Swiss electric airframe manufacturer Jekta has just landed its first deal with Gayo Aviation for ten PHA-ZE 100 amphibious aircraft. Operating from Swiss Aeropole in Payerne, the startup led by George Alafinof has ambitious plans.

During "START Summit" founders' congress on Friday, 24 March 2023, Melanie Gabriel was named HSG Founder of the Year 2023 on behalf of the expense management scale-up Yokoy. The prize from the Werner Jackstädt Foundation is endowed with 10,000 Swiss francs.

Cofondée par Frank Rouiller et Florian Voumard en 2019, BoxUp est active aujourd’hui dans une dizaine de cantons et compte actuellement un réseau de 63 stations pour environ 400 casiers en place. Dans les semaines à venir, son réseau en plein essor s'étendra à plus de 100 stations en Suisse et se développera à l'étranger.

Schlieren-based MedTech company hemotune AG, known for its magnetic blood purification platform, announces a joint feasibility project with the global pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. For hemotune CEO Lukas Langenegger the project confirms the achievements of hemotune as well as the need the start-up addresses with its platform.

Stableton investiert in privat gehaltene Unternehmen der Spätphase und stellt diese Investitionsmöglichkeiten über Anlageprodukte auf institutionellem Niveau zur Verfügung. Everon hat die Vermögensverwaltung digitalisiert. Die Partnerschaft mit Stableton ermöglicht es Kunden von Everon nun, bisher schwer zugängliche Wachstumskapital-Beteiligungen in ihre Portfolios zu integrieren. Das Interesse bei den Everon-Kunden ist gross.

Medartis Holding AG increase its stake in Keri Medical SA to 47% through the purchase of an additional 18% stake for approximately CHF 18 million. Medartis is specialising in head and extremity surgery, whereas Keri Medical, a Genava-based company founded in 2016, is focussed on implants for hand and wrist surgery. 

Lunaphore, a Swiss life sciences company developing technology to enable spatial biology in every laboratory, secured CHF40 million in the first close of Series D funding led by EGS Beteiligungen AG. The company plans to use the funding to strengthen its growing portfolio offering in spatial biology as well as support commercial execution to address ever-growing demand from customers.

Vaud-based scale-up Astrocast, a leading global Satellite IoT network operator, will participate in the European Union-funded XGain initiative, aiming to reduce the digital divide between urban and rural areas.  The startup’s Satellite IoT technology and network will enable remote oyster farms in Croatia to monitor water quality.

Startupinvestoren und Branchen-Experten verstärken die Verwaltungsräte: Bei Voltiris und Farmy werden die Verwaltungsratspräsidien neu besetzt. Das Babyfood-Startup yamo nominiert einen ehemaligen Unilever Top-Manager für ein VR-Mandat.

SynSense, the world-leading commercial supplier of ultra-low-power sensory processing hardware and application solutions, has announced the completion of a pre-B+ funding round, raising USD$10M. Its smart vision sensor combines the latest event-based image sensing technology with a 320,000-neuron processor to deliver real-time vision processing at milliwatt power consumption.

Das Bundesamt für Gesundheit hat diese Woche grünes Licht für eine Cannabis-Studie der Stadt Zürich gegeben. In Basel läuft bereits seit Ende Januar eine ähnliche Studie. Das Cannabis liefern zwei Jungunternehmen.

The types of awards that Swiss startups brought home from competitions worldwide span from one winning pitch competitions to being selected to join accelerator programs. Smino and NowCare stood out for their pitching skills, while Qaptis and KimboCare entered accelerator programs to advance their solutions.

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has granted Relio the fintech licence, which enables it to operate independently of its partner banks. As a next step, the startup plans to launch a digital business account for SMEs.

Mit der GovTech Innovationsbörse sucht die Bundesverwaltung innovative Lösungen zu aktuellen Herausforderungen der digitalen Transformation. Verschiedene Ämter der Bundesverwaltung haben Aufgaben formuliert. Gesucht sind nun Startups mit Lösungsideen zu diesen Herausforderungen.

Swiss commodity trading company MUFF TRADING AG has issued the first USD blockchain-based bond on Obligate’s decentralized finance platform, built on the Polygon Network. Set to launch on March 27th, the platform makes it easier for businesses to raise capital and issue bonds by leveraging smart contracts to reduce existing transaction costs.

Following its launch in the UK, PriceHubble has acquired Dataloft, a UK residential property market intelligence company, making it the fifth acquisition to date to support its global growth strategy.

Im Baselbiet schafft iCity derzeit gleich zwei Standorte mit insgesamt 25'000 Quadratmetern für Labors, Büros, Coworking-Spaces und Seminarräume. Und in Winterthur nutzt der Technopark den Auszug eines Mieters, um zusätzliche 700 Quadratmeter Bürofläche für Startups bereitzustellen.

