Today marks a defining moment for the Swiss innovation ecosystem. Deep Tech Nation Switzerland officially launching Project Switzerland, a national initiative with a singular, critical mandate: to bridge the “growth gap” and scale the country’s next generation of global market leaders. For years, Switzerland has been celebrated as a world champion in innovation, topping global indices and producing world-class research. Yet, we have often stopped short of turning that invention into industrial dominance. Today, we change the narrative. We are moving from a nation of inventors to a nation of scalers.
Project Switzerland is a mobilization of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs. It is a direct response to one of the most pressing challenges our ecosystem faces: the lack of accessible, specialized expertise for companies transitioning from the startup phase to the scale-up phase. Initiated by the Deep Tech Nation Switzerland Foundation and supported by a powerful coalition of partners, this project is designed to secure our technological sovereignty and ensure our long-term economic prosperity.
Why the Growth Gap Matters
The numbers tell one story: Switzerland leads in patents per capita, our universities rank among the world’s best, and our startup ecosystem is vibrant. But the reality on the ground tells another. True scaling expertise remains rare and hard to access. The kind of knowledge you need to navigate international expansion, build high-performance teams across continents, and survive the roller coaster moments between near-bankruptcy and breakthrough partnerships.
Scaling a company is one of the toughest challenges an entrepreneur will face. The mistakes made at this stage are painful, expensive, and often irreversible. What makes it harder is how lonely the journey becomes. Founders find themselves at inflection points where the advice that worked for building the product no longer applies to building the company. They need peers who understand the specific challenges of taking a Swiss company global, who’ve navigated the same regulatory mazes, hiring battles, and market entry strategies.
This isn’t just about individual companies. When our best companies fail to scale, we lose jobs, expertise, and the compounding benefits that come from having anchor companies that reinvest in the ecosystem. We risk becoming a talent factory for other countries’ economies. The stakes are our long-term prosperity and our ability to maintain technological independence in critical sectors.
What Project Switzerland Actually Is
Project Switzerland is not another accelerator program. We already have excellent programs for early-stage companies. This initiative addresses a different gap: the lack of high-level, peer-to-peer experience sharing for companies that have already proven their model and are ready to scale internationally.
The structure is straightforward. We’ve assembled 20 of Switzerland’s most accomplished role models, founders who’ve built unicorns and serial entrepreneurs who’ve successfully scaled companies globally. Each year, up to 10 high-potential scale-ups will be selected to join a 12-month program built around direct access to these role models. Participants benefit of the two hours per month that each Role Model provides, five peer sessions tailored to their specific challenges, and two closed community gatherings where real conversations happen in a trusted setting.
The selection criteria are designed to identify companies at the right inflection point. We’re looking for scale-ups headquartered in Switzerland that meet three out of four criteria: annual recurring revenue between CHF 2-10 million, market potential exceeding CHF 200 million, teams of at least 15 employees, and funding of at least CHF 2 million raised. But beyond the numbers, we’re looking for founders with global ambitions and the willingness to learn from those who’ve traveled this path before.
What makes this work is the commitment to experience sharing at eye level. These are conversations between founders who are scaling and entrepreneurs who have already done it. No theory, no generic coaching frameworks. Just practical insights about what actually works when you’re trying to build a global company from Switzerland.
The Role Models: A Task Force for National Success
The 20 role models behind Project Switzerland represent some of Switzerland’s greatest tech successes. Samuel Müller from Scandit, Bettina Hein who’s built multiple companies including juli and Pixability, Tobias Rein from GetYourGuide, Olivier Gaudin from SonarSource, and Vincent Bieri from Nexthink. These are founders who’ve been through the fire and come out the other side with companies that compete globally.
We are honored to have the following 20 Role Models on board:
Samuel Müller, CEO and Co-Founder of Scandit, who has redefined data capture for enterprises globally.
Bettina Hein, a serial software entrepreneur (juli, Pixability, SVOX) with deep expertise in the US market.
Tobias Rein, Co-Founder of GetYourGuide, one of Switzerland’s most iconic consumer tech unicorns.
Olivier Gaudin, Founder of SonarSource, a standard-bearer for code quality used by developers worldwide.
Vincent Bieri, Co-Founder of Nexthink, who helped build a unicorn that transformed the digital employee experience.
Adrien Treccani, Founder of Metaco, who successfully navigated the complex intersection of crypto-finance and institutional banking.
Samuel Widmann, a former Director at Google with massive scaling experience.
Jean-Marc Wismer, former COO of MindMaze, bringing deep operational insight.
Dario Fazlic, Co-Founder of wefox and nextesy, a heavyweight in insurtech scaling.
Michael Friedrich, former CEO of DistalMotion, understanding the complexity of deep tech hardware.
Tjarko Leifer, a CEO with multiple Silicon Valley exits under his belt.
Thomas Gabathuler, serial entrepreneur and CEO at GetMore Brain.
Dorian Selz, CEO of Squirro and a serial entrepreneur with a sharp eye for B2B growth.
Laurent Balmelli, a serial entrepreneur and GM at Citrix.
Manoj Harasgama, Co-CEO at Crosstown and a serial entrepreneur.
Kevin Sartori, Co-Founder of Auterion, who is actively defining the open-source drone standard globally.
Lukas Gysin, Co-Founder of UniqFEED, scaling specialized tech in the sports industry.
