Fongit, the Fondation Genevoise pour l’Innovation Technologique, has just announced the latest beneficiaries of the Fongit Innovation Fund (FIF). FIF has awarded two Seed loans of 100,000 CHF to Fluosphera SA and Kylys Aesthetics SA respectively and a grant of 50,000 CHF to Consulto.

Last Thursday, the 30th winning start-up of the Prix Strategis was announced among the 87 candidates who participated in this 2023 edition. It is Corintis, which efficiently cools high-performance computer chips to reduce energy consumption and addresses heat extraction problems in data centers. It won the prize of CHF 50,000 because it attracted the attention of the jury by the quality of its promising invention.

Stableton, in collaboration with Swissquote and Morningstar Indexes, has launched the world´s first-of-its-kind private market products to give institutional and private investors access to privately held high-growth companies.

As of this year, Swissnex Bootcamps in San Francisco will take place four times, focusing on a different sector. The first cohort included four startups form the cleantech sector and three in Cybersecurity, Data, and Privacy. Two programs will run in June and September.

In collaboration with its Japanese partner Kaken Pharmaceutical, Numab Therapeutics has dosed the first patient in its single and multiple ascending dose Phase 1a/1b clinical study of NM26-2198, the first product candidate focused on the treatment of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. It is also Numab’s second multi-specific antibody therapeutic to advance to the clinic.

Startups in the new cohort of the InnoBooster program are developing diverse solutions, including sustainable metal foams for cooling anti-parasitic therapies, an affordable medical ventilator for low-income countries, and monitoring solutions for structures.

Boomerang Ideas ermöglicht kostengünstige Marktforschung über Social Media. Nun hat sich das renommierte Marktforschungsunternehmen gfs.bern am Startup beteiligt. Zudem will man in Zukunft zusammenarbeiten.

Brazil based aviation company Helisul, known for its comprehensive range of aviation services including air taxi and cargo transportation, has entered a partnership with Swiss drone startup Jedsy. As a first step, Helisul has committed to purchasing one glider and three mailboxes from Jedsy. The complete sales volume is will be over 26 million USD until 2026.

Raising funds via crowdinvesting has become even more popular among startups but private backers have also grown to trust this approach. The current campaigns by MyCamper, KA-EX and SoFlow have made waves in their communities on the crowdfunding platform CONDA, enabling them to get closer to their goal.

Board members’ industry experience and networks to boost startup growth. Five startups have appointed experienced personalities to their boards of directors to help drive the their future growth.

Building on the international success of its Aktiia spin-off, the CSEM aims to spawn the double of winning startups in the future. To reach this ambitious goal, the Swiss Based Technology Innovation Centre led by Alexandre Pauchard intends to rely on a growing pipeline of talented entrepreneurs.

This year, the Gebert Rüf Stiftung has supported three projects through its First Ventures program. The new cohort comprises two cleantechs developing solutions to enable the planning and optimization of electric vehicles, and extracting CO2 using microalgae. The two joined Crownos, which was selected in February.

Various factors contribute to the successful establishment of a company in a foreign country. Recently four Swiss startups announced the measures taken to gain a strong foothold in the United States: setting up a new office, getting necessary approvals and patents, and having members on the team to help them navigate and grow in the new market are among them.

Founded by biotech veterans Igor Fisch and Nicolas Mermod, NewBiologix is committed to improving the generation and production of viral vectors used in gene and cell therapies by combining an innovative and proprietary bioinformatics platform with advanced R&D experimentation. The company will begin beta testing the cell line prototypes with key collaborators by 2024.

As part of their strategic convertible loan agreement, Kinarus will obtain CHF 1.5 million from China-based ChaoDian Investment Management Co. This agreement forms the basis for discussions on the introduction, development and commercialization of KIN001 for the treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) in China.

Die foodward Stiftung hat ihr Förderprogramm Pioneer erst vor vier Monaten lanciert. Heute sind bereits 20 Food-Startups Teil des Programmes. Pioneer bietet Jungunternehmen in unterschiedlichen Phasen die jeweils benötigte Unterstützung und vernetzt mit Expertinnen und Experten und Industrie-Partner – darunter sind etwa fenaco oder Emmi.

Founded by Food for Health, Olixir is an extra-virgin olive oil brand promising superior quality and freshness. Since its launch and placement on Manor’s retail shelves, the company has had a remarkable growth trajectory, bringing it to a break-even point. The fresh capital from business angels will boost its growth and help expand the team.

