SME Instrument Phase I and phase II funded companies revealed

The SME instrument, a part of Horizon 2020, is a European funding programme dedicated to high growth, highly innovative SME with European and global ambitions. There are no set topics for this bottom-up program. Companies can apply for phase 1 to receive a lump-sum of €50.000 to carry out a feasibility study or for Phase 2 to receive funding between €0.5 to €2.5 million to finance innovation activities such as demonstration, testing, piloting and scaling up.

For the April and May cut-off, 22 startups have been selected in Phase I and 13 in phase II. Of the 13 startups in the second phase, nine startups have previously benefited from the phase 1 program while four startups; Avantama, Blue Code International, Elthera and Kido dynamics, have newly entered the program.

The SME Instrument is an open call with four cut-off dates per year for each Phase. 

Phase I startups

ABBA Therapeutics AG (Basel-Stadt) - develops therapeutic antibodies against novel targets for cancer immunotherapy.

ActLight SA (Ecublens) -  developed and patented Dynamic Photodiode (DPD) technology which offers technological breakthrough in light sensing.

Clemedi AG (Schlieren) -  faster antibiotic resistance testing

DATAHOW AG (ZURICH) - the ETH spinoff is specialized in data analytics and process modeling for the process industry with a particular focus on the biopharmaceutical and chemical domains.

DBS System SA (Gland, VD) -  develop blood collection devices based on advanced microfluidic technology

EBAMed SA (Geneva) - developed effective, non-invasive and automated treatments of heart arrhythmias using proton beams.

Gilytics AG (Zurich) - the ETH spinoff developed a fast computing and 3D visualization technology for complex planning of transportation and energy infrastructures

Idun Technologies AG (Zurich) - is developing soft and stretchable dry electrodes for biometric and stimulation wearables.

KOMP-ACT SA (Ecublens) - is developing cost-effective electric actuators for a pneumatic replacement to reduce machinery' energy consumption.

Nanogence SA (Lausanne) - develops eco-friendly additives and technologies for the construction sector 

Novamet Sarl (St-Sulpice) - develops a smart data-driven tool to optimize aluminium melting (recycling) processes. 

OrbiWise SA (PLAN-LES-OUATES) - developed a carrier-grade IoT platform to operate and manage  LoRaWAN.

Polariton Technologies Ltd (Zürich) - is developing the fastest and smallest electro-optic modulators.

Quantum Integrity S.A. (Genève) - a set of software modules that detect, quantify and qualify manipulations made to digital images.

Securaxis SA (Vandoeuvres) - is developing a solution for real-time analysis, reporting, and localization with Acoustic Sensors

Swiss Ocean Tech GmbH (Bremgarten) - is developing the world's first solution for Safe Anchoring for any ship/vessel

Synendos Therapeutics (Allschwil) - is developing a new class of small molecules for the treatment of anxiety and stress-related disorders.

Synple Chem AG (Zürich) - provides new automated synthesizers using revolutionary reagent capsules to make the synthesis of molecules faster and more efficient.

WinJi AG (Zurich) - offers  Artificial Intelligence (AI) solution for asset optimisation

The companies Tresch Kieliger (Egliswil), Institute for Mental Health AG (Zurich), and Agile Wind Power AG (Dübendorf) are in the later stages.

Phase 2 newest startups include

Avantama AG (Staefa, ZH) -specialises in the production of nanomaterials for electronics.

Blue Code International AG (Lachen, SZ)  - developed a simple and fast mobile payment solution.

Elthera AG (Schlieren) - develops a first-in-class antibody against the novel target L1CAM using a personalized health care approach

Kido Dynamics SA (Lausanne) - is a data analytics platform with reconstruction and forecast techniques for smart cities focussing on mobility patterns.

Aspivix SA (Lausanne) - developed a is a simple patented non-traumatic and minimally invasive surgical instrument for gynaecologists.

Celeroton AG (Volketswil) - developed a compact, light, efficient and reliable turbo compressor for fuel cell vehicles, achieving speeds up to 1 million rpm.

Embotech AG (Zurich) - develops software solutions for autonomous vehicles

Lymphatica Medtech SA (Lausanne) - Is developing the first micropump-based medical device (subcutaneous implant) lymphedema to treat lymphedema, a chronic, disabling side effect of anti-cancer therapies.

Nomoko AG (Zurich) - developed a 3D software and Nomoko camera with a resolution of 1,500 megapixel for creating photorealistic 3D models that are indistinguishable from reality with the naked eye.

Pregnolia AG (Zurich) - developed an innovative system for assessing the stiffness of the cervical tissue among pregnant and non-pregnant women.

Bnovate Technologies - developed Bactosense a device for automated and continuous cells analysis in drinking water.

Global Data Excellence SA (Plan-Les-Ouates) and Planet Horizons Technologies SA (Sierre) are some of the oldest companies in the phase II cohort.

(RAN)