the judgement delivered.

20+
Years international experience
70
h-index Scholar
130+
Peer-reviewed publications
20k
Citations
Direct domains of expertise
Advanced Materials & Nanomaterials Electrocatalysis · Green H₂ Electrochemical Sensing Biosensors 2D Materials & TMD Additive Manufacturing
Academic Affiliations & Collaborations
Application contexts

Who turns
to Innovation Analytix

We operate in high technical-complexity decision-making contexts, with different stakeholders and objectives. The common denominator is the need for an independent and rigorous technical judgement. Legal due diligence runs on every deal: on a scientific one, the technical read is the piece that is missing.

01
Investors and Funds
Pre-investment technical due diligence and technology portfolio monitoring.
02
Corporate Venture & Innovation Managers
Evaluation of startups, technologies and open innovation opportunities.
03
Banks, PE & Family Offices
Independent technical assessment in investment operations and M&A.
04
Grant Consultants
Scientific and technical support for Horizon Europe, EIC, MIMIT and CDP projects.
05
Companies & R&D Centres
Evaluation of innovation projects and technology development decisions.
Services

Structured for every
decision context

Each service can be activated independently, based on the specific assessment need.

Strategic ex-ante decision stage

Strategic Technology Assessment

Independent assessment of a technology area in the absence of a specific project. Analysis of maturity level, structural constraints and scientific characteristics to support strategic innovation decisions.

  • Technology Landscape & Opportunity Report
  • Strategic assessment memo
  • Synthesis maps and comparative frameworks
Corporate venture · Innovation managers
Early filtering stage

Scientific & Technology Screening

Preliminary technical assessment to determine whether to proceed with a deeper analysis. Identifies relevant issues or risk signals before committing resources to a full due diligence.

  • Scientific Screening Memo (synthetic technical assessment)
High deal-flow investors · Grant consultants
Formal decision stage

Scientific & Technology Due Diligence

In-depth assessment of scientific and technological aspects: TRL, technical risks, development challenges and overall project coherence. A solid, documented technical basis for formal investment decisions.

  • Scientific & Technology Due Diligence Report
  • Executive summary / decision memo
Investors · Funds · Banks · PE
Ongoing decision support

Scientific Advisory (Ongoing)

Continuous independent scientific and technical support. Technical second opinions, critical review of documentation, ongoing monitoring of technical risks. Exclusively advisory role.

  • Periodic advisory memos
  • Decision support notes
  • Periodic risk and progress summaries
Funds with technology portfolio · Corporate R&D
Specialist Modules
Individually activatable for targeted needs

For contexts where a full due diligence is not required, targeted modules are available for individual activation.

TRL Validation Scientific-technical second opinion Technology roadmap review Specific technical risk analysis IP robustness assessment
The Proprietary Framework

PRIME™ Method

Project · Risk · Investment · Maturity · Evaluation

A structured, evidence-based method for assessing technological risk and investment readiness in deep-tech. Every score is justified by classified, traceable evidence — not enthusiasm.

TRL-DSDomain-specific maturity
+
CRSCombined Risk Score
=
IRIInvestment Readiness Index
PRIME™

