Swiss Deep Tech
Report 2025
- Switzerland leads in share of VC going to Deep Tech.
- Deep Tech funding in Switzerland has grown 6x in the last decade.
- Switzerland has the highest density of AI talent in Europe.
- Switzerland ranks 1st in Europe by Deep Tech funding per capita, and 3rd globally.
«Switzerland has become a Deep Tech powerhouse on the global stage, so it is only natural that we spend time there identifying the next big opportunities.»
Nicolas Autret
Partner at Walden Catalyst Ventures
Key Takeaways
World-leading Deep Tech capital intensity
Deep tech absorbs 60 percent of all Swiss VC, the highest national share worldwide, and delivers Europe’s number-one per-capita funding. Investment rose 6x in ten years to 1.9 billion USD in 2024 and is pacing for 2.3 billion USD in 2025.
ETH and EPFL are among the top 5 institutes in Europe for Deep Tech spinout value creation.
Swiss Deep Tech is a hotspot for international Deep Tech investors
More than 85% of VC funding in Swiss Deep Tech
comes from international investors looking for Deep Tech opportunities. Swiss investors account for one-third of the capital for early-stage investments, but drop to 4% in late-stage. US investors account for nearly half of the funding for late-stage capital.
This represents a strength for international expansion, but also an area of improvement for Switzerland, which needs more domestic capital to support late-stage growth.
Next-gen Deep Tech mix, with AI/ML on the rise, and Robotics and TechBio growing fast
Switzerland’s startup pipeline has rapidly diversified beyond its BioTech roots. AI/ML already accounts for 23 percent of companies founded since 2021, almost double its previous share. Climate & Energy, Robotics and TechBio have each expanded at speed.
BioTech remains a leading Deep Tech sector in Switzerland, with the largest number of VC-backed startups and greatest historical contribution to enterprise value creation, but it no longer dominates the landscape.
«Having spent many years in the San Francisco Bay Area, I think Zurich is one of the best places to build an AI and TechBio company in Europe today.
The talent pool coming out of top Universities such as ETH and EPFL has attracted companies such as Google, Meta and Microsoft with thousands of people, as well as more recently Nvidia, OpenAI and Anthropic. With both Cradle & Isomorphic labs located in Switzerland, and having two of the top 10 global pharmas (Roche, Novartis) we are set up for success.»
Stef van Grieken
Co-Founder & CEO
Cradle Bio
Switzerland is at the core of the Alpine Tech Cluster
The Alpine Tech Cluster is one of Europe’s two super clusters that can compete globally in the age of Deep Tech.
«Switzerland’s 14-year lead as the world’s most innovative economy in the Global Innovation Index of the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) shows no signs of slowing down.»
Sacha Wunsch-Vincent
Co-Editor Global Innovation Index & Head, Section, Economics & Data Analytics
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)