Getting serious

Dear reader

Sygnum and SEBA, two Swiss start-ups from the crypto sector, both received a banking license at the beginning of the week. This is a clear sign that the young Swiss entrepreneur scene is no longer a playground for solitary inventors and hobbyists, but that start-ups have the ambition and ability to play along with the established players in their industry.

Growth investment is a prerequisite for this, and Sygnum and SEBA are among the best-funded start-ups in Switzerland. This week, two more Swiss start-ups, Bestmile and Swissto12, announced the completion of financing rounds in the double-digit millions.

In the case of Swissto12, it’s noteworthy that Swisscanto Invest is one of the lenders. Our interview reveals more about the investor’s pipeline and the commitment of pension funds at Swisscanto.

The myBacs team was able to attract a remarkable investor: Global Founders Capital, founded by the German Samwer brothers, has already provided companies such as Facebook, Revolut and Slack with venture capital.

At the same time, more money from Switzerland is going to start-ups even in the early stages. For example, OnlineDoctor closed a financing round of more than CHF 2 million this week, and medtech start-up Gold-S also received a low single-digit million amount from the Business Angels Club Aargau.

Incidentally, Swiss start-ups are no longer just professional and ambitious in terms of financing, but also in terms of marketing. Cleaning platform Batmaid has brought former champion tennis player Martina Hingis on board as brand ambassador.

And next week will also be very eventful: the awards ceremony of the Top 100 Swiss Startup Award takes place on Wednesday – we will report live on Twitter. You can also meet me on the same day at the Innosuisse Roadshow in Zurich and at ETH Industry Day. Digital Day will be held throughout Switzerland with more than 300 events on Tuesday, and on Friday the kick-off of this year’s Kickstart programme will take place at Kraftwerk in Zurich.

Have a good weekend.
Stefan Kyora

Editor in Chief, Startupticker.ch