Three versions for different contexts

SCREENING
PRIME-Lite
Rapidly identifies technical red flags and determines whether a full due diligence is warranted.
Who it's for
  • High deal-flow investors
  • Initial go / no-go screening on a proposal
  • Startups seeking to identify vulnerabilities before a funding round
Key outputs
TRL-DSQualitative maturity assessment
SRFTop 3 risk drivers identified
FLAGGo · Conditional · Stop with rationale
MEMOSynthetic Scientific Screening Memo
⏱ 1–2 business daysScreening
DUE DILIGENCE
PRIME-Core
Structured and documented assessment for formal investment decisions.
Who it's for
  • VC / PE due diligence, inside the term sheet budget
  • Corporate venture and CVC for scouting and M&A
  • Startups seeking credible validation to present to investors
  • Horizon Europe, EIC, MIMIT grant consultants
Key outputs
TRL-DSDomain-specific maturity
SRFMulti-axes scoring of residual risk
CRSCombined Risk Score
MRPMaturity-Risk Positioning
IRIInvestment readiness index
⏱ 1–2 weeksStandard
FULL ADVISORY
PRIME-Advanced
PRIME-Core with one or more specialist modules activated based on scope.
Who it's for
  • Family offices and large-ticket investors
  • Corporates with strategic ESG or IP objectives
  • Late-stage startups, pre-licensing or pre-IPO
Selectable advanced modules
TAITechnology Advantage Index — advantage vs incumbent
UQUncertainty Quantification — epistemic confidence
ERSEnvironmental & Regulatory Scoring — ESG and regulatory exposure
⏱ BespokeFull scope
What sets PRIME™ apart from traditional approaches
🔬
Evidence-based scoring
Every score is justified by classified and traceable evidence. Enthusiasm is not data.
🎯
Domain-specific assessment
TRL indicators and risk axes calibrated for advanced materials, energy devices, sensing and manufacturing.
⚖️
Residual risk, not theoretical
What matters is the risk that remains after mitigation. Unmitigated risk is the real risk.
📋
Traceable and defensible outputs
The report shows the path, not just the result. Every axis has documented rationale.
🛡️
Independent scientific judgement
Credibility is built on what has been refused to validate. PRIME™ resists TRL inflation.
🔗
Investability index and 2D positioning
A dual strategic output ensures consistency of judgment and reinforces technical recommendations for more informed decision-making.
PRIME™ White Paper

Explore the PRIME™ methodology

A structured analysis of why standard evaluation methods fail in deep-tech hardware investments — and how PRIME™ addresses the gap.

Download the White Paper

No spam. Your contact may be used for a brief follow-up if relevant to your case.

Areas of Expertise

Direct expertise
in the assessed domain

Technical assessment requires specific expertise in the evaluated technology domain. Not generalism, but real scientific depth built over twenty years of international research. Software, AI and purely digital ventures fall outside this perimeter: those deals need a different specialist.

🔬
Deep Tech · Advanced Materials & Nanomaterials
// Graphene & 2D materials / TMD // Functional nanomaterials // Nanocomposites
⚡
Energy Devices — Green Hydrogen, Electrolysers, Catalysts
// Electrocatalysis for H₂ // PEM / AEM electrolysers // Storage systems
🩺
Med Tech — Electrochemical Sensors & Wearables
// Electrochemical biosensors // Point-of-care diagnostics // Wearable sensing
🏗️
Advanced Manufacturing — 3D Printing & Fabrication
// Functional additive manufacturing // 3D printing of advanced materials // Process scale-up
Recurring Signals

The signals that move
a technical judgement

Twenty-two signals observed on real dossiers, each with the question that tests it. These are not generic red flags: four blocks follow the domains we work in, one applies to any technology. None of these questions requires a method to ask. The answers are what tell you whether that dossier deserves a full assessment.