David Haber, CEO and Co-Founder of Lakera, protecting the future of AI.
Nicole Herzog, a seasoned entrepreneur, angel investor, and board member.
Deborah Heintze, Co-Founder of Lunaphore, representing the excellence of Swiss biotech and medtech innovation.
“Switzerland is strong in technical innovation, but we lack a deep bench of operators who know how to scale. Project Switzerland is the place where you learn to scale.”
Bettina Hein, Serial Tech Entrepreneur and Project Switzerland Role Model
What’s remarkable is their commitment to giving back. These are busy people running demanding companies or investing in the next generation. Their participation is driven by a shared belief that Switzerland needs a culture of scale, not just invention. They understand that their success was built on an ecosystem that supported them, and now they’re paying it forward.
The Ecosystem Coalition
One of the great strengths of Project Switzerland is that it has broken down the traditional silos of our ecosystem. While initiated by the Deep Tech Nation Switzerland Foundation, this is a collective effort, proving that when the goal is the prosperity of our nation, we can move as one.
We are supported by a powerful group of Ambassadors who champion this mission, including Simon Michel (CEO Ypsomed, National Councilor), Frank Floessel (Head of ETH Entrepreneurship), Dietmar Grichnik (Vice-President Innovation HSG), Andy Yen (Founder/CEO Proton), Jordi Montserrat (Venture Kick), Andrew Reid (Microsoft), Andreas Göldi (b2venture), Thomas Dübendorfer (President SICTIC), Toni Schneider (True Ventures), and Enzo Wälchli (Swiss Startup Association).
Furthermore, our partners, HSG START Accelerator, Swiss Startup Association, SICTIC, startup days, Fongit, and Follow the Gradient, ensure we reach every corner of the innovation landscape. This coalition is a testament to the fact that the entire ecosystem is ready to back our scale-ups.
The geographic spread matters too. From St. Gallen to Geneva, from academic institutions to industry associations, this coalition ensures that Project Switzerland can identify and support promising scale-ups regardless of where they’re based in Switzerland.
What This Means for Switzerland’s Future
The impact of Project Switzerland extends beyond the companies that participate. When 10 scale-ups each year get access to proven scaling expertise, they avoid the costly mistakes that typically derail growth. They build faster, smarter, more sustainably. Some of them will become the next generation of unicorns and anchor companies that define Switzerland’s tech landscape.
But the network effects matter just as much. Participants gain lifelong access to an alumni community of exceptional entrepreneurs. The peer sessions create bonds between founders facing similar challenges. The role models develop a deeper understanding of what the next generation needs. Over time, this creates a culture of scale and ambition that compounds across the ecosystem.
This is about securing Switzerland’s technological sovereignty. In a world where technology increasingly determines economic and strategic independence, we need to build companies that compete at the highest level globally. We need to turn our world-class research into market leaders that create jobs, generate tax revenue, and anchor innovation ecosystems for decades to come.
The Window Is Open
Nominations for the first cohort close on February 15, 2026. If you’re an investor, board member, or ecosystem actor who knows a high-potential scale-up ready for this challenge, now is the time to act. The nomination process is straightforward: visit project-switzerland.ch, provide your information and the scale-up’s details, and explain why they should be selected.
We’re looking for founders with global ambitions, companies with the foundations for rapid international expansion, and teams ready to learn from those who’ve successfully scaled before. The companies selected will join a mission that’s bigger than any single startup. They’ll be part of building Switzerland’s next generation of global market leaders.
“We’re looking for founders with global ambition and a commitment to learning from those who’ve done it before“
Michael Sauter, Head of Scale-Up Booster
To be eligible for nomination, a company must be headquartered in Switzerland and meet at least three of the following four criteria:
Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR): Between CHF 2 million and CHF 10 million.
Market Potential: Greater than CHF 200 million.
Team Size: More than 15 employees.
Financing: At least CHF 2 million raised from professional investors.
The role models are ready. The ecosystem is aligned. The structure is built. Now we need the right companies to step forward and turn this vision into reality.
Project Switzerland is a national initiative connecting Switzerland’s most promising Scale-ups with the country’s best Role Models—Unicorn Founders and Serial Entrepreneurs who have successfully built and scaled global companies.
2. How are the Role Models selected?
Role Models are selected based on their proven track record in building and scaling companies, their international experience, and their commitment to giving back.
3. What kind of support do participants receive?
Participants benefit from one-to-one experience sharing with Role Models, peer exchange with other Scale-up founders, and practical insights to avoid costly scaling mistakes.
4. Who can participate in the program?
The program is open to high-potential Scale-Ups from all industries, except pharma and biotech. Scale-ups must meet the criteria (see program page) and founders have the ambition to build large companies. Up to 10 Scale-ups are selected each year.
5. What is the timeline?
The nomination and selection process runs from January to March. Curated matchmaking and peer-to-peer starts in April.
6. Who is selecting the Scale-ups?
Final selection is made by a committee of Role Models and ecosystem representatives.
7. Is there any costs for the Scale-ups?
No. There is no financial cost. Scale-ups contribute through commitment, ambition, and effort to build a big, relevant company for Switzerland.
8. Who is behind Project Switzerland?
Project Switzerland is initiated by Deep Tech Nation Foundation Switzerland, supported by partners, powered by Switzerland’s best Role Models, and built for Switzerland.
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