University of Zurich spin-off Synthara is developing novel computer chips in which the computing power is embedded in the memory. This results in a 50-fold increase in computing power and efficiency boosting AI adaption as well as ubiquitous computing. Synthara received the first prize worth CHF 100k. Co-finalists AgroSustain and MUVON Therapeutics each receive CHF 10,000.

In addition to two experienced Venture Capital funds, b2venture and Wingman Ventures, Calvin Risk has welcomed a small consortium of strategic angels who invested in its second tranche of the pre-seed round.

Zum ersten Mal seit der Lancierung der ersten Plattform im Jahr 2008 verzeichnet der Crowdfunding-Markt einen Rückgang bezüglich dem Gesamtvolumen an investiertem Kapital. Einzig bei den Crowdinvestings in Startups und Unternehmen verzeichneten die befragten Plattformen einen deutlichen Anstieg gegenüber dem Vorjahr. Insgesamt wurden in über 4'600 Kampagnen total 662,4 Millionen Franken investiert.

Zahlreiche Startups haben in den vergangenen Wochen sowohl über neue als auch bestehende Crowdinvestment-Plattformen Anteile ihrer Unternehmen angeboten. Die meisten von ihnen waren äusserst erfolgreich – nur eines konnte seine Crowd nicht wie gewünscht mobilisieren.

Customers outside Switzerland enable startups to spread their footprints worldwide. Four scale up startups offering solutions in fintech, satellite communication, sustainability and sportstech have won globally active companies as customers.

Das Uni Zürich-Spin-off Textshuttle will nach erfolgreichen Jahren im B2B-Bereich nun auch für private Nutzerinnen und Nutzer zum Begriff werden. Mit dem Launch einer kostenlosen Übersetzungsplattform erhofft sich das Jungunternehmen zusätzliches User-Feedback für die Weiterentwicklung seiner Lösung. Ferner will Textshuttle künftig seine Expansionsbestrebungen verstärken.

With Spright, a US-based market-leading unmanned aerial system operator, RigiTech has won a key operating partner of its Eiger drone systems in Europe and worldwide to healthcare clients. RigiTech will be delivering the first six Eiger systems over the next few months and the training of Spright’s key staff has already begun.

Four startups are still in the run for the Swiss Fintech Award. Pelt 8 and Sustainaccount are contesting for the category prize ‘early-stage’ and NetGuardians and Taurus for the ‘growth stage’.

Abiogen Pharma, a leading Italian company specialising in osteoarticular and bone metabolism diseases, has acquired more than a 97% stake in EffRx Pharmaceuticals SA, a Swiss company offering prescription drugs for musculoskeletal and rare pathologies on European and international markets.

Three startups have published the results of their phase 1 and phase 3 clinical trials. Molecular Partners, Neurimmune and Oculis have all achieved positive results for their studies investigating DARPin therapeutics, therapies for solid tumors and Diabetic Macular Edema.

The Fribourg-based startup Impossible Materials has won the third stage of the Venture Kick program, securing itself CHF 150’000. The prize money will allow the startup to further develop its sustainable, cellulose-based materials for various industrially manufactured products.

Founded at the EPFL, Artiria Medical developed a real-time deflectable guidewire to allow neurosurgeons to safely navigate brain arteries to improve the treatment of strokes. The receipt of the 510(k) clearance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is significant for the startup to market the device in the U.S.  

En mars dernier, Popety a levé plus de CHF 1 million pour développer sa plateforme de prospection de terrain innovante. Les fonds proviennent essentiellement des actionnaires existants. Parmi ceux-ci on retrouve la Vaudoise Assurances ainsi que des business angels suisses ou vivant dans notre pays. Avec des bureaux à Genève et Zurich, Popety compte déjà plus d’une centaine de clients.

On 24 May 2023, the School of Business and Engineering of the Canton of Vaud (HEIG-VD) announced the winners of the 18th Swiss Ethics Awards. Among the winners are Ticino-based Bepooler, a B2B2C carpooling platform and La Petite Épicerie, a start-up that establishes small autonomous grocery shops with local products.

The dynamism of the Swiss startup scene was evidenced at yesterday's Startup Days, bringing together over 1500 visitors, male and female alike, to learn and explore opportunities and measures to circumvent the current uncertainties. The event culminated in the Pitching Battle finale with four winners.

Tech4Trust, the Swiss acceleration program dedicated to cybersecurity and digital trust startups, announces the 12 finalists selected for the final stage of the program. These startups will compete for the title of best cybersecurity and digital trust startups of 2022-2023 during the Awards Ceremony on June 6 at the Genev’hack conference.

