Swiss startups need no more to leave the country to join a Plug and Play program. The world’s largest innovation enabler with a network of over 60 startup accelerators has opened an office in Switzerland, situated in the uptownBasel Center in Arlesheim (BL). The launch event, which will mark the start of the first program batch, is planned for March 2022.
Located in Silicon Valley with more than 35 satellite offices worldwide, Plug and Play connects startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies. The platform offers corporate innovation programs and organizes more than 60 accelerator programs around the world.
Hans-Jörg Fankhauser, site developer, architect and implementer of the uptownBasel project explains, "Together with Plug and Play, uptownBasel will create a leading open innovation platform in Europe. Plug and Play Basel will use innovation as a lever to solve big challenges of our time with technologies like Industry 4.0, IoT, smart manufacturing, future logistics, and robotics. Together, we will not only deliver profits to our corporate partners and startups, but also create new jobs, boost the region's productivity, and build a long-term growing tech ecosystem." UptownBasel is an international competence center for Industry 4.0. On the historic Schorenareal site in Arlesheim near Basel, an approximately 70,000-square-meter research and production site is being built, where selected companies and their technologies will thrive.
Daniela Bar-Gera, Head of Plug and Play Basel, adds: "Switzerland as a country has led the "Global Innovation Index" for 11 years now. Keeping the lead requires investing extensively in future solutions, focusing on digital transformation, and making innovation the country's top priority. Similarly, to ensure their future competitiveness, Swiss corporations need to consistently be exposed to new technologies and ideas. Some of our most successful partners use Plug and Play to look at new business opportunities and meet with startups and companies from different industries. That is one of the strongest ways to take advantage of open innovation, ensuring you are always seeing and hearing new innovative ideas."
Program structure and offers
Initial technology areas for scouting will include Industry 4.0, Internet of Things, Robotics, Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Life Sciences, Sensors, Future Logistics and Warehousing, and more. By providing innovation-as-a-service, Plug and Play Basel will also play a strategic role for the partners in pioneering a sustainable industry of the future throughout Switzerland, Europe, and around the world.
The basis of Plug and Play Basel will be a 3-month open innovation program that will run twice a year. Each program welcomes selected national and international startups that address the specific technological needs of the Founding Partners. The startups and business units of the partners will work together on pilots and proof of concepts, leading towards production-ready implementations. The goal is to have at least one joint project completed for each startup, to be showcased at EXPO Day, the final event at the end of each program.
Plug and Play Basel will run local operations from the uptownBasel Campus where it will provide co-working spaces for the startups to utilise and scale their business. Further offerings for startups, partners, and the growing ecosystem include dealflows, workshops, mentorship sessions, networking between partners, investment opportunities, and a series of monthly events including Selection Days, Innovation Days, and EXPO Days.
The first program batch is planned for March 2022.
(Press release/RAN)
Picture: uptownBasel, Source: Fankhauser Arealentwicklungen
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