All Eyes on Switzerland

The number of exits in Switzerland is rising again. Swiss technology companies are no longer being acquired solely for their technology and team, but increasingly also for their market positioning and growth potential. And these buyers come from Europe, as well as Asia and North America. 

Agridence is a Singapore-based agritech platform founded in 2018 that enables traceability, ESG compliance and sustainability reporting. Advent International is a leading global private equity investor with more than USD 90 billion in assets under management. Zeiss Microscopy, a leading provider of microscope solutions in the life sciences, materials research and industry markets, is a traditional German company with a 180-year history. The companies have one thing in common: they have made headlines in recent weeks due to their acquisition of a Swiss technology company. 

A lack of exits is causing concern across all start-up ecosystems; however, the situation is slowly improving in Switzerland. In the first eight months of 2025, the number of exits was more than 10% higher than in the first eight months of 2024. 

Even in these uncertain times, many companies are apparently looking to Switzerland in their search for take-over candidates with groundbreaking innovations. And these potential buyers come from all corners of the globe and a wide range of sectors. 

And it is not only the buyers that are diverse, but also the targeted Swiss companies. Zeiss Microscopy has acquired Pi Imaging Technology, a Lausanne-based start-up that developed the first camera based on single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) technology. This purchase will allow Zeiss to integrate SPAD technology into its microscopy solutions.

Acquisitions such as this have long been typical for Switzerland, with buyers interested primarily in the technology and the team. However, this is changing, as other sales in recent weeks demonstrate. 

Agridence has acquired farmer connect, a Geneva-based tech company that streamlines EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) compliance for companies across the agricultural supply chain. The two companies’ platforms complement each other, and the combination will enable the creation of a global service attractive to both farmer connect’s European customers and Agridence’s Asian customers. 

Advent has made a USD 1.3 billion purchase offer for u-blox, a recognised leader in high-performance positioning and short-range communication technology solutions founded in 1997 as a spin-off from ETH Zurich and which has been listed on the Swiss stock exchange since 2007. The goal of the acquisition is to better leverage u-blox’s growth potential.

The view of Switzerland as purely a technology hub is outdated. These exits show that it is no longer just young start-ups that are the target, but also those companies that already have significant international market traction.

Yokoy and Beekeeper provided two further examples of such exits in the first half of 2025: in January Yokoy was acquired by Spanish travel management company TravelPerk, and in July Beekeeper merged with the French LumApps Group. Yokoy was named as the start-up with the highest revenue growth in Central Europe by Sifted in 2024. Beekeeper, which serves 1,100 customers, has revenue in the high double-digit millions.