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Antonio Giarrusso
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Who is Antonio Giarrusso

Antonio Giarrusso is an Italian entrepreneur, founder of Userbot and Head of AI at the smeup group. He helps companies adopt AI with clear rules.

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Antonio Giarrusso

In short.

Antonio Giarrusso is an entrepreneur and AI expert. As a student he created iMathematics, an educational app named App of the Year by Apple, and then Mobixee, an app studio with more than 5 million downloads overall. In 2017, before ChatGPT, he founded Userbot: today it is the Italian platform for governed AI adoption in companies, part of the smeup group and cited in nine 2026 Gartner Hype Cycle reports. He is co-inventor of a patent on an AI system that learns from conversations, Head of AI at the smeup group and a member of the Forbes Technology Council. On stage he talks about AI adoption, Shadow AI, AI agents and governance, starting from what he has built.

Milestones, with sources.

  1. 2009As a student, creates iMathematics, an educational app later named App of the Year by Apple.
  2. 2010Publishes his first game, Crazy Bubbles. More than 15 apps follow, with over 5 million downloads overall.
  3. 2014Mobixee, a mobile app studio, in London.
  4. 2017Founds Userbot, before ChatGPT. His apps are covered by USA Today. USA Today ↗
  5. 2018Userbot raises €500,000 in investment in six months and wins the Italian National Innovation Award. Il Sole 24 Ore ↗
  6. 2019Files patent IT102019000000526 on an AI system that learns from conversations between customer service agents and customers. Google Patents ↗
  7. 2024Joins the Forbes Technology Council.
  8. 2025Launches Userbot 3.0, an AI agent platform. Data Manager ↗
  9. 2026Publishes PUCS, a satirical browser game about bureaucracy written entirely with AI. Userbot becomes the Italian platform for governed AI adoption and is cited in nine Gartner® Hype Cycle™ reports. Il Post ↗

Recognition

Awards and recognition.

Things I couldn’t have made up.

  • 20269 Gartner® Hype Cycle™Userbot cited in nine reports, including Agentic AI and AI Governance Technologiesuserbot.ai ↗
  • 2024Forbes Technology CouncilMember of the invitation-only community for technology leadersForbes
  • 2019AI patentAn AI system that learns from conversations between customer service agents and customersIT102019000000526 ↗
  • 2018Italian National Innovation AwardUserbot awarded in the Services categoryPNICube
  • Agos Ducato global competitionUserbot beat more than 300 AI companies, two months after it was foundedAgos / Crédit Agricole
More recognition (6)
  • 2018Gaetano Marzotto AwardOne of the most important innovation competitions in ItalyFondazione Marzotto
  • 2018StartupItalia OpenSummit AI AwardUserbot named best Italian AI startupStartupItalia
  • 2018Italia Giovane AwardRecognition for young entrepreneurs in innovationItalia Giovane
  • SME Champion, Horizon 2020Userbot recognized by the European Commission for innovationEuropean Commission
  • SMAU Innovation AwardUserbot awarded for innovationSMAU
  • Apple App of the YeariMathematics, also an Apple Essential and one of Wired’s top 10 apps for schoolApple

What the press wrote.

Antonio Giarrusso on the cover of Millionaire
Millionaire · April 2018On the cover with the Userbot story.
Antonio Giarrusso on Capital with Silvia Candiani (Microsoft)
Capital · 2017 ↗On the cover with Silvia Candiani, CEO of Microsoft Italy.

Articles.

What I’m writing.

  • LinkedIn · October 2026 · in Italian

    Se fondassimo Userbot oggi, costruiremmo ancora lo stesso prodotto? Negli ultimi mesi me lo sono chiesto spesso, finché a un certo punto la risposta è diventata evidente: NO. Non perché quello che abbiamo costruito non funzionasse, ma perché è cambiato totalme…

    Read the post ↗
  • LinkedIn · September 2026 · in Italian

    Uno dei miei libri preferiti degli ultimi anni è The Darwinian Trap di Kristian Rönn. Parte da un’idea che mi torna in mente sempre più spesso: Darwin funziona sorprendentemente bene anche fuori dalla biologia. Aziende, tecnologie, idee, media, carriere. Dove …

    Read the post ↗
  • LinkedIn · July 2026 · in Italian

    Abbiamo reso AI-native il modo in cui costruiamo Userbot e abbiamo completato in una settimana un lavoro che avevamo stimato in sei mesi. Funzionalità che richiedevano uno o due sprint hanno iniziato a richiedere un giorno. Praticamente abbiamo annullato il de…

    Read the post ↗
  • LinkedIn · June 2026 · in Italian

    Tra poco più di un mese una parte dell’AI Act diventa applicabile. E riguarda chiunque faccia parlare un’AI con i propri clienti. Da settimane in Userbot.AI riceviamo sempre le stesse domande: Il nostro agente è “ad alto rischio”? La scadenza è slittata con l’…

    Read the post ↗

All my posts are on LinkedIn.

Not to be confused with.

Antonio Giarrusso, founder of Userbot, should not be confused with other people with the same surname, such as politicians or people in the news. And Userbot (userbot.ai) is not the “userbot” software for Telegram.

Frequently asked questions.

Who is Antonio Giarrusso?

Antonio Giarrusso is an Italian entrepreneur, founder of Userbot and Head of AI at the smeup group. He helps companies adopt AI with clear rules.

What is Userbot?

The Italian platform for governed AI adoption in companies: chat, multiple models, company knowledge, agents and workflows in a single perimeter, with permissions, spending caps and logs. It is part of the smeup group.

What does he speak about?

AI adoption in companies, Shadow AI, AI agents and new operating models, AI governance, and how AI shortens the time between an idea and a product.

How can I contact him?

Through antonio.ai, with the forms for companies, events and the press, or by writing to ciao@antonio.ai.

Other pages: speaker · Userbot case studies · AI adoption · projects

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