For Investors
Channels to watch
Long before Swiss deep tech startups and their achievements appear in international databases, they can be found on Swiss websites. On our list, we show you a rigorous selection of the most important websites of universities, accelerators, awards and technology parks that are worth keeping an eye on in order to discover promising startups and scale-ups first. All Swiss start-ups can be discovered on startup.ch. The Swiss directory lists 3500 companies, which can be filtered according to a wide range of criteria.
Universities and research institutes
ETH Zurich is a globally renowned science and technology university. Its entrepreneurship and innovation portal highlights over 500 startups and spin-offs from ETH, showcasing the institution’s significant contributions to research commercialization.
EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) is a leading Swiss institution in research and innovation. Its startup database features over 500 spin-offs and startups, emphasizing EPFL’s role in supporting entrepreneurship across various deep tech domains.
These universities collaborate under Unitectra to facilitate technology transfer. Their database lists over 200 spin-offs emerging from these institutions.
The University of Geneva, through Unitec, promotes research commercialization. Its database includes over 50 spin-offs, emphasizing its focus on fostering local innovation.
The University of Lugano (USI) features a database of over 50 startups, reflecting its commitment to encouraging entrepreneurship and supporting local and regional innovation.
The University of Fribourg has a focused database listing over 10 spin-offs, highlighting its role in nurturing innovation through applied research and technology transfer.
EMPA (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology) actively fosters entrepreneurship in applied sciences, featuring over 30 startups in its online directory.
Wyss Zurich is a collaborative institute between ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich. Its database showcases over 20 projects and startups, focusing on cutting-edge technologies in regenerative medicine and robotics.
The Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) emphasizes deep tech and advanced sciences, featuring over 10 spin-offs in its database, demonstrating its commitment to innovation.
Accelerators and non-dilutive funding
Venture Kick is a philanthropic initiative supporting university spin-offs. Its portfolio lists over 700 startups, emphasizing its role in early-stage deep tech support, with 80+ startups supported annually.
Venturelab has been supporting Swiss startups for over two decades, helping them scale internationally and secure funding. It’s database lists over 1000 startups that have gone through Venturlab’s programs.
Innobooster, part of the Gebert Rüf Stiftung, supports startups emerging from Venture Kick. Its portfolio includes over 90 deep tech projects, aiming to accelerate innovation.
Since 2023 Innosuisse, the Swiss innovation agency, has been funding science-based innovation projects with high innovation potential of start-ups prior to entering the market. More than 75 companies were supported in the first two years.
ESA BIC Switzerland is the European Space Agency’s Swiss incubator, focusing on hardware, micro & nanotechnologies, and climate tech. Its database features over 50 startups.
The Technology Fund offers loan guarantees to startups in climate tech. Its database includes over 150 companies, reflecting its critical role in supporting sustainability-focused ventures.
FIT Foundation supports over 500 startups in French-speaking Switzerland with grants and loans, helping regional innovation thrive.
Baselaunch specializes in pharma and biotech startups. Its portfolio includes over 20 companies at the seed stage, fostering healthcare innovation.
DayOne is a healthcare innovation accelerator. Its database lists over 10 startups in digital health and medtech.
Kickstart fosters partnerships between startups and corporations. Its alumni database includes over 300 startups from various industries engaged in collaborative projects.
This program, a collaboration between IMD and Innovaud, supports scale-ups, with a database of over 40 companies focusing on growth-phase initiatives.
Awards
The Top 100 Swiss Startup Award highlights the best early-stage startups in Switzerland. The database includes over 500 startups reviewed by a jury of 100 investors.
Focuses on scale-ups, recognizing the top 25 growth-stage startups in Switzerland as selected by leading investors.
>>Venture>> is a seed-stage competition recognizing the best deep tech startups. The database lists over 150 startups supported through this platform.
Venture Leaders identifies startups with international ambitions, featuring over 450 companies in its database.
This award highlights cutting-edge innovations and early-stage startups, with a database of over 30 companies.
Switzerland’s oldest startup competition for early-stage ventures, featuring over 150 startups in its alumni database.
Recognizes startups on the verge of market entry. The database highlights over 20 early-stage companies.
IMD’s startup program supports over 30 startups at the seed stage, focusing on business development and scaling.
Recognizes growth-stage companies, with a database of over 150 startups showcasing significant growth potential.
This regional program highlights startups meeting defined growth criteria, with over 40 companies in its database.
Science and technology parks
A network of technology parks featuring over 400 companies, fostering collaboration and innovation across Switzerland.
Focuses on healthcare and life sciences, with a database of over 100 startups driving cutting-edge innovation in these fields.
Supports over 30 startups in precision manufacturing and related technologies, fostering innovation in the region.
Features over 40 startups, with a focus on building technologies, mobility, and energy innovation.
Showcases over 100 startups, supporting a variety of sectors and fostering regional innovation.
Specializes in science and engineering startups, with a database of over 30 companies.
A thriving ecosystem of over 200 startups, supporting innovation in engineering, life sciences, and other fields.
Focused on life sciences, Biopole hosts over 100 startups working on cutting-edge healthcare and biotech solutions.
Geneva’s technology incubator, Fongit, supports over 100 startups across multiple sectors.
EMPA’s incubator supports over 40 startups, focusing on hardware and climate tech solutions.
Grow Cluster supports over 50 startups in life sciences and foodtech, driving innovation in these industries.
A hub for life sciences, featuring over 20 startups driving innovation in healthcare and biotechnology.
Most Active VCs
Below is a curated list of the most active Swiss VCs, meaning that they have made the highest number of investments in Swiss startups from 2021 to 2024 (data provided by startupticker.ch)