Das Zuger Startup ImmoTrack will der Digitalisierung in der Hauswart-Branche Schub verleihen. Die SaaS-Lösung hat bereits Kunden gewonnen und das Jungunternehmen mit starkem Bezug zur Praxis baut seine Software stetig aus. Jetzt soll mit dem zusätzlichen Modul für automatisierte Einsatzplanung die nächste Stufe bezüglich Wachstum gezündet werden.

112 early-stage startups have been invited to join MassChallenge Switzerland 2023 Accelerator Program. Among the participants from 4 continents, 33 come from Switzerland. All companies are committed to sustainability.

Pyrpose, a climate finance platform which connects climate conscious consumers directly with climate innovators to reduce future carbon emissions, is looking to accelerate its growth trajectory after announcing today that it has completed its fundraise.

As quantum resistant cryptography becomes mandatory in the United States and its implementation is accelerated by the White House, Swiss cybersecurity startup QRCrypto announces the raising of a new convertible loan of USD 500,000. After an initial seed funding of the same amount, this round bridges the gap with the ongoing Series A funding round. The company already has its first customers and is about to close a major contract.

In neun der 15 offenen Kategorien des Digital Commerce Awards haben Startups gewonnen – plus natürlich in der eigenen Startup-Kategorie. Für den Titel «Digital Commerce Champion 202»3 hat es dieses Jahr keinem Startup gereicht. Sie besetzten jedoch alle weiteren Top 5-Plätze des Over-all-Preises.

Two global companies want to lead the way in tackling climate change using Swiss technologies and brainpower. Daphne Technology signed a licensing agreement with Saudi Aramco Technologies Company to further develop and commercialise their mobile carbon capture technology for the maritime industry, while JPMorgan Chase has turned to Climeworks for its direct air capture solution, investing USD 20 million.

After three selection rounds, the SEIF Tech for Impact Awards jury has nominated ten startups from Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Sweden to proceed to the finale. Three winners will be announced at the award ceremony on 6 June.

MetaStudio is the first decentralised business metaverse for content creators and influencers, promising to provide complete ownership, DAO management, WEB3 Privacy and an easy-to-use experience. Closing its initial community sale brings the startup closer to its launch.

Vom Bahnhof in die Stadt ins Büro: kooky und Dallmayr haben eine Kooperation für ein Mehrwegbecher-System am Arbeitsplatz gestartet. Die ersten zwei Unternehmen mit Dallmayr-Kaffeeautomaten haben bereits auf das Mehrwegsystem umgestellt. Insgesamt betreibt der neue Vertriebspartner über 12'000 Automaten in der Schweiz.

Following their recent acquisition of a minority stake in SkyCell, Lazard Asset Management has provided the startup with funds to accelerate its growth. SkyCell helps pharma companies transport vital medicines using intelligent hybrid containers.

Enerdrape has just installed 204 thermal panels in the Coop supermarket car park in Renens, close to Lausanne. If the installation proves successful, Coop Immobilien plans to equip other underground car parks of the distributor in Switzerland. Driven by the rising interest, the growing startup led by Margaux Peltier is preparing its entry into the US market, where a pilot project will be launched this summer.

Antefil Composite Tech, the provider of innovative and cost-efficient intermediate materials to produce lightweight structures for industrial applications, has closed a CHF 1.5M pre-seed financing round. Lead investor and seasoned entrepreneur Werner Frei joined the startup’s board of directors.

The latest cohort in the ESA Business Incubation Center comprises five startups that will each receive EUR 200’000 in non-dilutive funding to advance their solutions. They also receive technical support from industry experts during the next two years.

Das Zürcher Startup CARE fokussiert sich auf personalisierte Präventivmedizin. Der Abschluss der Seed-Runde erlaubt nun die Expansion in die USA. Zu den Investoren gehören Fussballprofi Yann Sommer und Straumann CEO Guillaume Daniellot.

Hydromea and INERGIO have secured respectively EUR 2M and 1.2M Eurostars Grants. The first Swiss start-up is working with Norwegian leader Unplugged to develop a resident underwater drone system for continuous inspection and monitoring of underwater assets. The second will use the funds to advance its research and development activities focused on providing green energy solutions wherever and whenever needed.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals and Basel-based VectivBio have entered into a definitive agreement for Ironwood to acquire VectivBio for $17.00 per share in an all-cash transaction with an estimated aggregate consideration of approximately $1 billion. The acquisition price represents a premium of 80% relative to the volume-weighted average share price over the previous 90 trading days.

After one year of development, Copresence is introducing its digital avatar generation software, which, for the first time, will allow the gaming, VR/AR and video conferencing industries to create professional-grade photorealistic avatars using only a smartphone. The startup has attracted the attention of Fortune 500 companies and AAA gaming studios and raised $2.75 million in seed funding.