Open the block that matches your technology
TRL belongs to the system, not to the best subsystem
A TRL 7 claim resting on one excellent result, while the rest of the chain is still on the bench.
Which is the weakest subsystem, and what TRL does it hold on its own?
Reproducibility outside the originating lab
Every data point comes from one operator, one batch, one machine, and from the same group that invented the technology.
Is there a result generated by someone else, elsewhere, with material not prepared in house?
The pilot: who paid for it and who ran it
A free pilot, run by the founders, on a single site, with no operational continuity after the demonstration.
Did the customer pay for it, and is there a second installation run by people who did not invent the technology?
The patent that would actually stop a competitor
A portfolio counted in filings, with the core of the technology still awaiting examination.
Which single claim would you enforce first, against whom, and has it already survived examiner objections?
What is actually in the jar
A material sold as graphene that on analysis is a multilayer with residual oxygen.
How many layers, what carbon to oxygen ratio, measured by which technique and on what fraction of the batch?
An image is not a distribution
One perfect micrograph, picked from hundreds, presented as the quality of the material.
How many particles is the size distribution built on, and who chose the fields of view?
Batch to batch variability
The key property documented on one batch, the good one, with no measure of spread.
Across how many independent batches was it measured, and how does the standard deviation compare with the margin the product needs?
The property that survives the real process
Performance obtained on solvent cast films, promised on an extruded compound.
At the same loading fraction, how much of the property is left when dispersion is done by a production line instead of an ultrasonic bath?
The current density everything is measured at
Reference performance reported at 10 mA/cm², where industry operates between 1 and 3 A/cm².
At what current density does this number hold, and what happens to the overpotential at operating load?
From half cell to stack
Activity and durability measured in a half cell, presented as system behaviour.
Is there full cell or stack data, balance of plant included, or is this extrapolated from a single electrode?
The real hours of degradation
One hundred hours of testing projected onto 40,000 hours of service life by drawing a straight line.
Over how many continuous hours was degradation measured, at what load, and is the rate constant or does it accelerate after the initial transient?
The metal that sets the cost
Record activity obtained with noble metal loadings far above what the cost target allows.
How many grams of PGM per installed kW, and how much of that performance survives when loading drops to the value the business plan requires?
From coin cell to pouch
Excellent cycling on coin cells of a few mAh, with large electrolyte excess and lithium metal as counter electrode.
What is the areal loading in mAh/cm², the electrolyte to capacity ratio and the electrode balance, and do those same cycles exist on a pouch of at least 1 Ah?
The matrix the test was run in
A limit of detection obtained in buffer, never in whole blood, saliva or real sweat.
On how many genuine clinical samples was it measured, and with what recovery against the reference method?
The limit of detection that matters
A LOD calculated at three sigma on an ideal calibration line, far below the threshold that actually drives a decision.
Where does that limit fall relative to the clinical decision threshold, and with what sensitivity and specificity on the cohort?
Interferents and drift
Selectivity demonstrated against two chosen interferents, and no data beyond the first hours of measurement.
Which physiological interferents were tested at real concentrations, and how far does the signal drift over the full intended wear time?
From one sensor to ten thousand
Curves produced by hand-built devices, with no manufacturing variability declared.
How large is the spread between sensors from the same batch, and does each one need individual calibration?
The regulatory route, not the intention
A diagnostic device described as close to market, with no class assigned and no clinical performance study started.
Which class does it fall under in IVDR, which notified body is involved, and does the performance study exist as a protocol or as a slide?
Process window or recipe
A parameter set that works on one machine, with one operator, and no documented limits around it.
For each critical parameter, are verified upper and lower limits available, or only the nominal value that produced the good part?
Yield on the real part
Properties measured on standard coupons, yield quoted without counting scrap, porosity and anisotropy on the actual component.
What is the first pass yield on production geometry, and how much of the finished part depends on post-processing?
Repeatability across machines and feedstock batches
All data from one installation, with powder from one supplier, often recycled without tracking reuse cycles.
Does the same result exist on a second machine and with a second powder batch, and how many times has the one in use been reused?
Unit cost and the volume it holds at
A cost per part calculated at steady state, at volumes the company has never produced.
Which annual volume does it refer to, and what does the figure include: machine depreciation, scrap, post-processing, inspection?
If one of these questions has no answer, that is where the risk sits.
These are the opening questions. The PRIME™ method is what comes next: it classifies the evidence, measures residual risk and turns it into a defensible judgement.
Discover the PRIME™ Method
First step — no commitment

Have a technology to assess
or an operation to support?

Whether it's a pre-investment due diligence, technical support for a European grant project, or the assessment of a complex technological asset — the first step is an exploratory conversation with no commitment.

Start a conversation Discover the PRIME™ Method

or write directly to info@innovationanalytix.it