On Wednesday, November 20, StreetLib CEO and Co-founder Giacomo D’Angelo participated as a guest speaker at the Meet the Italian Start-ups event, held at the Consulate General of Italy in New York City, in the presence of Consul General Fabrizio Di Michele.
Moderated by Maria Teresa Cometto, a contributor at Corriere della Sera, the event brought together three guests to discuss their professional journeys between Italy and the United States and the challenges of operating in global markets. Giacomo D’Angelo shared his insights alongside Dalila Pasotti (Venture Partner at Alpha Prime Ventures) and Maurizio Scaltriti (Vice President of Translational Medicine and Early Oncology at AstraZeneca, Co-founder of Medendi).
Giacomo D’Angelo began by reflecting on StreetLib’s first foray into the U.S. market in 2016:
I arrived here in NYC and I was able to get my H-1B Visa thanks to CUNY. I had no connections and they believed in me and in my projects, so I will always be grateful for that. The Queens College Campus was a very fertile environment for us to start building our professional network.
The Role of AI in Publishing and Beyond
A significant portion of the discussion centered on Artificial Intelligence, a transformative topic not only in publishing but across industries. Giacomo D’Angelo shared StreetLib’s perspective on the evolving role of AI tools, emphasizing their potential as both productivity enhancers and revenue-generating opportunities.
I strongly believe that human creativity is crucial for the publishing supply chain, and it will always be. AI tools should be seen just as tools to complement the human touch. I don’t believe that these tools will replace humans in the publishing industry. At the same time, as a publisher, you should look at the emergent AI economy as an opportunity to start selling high quality and domain specific content to AI companies. If they want to keep improving their systems, they would have to start dealing with book publishers in a way that is sustanaible for both sides.
Our CEO also highlighted StreetLib’s ongoing development of AI-powered publishing assistant tools designed to enhance productivity for publishers.
Expanding Horizons: Emerging Markets and the Spanish Language
The event provided an opportunity for StreetLib to showcase its broader vision, including an increased focus on the Spanish-language market and Non-Western countries.
When it comes to expanding our reach and unlocking new opportunities in digital publishing, the emerging markets are incredibly promising. We are fortunate to have a presence in Ghana, West Africa, through our colleague Mark Williams, Editor-in-Chief of The New Publishing Standard, a unique publication offering deep insights into the Non-Western publishing world. This gives StreetLib a front-row seat to capitalize on these untapped opportunities. To illustrate the scale, while the Frankfurter Buchmesse typically draws around 200,000 visitors, book fairs in Sharjah, Cairo, or Algiers regularly attract over 1.5 to 2 million attendees. It’s a completely different scale, yet these markets are often overlooked by Western publishers. At StreetLib, we are passionate about supporting publishers and authors from these emerging regions. Today, we manage a catalog of digital books in 90 languages, reflecting our commitment to inclusivity and global representation. Looking ahead, I believe these emerging markets represent the largest growth opportunity for StreetLib over the next decade. We are excited to continue driving innovation and expanding access in these dynamic regions.
The Meet the Italian Start-ups event highlighted not only StreetLib’s innovative projects but also the company’s commitment to leveraging AI responsibly and tapping into underexplored global markets. D’Angelo’s insights underscore StreetLib’s mission to empower publishers worldwide, bridging cultural and technological divides in the ever-evolving digital publishing landscape.