Die Gründer des Direct to Consumer-Startups TBô haben eine 400'000-köpfige Community aufgebaut und für dessen Management eigens eine Software entwickelt. Für die Weiterentwicklung und Vermarktung der Lösung wurde vor einem Jahr das Spin-off Decommerce lanciert. Es kann bereits internationale Kunden und erfahrene Investoren vorweisen.

Alithea Genomics, an EPFL spin-off, is active in high-throughput RNA sequencing used to examine gene expression and discover new biomarkers and drugs. The Foundation for Technological Innovation (FIT) has chosen to support Alithea with a Tech Growth loan of CHF 500,000 to bring two new products to the market.

Founded 2016, Wingtra has established itself as the world’s largest producer of commercial vertical take-off and landing drones. The spin-off from ETH Zurich is accelerating growth with the new funding round, the expansion of the management team and product innovation.

Founded by three serial entrepreneurs and former founders of Movu (acquired by Baloise), Holycode develops innovative projects for international startups and scale-ups. With the acquisition of EtonDigital, the company has strengthened its position, acquired new resources and expanded its team to support its next growth phase.

ASPIVIX SA, a medical technology company focused on improving gynaecological and fertility care, completed its ADVANCE Women study for Carevix, a non-traumatic, gentle approach to reduce pain and bleeding in multiple transcervical procedures, including IUD insertions. With 100 women involved in the study, Aspivix received positive results, which also got published in the health journal Contraception.

Covalo accelerates beauty product development through its comprehensive search platform that connects beauty brands with suppliers. Its supports formulators from more than 5,000 brands, such as Lush, L’Oréal or Drunk Elephant, across 140 countries. The investment round with High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) as a lead investor will drive its expansion to food.

Maerki Baumann & Co. ist eine Kooperation mit Redalpine eingegangen. Kunden der Privatbank können in den Redalpine Summit Fund investieren. Darüber hinaus haben die beiden Unternehmen ein «Tech Advisory Board» etabliert, das Firmenkunden ermöglicht sich zu den Themen Wagniskapital, Technologieinnovationen und Blockchain auszutauschen.

Der Solothurner Cleantech-Startup Librec hat mit dem deutschen Rohstoffkonzern Aurubis, der Galliker Transport AG und einem Schweizer Family-Office eine Finanzierungsrunde abgeschlossen. Der Deal ging bereits im letzten November über die Bühne. Die Rede ist von einem niedrigen zweistelligen Millionenbetrag.

Oculis AG,  has completed the enrollment for its Phase 3 OPTIMIZE trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of once-daily OCS-01, a novel, high concentration, preservative-free, corticosteroid for treating inflammation and pain following cataract surgery. The trial brings OCS-01 an important step further on the regulatory path to approval.

ACE & Company has become one of the most active investors in Switzerland. The venture capital firm plans to launch a new €150 million fund to advance the Swiss Tech ecosystem and diaspora across the globe. Steve Salom, the former General Manager of Uber for France, Switzerland, and Austria, is joining ACE & Company as a Partner to co-run its Venture Capital arm and launch the new fund.

Chevron is joining the ranks of Flyability strategic investors, along Cargill and Dow. The American oil and gas giant works since 2016 with the Swiss Startup. The new investment is an extension of the C Series Round of CHF 15M announced last year.

Altkimya has raised CHF1.2 million over the past few months mostly from private investors. The funds enabled the start-up to increase the capacities of its data factory, develop a first universal connector and create unified Security and Observability solutions for IT professionals.

SICTIC once again saw a slight increase in the number of members and financing rounds in which these members participated. The 518 SICTIC investors were involved in 106 rounds.

SICTIC, the largest Swiss Angel Investors Club, presented its investment report yesterday. We asked SICTIC President Thomas Dübendorfer how the valuations have developed, where new investors are coming from and what makes start-ups VC-ready.

Founded in 2020 as a spinoff of the ETH, lino Biotech is a leading biosensor company and the world’s only provider of Focal Molography – a new method for measuring molecular interactions in living cells or crude biological samples. Following its acquisition by Miltenyi Biotec, the startup will remain at its headquarters in Zurich.

Since March 6th, 11 Swiss startups have been exploring the US market through the Swissnex Startup Bootcamp, held in partnership with Innosuisse. The two-week program will also enable them to learn from local experts and meet with investors and potential partners in Boston and New York.

Support from experienced industry leaders in the local and international markets plays a crucial role in driving a company’s commercial success. Foodetective has attracted a former Coca-Cola HBC executive to join its team, while Piomic Medical and Loft Dynamics have established a US team to support their expansion. For Cosmetics startup Abhati Suisse, entrepreneurship runs in the family: the new co-founder is the CEO’s daughter.

