Extreme Tech Challenge selects Switzerland’s first winners

Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC) XTC boasts 21 regional competitions and 71 global partners comprised of corporations, venture capital firms, universities, policymakers, and tech conferences. Last year’s competition attracted over 3,700 startup applications from nearly 100 countries and resulted in 80 startup finalists. Drawing from the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the non-profit organization provides the opportunity for global visibility and access to investment capital, corporate strategic partnerships and mentorship.

For the first time, the XTC competition took place in Switzerland, co-hosted by Sangha Capital, the University of Zurich and Decisive Capital Management. Three regional winners have been selected to proceed to the Global XTC Finals in San Francisco on June 14th. They will participate in a bootcamp training program with top corporate executives and venture capital investors as they compete for a spot on the winners’ pedestal.

The finalists from Switzerland are:

AELER Technologies SA – the Lausanne based startup develop smart shipping containers that drastically reduce both operational costs and CO2 emissions by 20%. The startup unveiled its first next-generation and certified smart container to customers last year and this year, it secured investment capital of CHF7 million to meet the rapidly growing demand.

Alver World SA – the Fribourg based foodtech startup is developing a range of healthy, tasty and sustainable foods based on micro-algae Golden Chlorella® to address the growing demand for tasty low impact food. Its assortment includes pasta, food supplements and snacks.

NEMIS Technologies AG – developed the Nemis’ patented Aquaspark platform technology, a groundbreaking simple to use lab-free detection system consisting of synthetic molecules for pathogens. Chemiluminescent light produced by AquaSpark is 1000 times brighter than traditional molecules, making the N-Light solution a cutting-edge technology for sensitive detection across a wide range of applications in the fields of food safety, clinical diagnostics, water safety, and animal health.

"With the trust of XTC, Sangha Capital has brought the global impact of this competition to Switzerland. Our objective is continuous growth, to pilar tech for good globally with the trust of Switzerland. The vision is that Sangha Capital and XTC values around tech for good become common standard values in the Swiss ecosystem. This year we had 53 applications, 18 partners and sponsors. XTC founders Bill Tai and Young Sohn were impressed with the Swiss quality of the companies that participated", said Carolina and Berta Casas Forga from Sangha Capital.

(RAN)
Photo L-R: Aeler, Alver and Nemis