More money, more founders, more overviews

Dear reader

More than a dozen funding projects are currently under construction in Switzerland. One of the pioneers is the Swisscanto Growth Fund, which completed its first closing in December at CHF 150 million. Now the fund has made its first investment and participated in the fast-growing travel company GetYourGuide. Further financing will follow over the course of the year.

Privilège Management also reported a first closing this week. The company’s second venture capital fund, which has joined forces with EuroUS Ventures, will invest in early-stage, high-tech start-ups in Switzerland and other European countries.

Investors seem to see great potential in biotech start-up Anavaeon. The company, which develops cancer immunotherapies and was formally launched in December 2017, has now received CHF 35 million in a Series A funding round.

Merck-Sereno spin-off Calypso Biotech closed a financing round of EUR 20 million. The success was an opportunity to examine how the companies that were founded following the departure of Merck-Serono’s Geneva location have developed. The result is positive, as our review shows.

But it’s not only the biotech sector where the dynamics are high. A fintech study by Lucerne University of Applied Sciences has identified 362 fintech companies in Switzerland – an increase of 60% compared with the previous year. 

The first Swiss Cyber Security Map, published by DataStore, also provides an overview. It lists 35 start-ups ordered by various topics such as compliance, security automation and blockchain.

In addition, launches of promising products caused a stir this week. Verity Studios, well-known for its spectacular drone shows, has launched an integration program for their Failsafe technology for quadcopters. This program allows drone manufacturers to easily implement the Failsafe algorithm into their drones to guard against the most common cause of system-error crashes: propulsion system failures. Mirrakoi launched the first version of a novel CAD software, and Bern-based company Optor, which has just been awarded the Innosuisse certificate, solves the problem of creating shift schedules with its software.

The deadlines for various important support offers will soon end. Fintech and cybersecurity start-ups and digital health and well being start-ups have until 3 March to apply for two scale-up boot camps from digitalswitzerland and Venture Kick. Bootcamps give start-ups the opportunity to talk directly with representatives of corporates that may be interested in working together.

Applications for Venture Leader Life Sciences are open until 4 March. The winners will take part in an intensive one-week business development trip to Boston. The application deadline for the Creative Business Cup expires on 5 March. Our awards list has all the important information on 15 other awards for which start-ups can currently apply.

Have a good Fasnacht weekend.
Stefan Kyora

Editor in Chief, Startupticker.ch