10 start-ups and a new fellowship program at the University of Basel

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01.03.2021
Basel

The University of Basel continued to speed up its tech transfer activities last year. Two start-up projects received the first “Propelling Grants” worth CHF50k. The new initiative FEMtrepreneurs aims to increase the number of female entrepreneurs, investors and supporters. And in total, ten start-ups have been founded.

Over the last years the University of Basel was strongly pivoting towards supporting homegrown start-ups & entrepreneurial action and this increasing support led to tangible results. In 2019 the number of start-ups increased to 9, in 2020 the upward trend was confirmed with 10 start-ups. In addition there was a clear all time record in terms of investment into existing start-ups with CHF74 million. Matterhorn Biosciences attracted the largest amount with CHF30 million less than a year after its incorporation.

During the year the support was again intensified. Acknowledging the lack of female founders, investors and supporters the University of Basel Innovation Office has decided to tackle this problem head-on with the initiative FEMtrepreneurs. The FEMtrepreneurs are a Basel-based grass-root movement of passionate women, aiming to improve visibility and to empower female entrepreneurs. The initiative focusses on creating more visibility, empowering female entrepreneurs as well as mentoring, sponsoring and training.

First "Propelling Grants"

Another important addition to the support is the Propelling Grant. Winners of the fellowship receive up to 50,000 CHF each for a period of six months, and a tailored program of skill-building workshops and introductions. Christian Schneider, Head of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at the University of Basel, explains: “For our future founders, it's crucial to get their first support in-house, openly discussing expectations, risks and development paths together with the Innovation Office but also with fellow peers. In addition to providing this support in a "safe space", the University has understood that de-risking a start-up project early on can provide a much needed boost.”

The first two winners in 2020 were NextImmune with Dr. Rajesh Jayachandran (Biozentrum) and  Dedomena, with CEO Virginia Hess and Prof. Cédric Duchêne-Lacroix. This start-up is already incorporated. Dedomena's Urban Analytics platform leverages Big Data and artificial intelligence to understand, measure and track the spatial user behavior and needs of people per neighborhood over time.

Dedemona is also one of the official ten 2020 spin-offs of the University. The other nine companies are:

Hornet Therapeutics: immune cell metabolism & cell therapy for cancer treatment;

Mulier Health: personalised health tracking platforms for women;

NeoPredix: decision support tool for neonatal clinical practice;

Artifex Medical: vascular graft prosthesis;

Rekonas: platform for automated EEG analysis;

Company in stealth mode: immunotherapies for leukemic tumors, autoimmune diseases, bone transplants;

Cryowrite: sample preparation for cryo-electron microscopy;

Consense Philanthropy Consulting: building bridges between philanthropy and society;

Prosalute: equal access to healthcare for the socially disadvantaged.

You can meet the start-ups at an virtual event on 18 March. 

(Press release / SK)

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