Swiss Scale-Up Report 2026
SWISS Scale-up
Report 2026
- Switzerland has 265 identified scale-ups worth a combined CHF 26.6 billion.
- Swiss scale-ups have raised more than CHF 13 billion in later-stage capital since 2012.
- Nearly half of Swiss scale-ups (43%) are spin-offs from Swiss universities and research institutions.
- Two in three Swiss scale-ups are deep tech. Half of Swiss scale-ups grow faster than 50% a year.
- Swiss investors provided just 13% of scale-up later-stage capital in 2025, down from 27% in 2019–2022.
- Swiss scale-ups account for roughly 18,000 R&D jobs, close to a third of all private-sector R&D in Switzerland.
- 7 in 10 Swiss scale-ups plan a funding round within the next two years.
Built in Switzerland, scaled worldwide, financed from abroad
For the first time, Switzerland’s scale-ups have been counted company by company. The Swiss Scale-Up Report 2026 identifies 265 Swiss scale-ups with a combined estimated valuation of CHF 26.6 billion, within a national population of 400 to 500, and surveys 75 of them in depth. They come out of laboratories, keep their headquarters and most of their jobs in Switzerland, sell to the world and grow fast. The capital that carries them to scale increasingly comes from abroad, and ownership follows the capital. The findings on the weight of scale-ups in the Swiss economy are encouraging; the warning signs are just as clear.
Swiss scale-ups are a new layer of the economy, born in the lab. Most of the 265 identified companies were founded in the past decade, 64% are deep tech and 43% are spin-offs of a Swiss university or research institution, led by ETH Zurich and EPFL. They do not offshore: 71% of surveyed companies keep most of their workforce in Switzerland, and in more than half, non-Swiss citizens form the majority of the team. The 75 surveyed companies alone account for roughly 2,700 R&D positions, about 4.5% of all private-sector research employment in Switzerland, a share out of all proportion to their number.
Key Findings
1. A new layer of the Swiss economy, born in the lab
Switzerland has 265 identified scale-ups worth an estimated CHF 26.6 billion. Most were founded in the past decade, 64% are deep tech and 43% are spin-offs of a Swiss university or research institution, led by ETH Zurich and EPFL. 71% of surveyed companies keep most of their workforce in Switzerland, and the 75 surveyed companies alone account for roughly 2,700 R&D positions, about 4.5% of all private-sector research employment in the country.
“These companies will not wait to be discovered. They will follow the market, recruit globally, and raise capital wherever they are truly understood. Switzerland’s urgent task is to cultivate that understanding at home.”
Prof. Ed Bugnion
Vice President for Innovation and Impact
EPFL
2. Fast growth, patient profit
Half of surveyed scale-ups grow faster than 50% a year and 23% more than doubled revenue. 60% still operate below break-even, which in a venture-backed cohort reads as reinvestment rather than distress. Deep tech companies sit disproportionately below the profit line: 23% are EBITDA-positive against 63% of the rest.
“It takes investors who can wait, leaders who can drive 50 to 60% growth a year, and an ecosystem that believes a company from here can become the industry standard. Ours did.”
Olivier Gaudin
Co-Founder and Chairman
Sonar
3. Swiss science attracts the world’s capital
The identified scale-ups have raised more than CHF 13 billion across 348 later-stage rounds since 2012. Foreign investors have financed most of that growth: Swiss investors provided 27% of attributed later-stage capital in 2019 to 2022 and 13% in 2025. Foreign capital is an asset that makes large rounds possible and opens markets. The gap is Swiss participation alongside it. Seven in ten surveyed companies plan a financing round within 24 months.
“As the report shows, that capital comes without strings, and it is welcome. But it fills a space Swiss investors should also occupy.”