ETH Zurich spin-off dimpora is one of the three winners of the Sports for Nature Challenge taking home CHF10k. The Nvidia Inception program, which helps accelerate startup growth through access to resources and investors, has welcomed EPFL spin-off Clearsky. Bern-based startup Enhance-d impressed with its digital diabetes management and secured support from Headbits.

DigitAll, a subsidiary of W Group, has signed an exclusive agreement with Swiss Retail-tech startup Advertima. As part of their partnership, DigitAll has begun deploying Advertima’s proprietary Smart Targeting technology on DOOH media networks in 53 metro stations, malls and retail stores across Dubai.

After a first intensive phase, 17 start-ups enrolled in the Innosuisse Scale-up Coaching programme, were able to demonstrate their past growth performance and present an ambitious but achievable future growth strategy. They received the Innosuisse Scale-up Award and can now access the second phase of the programme to further accelerate their growth with support of specialised Innosuisse coaches.

Engimmune and Insiders have appointed a new Chief Executive Officer to drive the companies through their growth journey. Insurtech startup grape and Biotech startup Cellvie have also welcomed their Chief Operating Officers. The new Chief Scientific officer has also assumed his role at cellvie.

The dozing of their first patient marks the start of phase II clinical trials for BioVersys ‘ BV100. With the granted approval and completion of the first studies, Aurealius, Alentis and Anokion are preparing to enter the new phase.

Ecorobotix completed a USD 52 million funding round. Co-lead investor is AQTON PE, a holding company wholly owned by the German entrepreneur Stefan Quandt, the largest single shareholder of BMW. The funding will accelerate Ecorobotix’s geographic expansion across new and existing markets and accelerate new product development.

Seit heute Morgen sind Aktien der ersten vier Crowdinvesting-Kampagnen bei OOMNIUM erhältlich. Das Zwischenresultat nach wenigen Stunden lässt sich sehen: Investments in Aktien im Wert von über einer Million Franken wurden bereits getätigt. Rund 900 Personen sind drauf und dran, künftig Miteigentümerinnen und Miteigentümer eines der vier Startups zu werden.

Zurich-based OPTIML AG is building a software platform to enable sustainable real estate investment planning. The startup has received pre-seed capital of $1.6m (CHF 1.5m) from Silicon Valley and German investors. The funds will flow into building a team to launch the first web-based SaaS next year.

Out of those alumni from Swiss universities who decide to work for a start-up, 42% leave the country. If more graduates were to stay in Switzerland, this could both lead to more start-ups and alleviate the skills shortage.

For the third consecutive and final year, Genknowme has won the support of the Biôpole Start-up Fund. Since 2021, the Swiss startup co-founded by Semira and Sébastien Nusslé has been gaining market traction and attracting prestigious clients such as La Prairie Clinique in Clarens. Committed to sustain constant innovation, the startup is expanding in the Swiss German part of Switzerland, and internationally, in Spain and the UK.

Gnubiotics develops microbiome-centric products that target unmet needs in multiple conditions and diseases for animals and humans. The company has appointed two highly respected individuals as senior advisors to its management team with a view towards in-human clinical trials.

Optimo Medical was one of Switzerland's most promising companies in the digital health sector. Now the start-up is in liquidation.

Alltech has acquired a majority interest in Agolin. Founded in 2006 in Switzerland, Agolin has developed and produced plant-based nutrition solutions that improve herd performance, profitability and sustainability.

Based in Zurich, TerraRad is developing remote soil moisture measurement systems for various applications. The startup’s product TurfRad for golf courses and turf management has attracted ASB taskTracker as its the first customer. The partnership with the US-based company saw TerraRad make its first large commercial shipment. Onboarding for its next release of turfRad will continue this spring.

Until now, more than 75% of the cocoa fruit, including the cocoa pulp, was discarded. Together with experts from Swiss and Ghanaian universities, Koa developed a process to upcycle the entire fruit to create food products, increase farmers’ income, and reduce food waste by 40%. The working capital facility from responsAbility allows Koa to grow its current production capacities and work with more farmers.

Klepsydra, the provider of onboard software for edge computers, has secured CHF 1.05M in a funding round led by Spicehaus Partners. The new investment will allow Klepsydra to accelerate its growth and expand its product offerings to meet the increasing global demand for innovative solutions on the edge.

InvestGlass is in the midst of a renaissance. Struggling for survival until 2020 after several setbacks, the Swiss fintech led by Alexandre Gaillard regained ground with ambitious customer projects and reinvented itself, without raising funds. Six months after the 2022 launch of its automated banking platform, the company has onboarded more than 100 customers from 3 continents and has big ambitions.

