Trust Valley kicks off with ambitious projects

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09.10.2020

The Trust Valley alliance launched on October 8th during a livestreamed conference held at the Rolex Learning Center. Cantons, Confederation, academic institutions and industry captains, both local and international, come together to co-construct this pool of expertise and encourage the emergence of innovative projects. On this occasion, the new Tech4Trust startup Cohort was revealed.

In a historical agreement, the Cantons of Vaud and Geneva announced on June 19th their support for the Trust Valley initiative. This alliance, created in support of economic development for the region, allows the partners to pool their resources in the field of digital trust, to position and give a global resonance to the Lake Geneva region. On October 8th, manufacturers have followed suit. Indeed, since the launch announcement 3 months ago, this initiative has become a public-private partnership actively supported by captains of industry such as ELCA, GCSP, Kudelski, SGS and SICPA, SMEs, large groups, startups, scale-ups, as well as academic institutions in the Lake Geneva region (IHEID, HEIG-VD, HES-SO Geneva, EPFL, UNIGE, UNIL). Strategic partnerships are under discussion.

Swiss and International support

Alliances are being established with new partners such as the Cyber Peace Institute, PWC and Wisekey. But also since June:
  • 38 companies and organizations have expressed their interest in joining the Trust Valley.
  • 14 organizations have been added to the Lake Geneva map dedicated to digital trust and are presented on the Trust Valley website.
  • More than 12 projects have been submitted to the initiative via a dedicated marketplace. The ecosystem is growing thanks to the support and involvement of startups such as Aequivalent, ProtonMail, Yes We Hack; of scale-ups such as Sysmosoft; of SMEs such as eXperts Solutions, Exoscale, MSF Partners, AdNovum, Netguardians, Uditis; as well as the Transports Lausannois.  

On the German-speaking side of Switzerland, the initiative attracts the support of Sygnum Bank, as well as contributors from large companies like PwC, Fortinet and the NGO Cyber Peace Institute.

Clear international support was given: "We need to work together. It is always important to find the best local solutions to local problems. I am aware that what you (the Trust Valley) do is of fundamental importance to the world. I don't think there are many nations on earth that are as trustworthy as Switzerland; there is no part of Switzerland that is more important than this region of Lake Geneva. Thank you for what you are doing. I hope that we, Microsoft, can continue to be a part of it, to support you and, for my part, continue to learn from everything you do." said Brad Smith, President of Microsoft.

Three flagship projects started

Tech4Trust: The Swiss acceleration program for innovative startups committed to fostering digital trust in our society and economy is already in its second call for projects. The latter has just completed its call for ventures and the results of this 2nd edition includes 47 applications. A 32-member advisory committee will evaluate the applicants' involvement in the program and selected 27 startups, among which 22 from Switzerland.

Food by Trust Valley: The initiative aims to develop trust and digital tracking solutions in the agritech and agrifood sector that meet sustainable development objectives (SDG's). Its objective is to ensure a healthy life and promote the well-being of all people at all ages. The partners are: SICPA, Nestlé and the Center for Digital Confidence of the EPFL (C4DT).

Health by Trust Valley is working on post-COVID-19 projects. The partners are the Cyber Peace Institute which brings international complementarity with its "Cyber4Health" initiative, Biopôle and the Cantons of Geneva and Vaud. The objectives are to assist in the implementation of precise and phased deconfinement strategies, to maintain, accelerate and stimulate the economy and to increase short- term resilience against the health crisis of COVID-19.

Collaborative and cooperative projects

Following the announcement of the launch last June, many organizations have expressed interest in this ecosystem. As a concrete example, Lennig Pedron, head of the Trust Valley initiative, cites a company in the canton of Vaud that is active in physical and data security solutions: "A local company attracted the attention of an international giant who contacted it with a very specific request to set up a laboratory. Unfortunately, the local company could not meet this request on its own, so they turned to us, the Trust Valley, and we put them in touch with HEIG-VD. Today, our two partners are working together on this joint project. This is also the interest and the impact that this initiative can have".

(Press release)

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