Swiss Biotech VectiveBio, in partnership with Asahi Kasei Pharma Corporation, have started a Phase 1 Study of Apraglutide. The single-dose study aims to assess pharmacokinetics, pharmacological activity, safety and tolerability in healthy Japanese men and women. The study plays a key role in applying for marketing authorization in Japan.

2023 has started strong for three Geneva based startups that have been awarded the Fongit Innovation Fund (FIF). This time one growth loan, one seed loan and one grant have been awarded to Plair, Endotelix, and Dr Beat Walpoth respectively for their incredible innovations.

Invenda Group AG, the provider of automated retail technology, has completed its series B round, raising $19 million led by Point Break Capital Management and an existing investor, Mutschler Ventures AG. The capital will support the development of Invenda’s automated retail cloud-based solutions and accelerate commercial and geographic expansion in the United States.

Ob Lösungen für smarte Gebäude, effizientere Bauprojekt-Kollaboration, Stürzprävention in Pflegeeinrichtungen oder einer Navigationshilfe für Menschen mit einer Sehbehinderung: Überall steckt digitale Technologie von Schweizer Startups drin. Diese Lösungen konnten sich nun kürzlich an internationalen und heimischen Wettbewerben beweisen.

The Foundation for Technological Innovation (FIT) has chosen to support the two start-ups with a 50’000 CHF Digital Seed loan for Aequaland and a 20’000 CHF Digital Grant for Stacksync. Aequaland built a gamified educational platform for kids ages 4-9 and Stacksync offers real-time syncing between data warehouses and CRM systems.

Nexoya has been automating and optimizing advertising budgets across channels for digital marketing since 2018. In 2022, Nexoya tripled its revenue and enjoyed stable growth of 12.5 percent month-on-month. The fresh capital from the Series A round will secure further growth in Switzerland and Germany and enable Nexoya to expand into new markets such as Italy and the UK.

Building on the success of its first two years, Tech4Eva, a unique international accelerator in Switzerland, has announced its new cohort at the 3rd edition kick-off organized in Kaiseraugst near Basel, in partnership with Roche. This year, Tech4Eva has attracted 147 projects from 40 countries, an increase of 18.5% with respect to the 2nd edition and 33.6% compared to the first. Interestingly 80% of the start-ups were once again created by women. Four Swiss startups are part of the new cohort.

Verity AG, creators of the first commercially successful inventory tracking solution powered by fully autonomous indoor drones, today announced completion of a 30M CHF Series B funding round led by A.P. Moller Holding. This funding allows Verity to quickly scale up operations to address the growing backlog of deployments with systems already installed in 30 sites across 13 countries on 3 continents. 

Seven early-stage startups have been selected for the 10th edition of the Tenity Incubation program, held in Switzerland. With two companies hailing from Switzerland, each participant will receive an initial CHF 50k investment from the Tenity Incubation Fund I.

EPFL spin-off Senbiosys developed a smart ring providing users with a comprehensive picture of their health and wellness. Their crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter is very successful. More than 2000 backers have already committed more than CHF500k.

Swiss startups have been at the forefront of the cleantech sector and the NetZero agenda with new technologies designed to accelerate the transition towards a sustainable world – from food to energy production and assets management. Eight startups have received recognition, with two obtaining funding to advance their solutions.

Amiable, Bikkou Genève, MakeMyMask et Miros font partie du programme d’accompagnement de GENILEM. Porteuses d’innovation et futures créatrices d’emplois, ces quatre entreprises remportent jusqu’à trois années de coaching pour accélérer le développement de leur projet.

The next edition of SwissGames Showcase features eight-game studios. The cohort will benefit from direct support and guidance from industry experts to advance their projects and attend international events. Four of the selected studios will attend the Game Developers Conference next week in San Francisco.

The sale of tokenised participation certificates has brought Code41 CHF 1.2 million. With the funds, the Lausanne-based watch start-up wants to open up new markets, develop the physical sales channel, strengthen its innovation power and shorten delivery times.

Following the in-licencing of mavoglurant from Novartis, STALICLA has signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with US National Institute on Drug Abuse. The agreement covers the clinical development program of mavoglurant to treat patients diagnosed with cocaine use disorder, including a Phase 3 study.

Due to the close interconnectedness of the US and Swiss venture markets, the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank is also relevant for the Swiss start-up scene. In the meantime, the US administration has repeatedly declared that all depositors are fully protected. In addition, a bridge bank has been launched. This has prompted relief for the time being. This article will be updated regularly. Update 13 March – 4 pm