Das Schlieremer Biotech-Startup DINAQOR verkauft die 2022 verselbstständigte DiNAMOQS an Siegfried, ein weltweit aktives Unternehmen für Auftragsentwicklung und -herstellung (CDMO) für die Pharmaindustrie mit Hauptsitz in Zofingen. Siegfried will DiNAMIQS als Best-in-Class Biotech-CDMO für medizinische Zell- und Gentherapien etablieren.

A new study by leading European business schools and universities based on responses of close to 900 European venture capital investors sheds light on their way of selecting startups, working with founder teams and determining the valuation of a startup. In addition the report provides results on exits, multiples and failures.

Boris Manhart und Marc Pittner haben ein Beratungsunternehmen lanciert, welches auf Gründerinnen und Gründer in der Frühphase fokussiert. Zehn Startups befinden sich bereits im Portfolio. Alain Veuve will mit einem Venture Builder für SaaS-Startups 50 Firmen in den nächsten 5 Jahren aufbauen.

Das EPFL-Spinoff Domo Health nimmt von bestehenden Investoren und den St. Gallisch-Appenzellischen Kraftwerken SAK insgesamt 8.5 Millionen Franken auf. Zudem schliesst das Waadtländer Startup mit dem digitalen Ostschweizer Energiedienstleister eine strategische Partnerschaft ab.

Sustainable Travel-tech Viatu has raised a $1M seed round led by Ndoto LLC to further develop its platform. The Zug-based startup built a data-driven travel marketplace for organizing multi-day trips in the Sub-Sahara region.

The newly published Eurostars-2 Evaluation Study provides insights into the outputs and results achieved by the Eurostars-2 programme during the funding period from 2014-2020. As one of the European innovation funding programs Switzerland can participate in, the country had 492 participants in total, scoring third place, behind Germany and the Netherlands.

La cérémonie des PERL 2023 s’est déroulée ce mercredi 3 mai à Beaulieu-Lausanne devant quelque 250 invités. Le Trophée Lausanne Région, doté de CHF 50'000.-, est décerné à la société Bearmind SA pour sa création de capteurs intégrés aux casques de sportifs permettant d’anticiper des risques de lésions cérébrales.

Adaire Technology Services provides organisations worldwide access to software development, data science, and back-office services via remote teams based in Windhoek, Namibia. The startup has raised CHF 1M in a seed financing round led by Swiss angel investor Nicolas Thomet to accelerate its growth, expand its services and create impact.

Die Brüder Diego und Florian Kaufmann aus der Besitzerfamilie des Ski-Produzenten Stöckli, wollen kleine Rudergeräte für den Heimgebrauch gross rausbringen. Über bekannte Crowdfunding-Plattformen haben sie bereits über 550'000 Franken für die Produktion der ersten Serie eingesammelt.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Fast Track designation to AntiBKV, Memo Therapeutics’ lead antibody that targets B.K. polyomavirus infection commonly seen in renal transplant patients. AntiBKV has completed a phase I clinical study and, following FDA clearance, has started actively recruiting patients for a pivotal phase II/III clinical trial. The drug is scheduled to be launched in 2025.

Startup studio WeBuild Ventures is launching its first Contest. Swiss entrepreneurs are invited to showcase their innovative ideas. The winner will receive up to CHF 1 million to bring it to life with the support of WeBuild, joining five other startup projects in the process. Applications are open until May 31st.

Novostia has just announced the closing of its Series A financing round with 2.5 million euros that will enable the launch of First-in-Human (FIH) trial. A Series B round will be opened this summer, after re-evaluation of the company to complete the Pilot Study and launch in its wake the Pivotal Study.

In the first three months, five startups offering innovative solutions for the Food, Medtech, Biotech and Fintech sectors were awarded the Innosuisse certificate. Having reached defined key milestones during the program, the startups are now poised for sustainable growth.

Six startups have impressed juries worldwide with their Sustainable, Fintech and Biotech solutions, winning themselves cash prizes and honour. Composite Recycling and Swiss AirTainers received cash prizes of € 25’000 and USD 15’000 respectively.

CompPair expanded its HealTech Standard product family by introducing CS02, its second product line tailored to enable faster production manufacturing for the sports, leisure, and industrial sectors. More than 20 customers are already implementing its products, with clear roadmaps for series productions in the coming years. The EPFL startup showcased last week at JEC World 2023 some of these exciting collaborations.

The jury of the Swiss FinTech Awards has nominated five startups each for the category “Early Stage Startup of the Year” and “Growth Stage Startup of the Year”. The finalists will present their solutions to the audience and jury on 13 June 2023. The best startup for each category will be awarded.