Out of the 61 finalists, the>>venture>> competition jury has selected the top 3 startups in each of the six verticals. They will further contest to win the top position in their vertical as well as the grand prize. Registration for the award ceremony in June is open.

Coronary microvascular obstruction (MVO) is a powerful prognostic indicator for negative outcomes for patients after heart attacks. CorFlow Therapeutics AG has developed the world’s first combined system for diagnostic assessment and therapy delivery to address MVO. A First in Human study suggests that it may now be possible to have accurate, early detection which can lead to targeted treatment for these high-risk patients.

Das Tool von matchmycolor vereinfacht Farbkommunikation, Farbrezeptierung und Farbqualitätskontrolle. Nun wurde das Technologieunternehmen von Datacolor, einem weltweit führenden Anbieter von Farbmanagementlösungen mit Hauptsitz in Rotkreuz rückwirkend ab dem 1. Januar 2023 übernommen. Das matchmycolor-Team bleibt an Bord.

In less than one year, Decommerce has built a strong track record with its community management platform for brands. Besides winning customers in Europe and the US, the company has attracted investment from London-based Outlier Ventures and Farfetch, as part of its participation in the 12-week Dream Assembly Base Camp accelerator program.

Die EU-Taxonomie für nachhaltige wirtschaftliche Tätigkeiten soll dabei helfen Investitionen klimafreundlicher zu machen. Das TAXO TOOL, das vom Schweizer Startup Dydon AI in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Bundesverband Öffentlicher Banken Deutschlands (VÖB), ermöglicht eine einfache Umsetzung. Ein Jahr nach dem Launch wird es bereits von zahlreichen Banken genutzt. Nun konnten gleich drei Landesbanken als Kunden gewonnne werden. 

This month, a host of startup award competitions took place in different parts of the world, and Swiss startups have continued to impress. Seven biotech and energy startups received cash prizes and symbolic awards for their outstanding solutions.

The year 2022 saw an unprecedented surge in venture capital fundraising, according to the latest report by Invest Europe. European VCs raised €23billion, a 13% increase from the €20bn seen in 2021. The results also showed that corporate investors are playing a key contribution to the funds.

Die Zürcher Agentur Kingfluencers gehört zu den Pionieren des Influencer Marketings und ist schon bis anhin stark gewachsen. Nun baut das junge Unternehmen sein Angebot aus und unterstützt auch beim Marketing im B2B-Bereich. Erste Projekte wurden erfolgreich umgesetzt.

There have been a number of changes at SICTIC, Switzerland's largest business angel club, in recent weeks. We present the most important ones.

Ripple, the leader in enterprise blockchain and crypto solutions, announced today it has acquired Metaco, a Swiss-based provider of digital asset custody and tokenization technology. Ripple will become the sole shareholder of Metaco, which will continue to operate as an independent brand and business unit led by Founder and CEO Adrien Treccani.

Insurtech wefox has secured US$55m credit facility from J.P. Morgan and Barclays alongside a $55m second close in its Series D at US$4.5bn valuation from existing investors and new investors including Squarepoint.

St. Gallen-based QMware and QuiX Quantum have joined forces to develop the first fully integrated, hybrid quantum-classical platform in Enschede, the Netherlands. The hybrid architecture integrates high-performance computing infrastructure with native quantum computing technology onsite, allowing for ten-fold processing power while generating more efficient and accurate results. Operations will begin in August 2023.

Since the launch of its SaaS product in 2021, the Vaud-based company Datapred has been developing its customer base throughout Europe. By integrating the GPT-4 into its solution, the startup led by Thomas Oriol wants to accelerate its growth. The ambitious goal: to become the HubSpot for energy buyers.

BRU vertreibt seine Tee-Automaten seit dem Launch Ende 2022 über den eigenen Onlineshop, ist bei grossen Onlinehändlern gelistet und baut parallel dazu mittels Distributor den Markt in Deutschland, Finnland und dem Mittleren Osten auf. 

Die erste Förderrunde 2023 der Klimastiftung Schweiz unterstützt 6 Unternehmen - allesamt junge Technologie- und Dienstleistungsunternehmen - mit über 680'000 Franken. Die Innovationen reichen dabei von der Informationsgewinnung aus ARA-Abluft, über vertikale Solarmodule bis zu unterirdischen Lebensmittellagern.

International deep tech investors Walden Catalyst and NGP Capital led ANYbotic’s series B financing round. The Swiss robotics startup raised $50 million to scale deployments internationally, fuel the development of new capabilities, and solidify its competitive position in robotic inspection solutions.