Alexander Schläpfer
Managing Partner
Swisscom Ventures
4. Global by design
76% of surveyed scale-ups earn most of their revenue outside Switzerland and 79% operate at least one foreign entity. Exits follow the customers: 79% of founders would consider a foreign acquirer and 41% an IPO abroad, against 39% for a Swiss acquirer and 27% for a SIX listing. Where the cap table is Swiss-anchored, 49% consider a Swiss exit; where it is not, 13%. What begins as a financing gap ends up as an ownership question.
“Even though 79% of our founders would consider a foreign buyer, compared with only 39% who would consider a Swiss one, where Swiss teams and Swiss investors have a substantial seat at the table, Swiss exits can work too.”
Sophie Lamparter
Founding Partner
Vitamin°C
5. Founders ask for execution, not subsidy
Asked which reforms would help them most, founders rank easier pension-fund investment in venture first (73%), followed by standardized employee equity (61%), faster work permits for non-EU talent (48%) and abolition of the stamp duty on capital (44%). None of the four is new. All sit in the Startup-Agenda Switzerland adopted in February 2026. What remains is execution.
“It does not take much to improve the framework conditions for growth capital in Switzerland, but the domestic political process takes time. This is where we need to move faster.”
Simon Michel
CEO – Ypsomed
National Councillor
Swiss scale-up data at a glance
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Identified Swiss scale-ups | 265 |
| Estimated total population | 400 to 500 |
| Combined estimated valuation | CHF 26.6 B |
| University spin-offs | 43% |
| Deep tech | 64% |
| Revenue growth above 50% a year | 49% |
| Later-stage capital raised since 2012 | > CHF 13 B, 348 rounds |
| Swiss share of later-stage capital, 2025 | 13% |
| Swiss share of later-stage capital, 2019-2022 | 27% |
| Majority of revenue earned abroad | 76% |
| Would consider a foreign / Swiss acquirer | 79% / 39% |
| Top operational challenge: sales | 60% |
| Top reform: pension-fund access to venture | 73% |
“Switzerland’s future prosperity will depend not only on our ability to innovate, but on our ability to scale.”
Michael Sauter
Head Scale-up Booster
Deep Tech Nation Switzerland
Get the full Report
If the form is not displayed below, click on this link to get the Report.
About the Swiss Scale-Up Report
The Swiss Scale-Up Report 2026 is the first edition of an annual benchmark of Switzerland’s growth-stage startups. It answers a question that every ecosystem conversation ends on and nobody had measured: how many scale-ups does Switzerland have, what do they contribute, and does the country carry them to maturity? The report is published by Deep Tech Nation Switzerland, Swisscom Ventures, SIX Swiss Exchange and startupticker.ch, with contributions from Swisspreneur and the Swiss Startup Association. 84 pages, first edition, September 2026. Print ISSN 3043-2154, digital ISSN 3043-2146. A print run is distributed at the Swiss Growth Stage Summit and through the partners.
Lead Editor: Alexandre Meldem (Deep Tech Nation Switzerland).
Lead Analysis: Stefan Kyora (startupticker.ch).
Co-Authors: Gustave Angéloz and Amara Cespedes (Deep Tech Nation Switzerland), Silvan Krähenbühl (Swisspreneur).
Data Analysis: Céline Eugster (startupticker.ch).
Editorial Board: Tina Willibald (Swisscom Ventures), Fabian Gerber (SIX Swiss Exchange), Elena Muff (Swiss Startup Association), Andreas Punter and Michael Sauter (Deep Tech Nation Switzerland).
Acknowledgements
Scale-Ups
This report would not have been helpful without the 75 scale-ups that participated in our survey. We are deeply grateful for their time and trust. Among the 75 companies, many agreed to be recognized for their contribution.
Expert Contributors
The report is built primarily on quantitative data. Thanks to foremost experts in their respective fields, we were able to add a qualitative layer to guide interpretation of the findings.
- Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation
- Simon Michel, CEO Ypsomed and National Councillor
- Prof. Edouard Bugnion, Vice President for Innovation and Impact, EPFL
- Laurent Frésard, Professor of Finance, USI
- Lukas Reinhardt, Head UBS Growth Advisory, UBS
- Alexander Schläpfer, Managing Partner, Swisscom Ventures
- Sophie Lamparter, Founding Partner, Vitamin°C
- Olivier Gaudin, Co-Founder and Chairman, Sonar
- Andy Yen, Founder and CEO, Proton
- Armon Bättig, Co-Founder and CEO, Ledgy
- Karim Maizar, Partner, Kellerhals Carrard
- Francesca Pitsch, Head of the Swiss Pension Fund Study, Swisscanto
Case Studies & Interviews
To illustrate findings and provide perspectives from the field, we interviewed and studied some of Switzerland’s most prominent scale-ups.
FAQ on the Swiss Scale-Up Report
How many scale-ups does Switzerland have?
The report identifies 265 Swiss scale-ups by name and estimates the total population at 400 to 500. The gap consists mainly of companies that qualify through revenue or headcount but have not raised or disclosed venture capital.
What is the combined valuation of Swiss scale-ups?
An estimated CHF 26.6 billion for the 265 identified companies: CHF 11.5 billion recorded for 91 companies and CHF 15.1 billion estimated from funding for a further 159.
How much of Swiss scale-up funding comes from abroad?
Swiss investors provided 13% of attributed later-stage capital in 2025, down from 27% in 2019 to 2022. The Swiss share is an upper bound because rounds are split equally among named co-investors.
Are Swiss scale-ups relocating abroad?
About a third of surveyed companies have seriously considered relocating, most often for market access or capital, not tax. Two-thirds have never seriously considered it. The survey cannot count companies that have already left.
Which reforms do Swiss scale-ups want?
Easier pension-fund investment in venture (73%), standardized employee equity (61%), faster work permits for non-EU talent (48%) and abolition of the stamp duty on capital (44%). All four are part of the Startup-Agenda Switzerland.
What counts as a scale-up in Switzerland?
In this report, a Swiss-headquartered company meeting at least one of three criteria: CHF 20 million in cumulative equity raised over ten years, 30 or more employees worldwide, or CHF 5 million in annual revenue growing at least 20% a year.
Where are Swiss scale-ups located?
Zurich hosts 89 of the 265 identified scale-ups, followed by Vaud (57), Zug (34), Basel-Stadt (26) and Geneva (18). These five cantons account for 85% of the population.
Which sectors do Swiss scale-ups operate in?
Life Sciences leads with 41% of identified scale-ups, ahead of Fintech & Consumer (17%), Industrial, Hardware & Robotics (17%), AI & Software (15%) and Climate, Energy & Food (10%). 64% qualify as deep tech.
Are Swiss scale-ups profitable?
40% of surveyed companies with disclosed figures are EBITDA-positive and 60% operate below break-even. Among deep tech scale-ups, 23% are profitable against 63% of the rest, reflecting longer development cycles rather than weaker businesses.
How long does it take to build a Swiss scale-up?
The median time from founding to a first later-stage round is 5.6 years. Among scale-ups founded before 2016, 18% have exited, after a median of 9.5 years from founding to exit.
What is the biggest challenge for Swiss scale-ups?
Sales. 60% of surveyed companies name it as a top operational challenge, ahead of access to growth capital (37%) and competitors with deeper funding (28%). Technology risk barely registers.
What topics does the Swiss Scale-Up Report 2026 cover?
Thirteen chapters: the Swiss scale-up landscape (population, cantons, sectors, valuation), the innovation engine behind it (spin-offs, R&D, PhDs, patents), growth and performance (revenue, growth rates, profitability), funding (CHF 13 billion in later-stage capital and its origin), international business, the relocation question, exits, operational challenges, policy reforms ranked by founders, Swiss scale-ups in a European context, the Swiss scale-up ecosystem, advice from founders, and an outlook. Case studies of Scandit, Flyability, Nexthink and GetYourGuide and interviews with the CEOs of Ecorobotix, SWISSto12 and ANYbotics run through the chapters.
How does the report define a scale-up?
A Swiss-headquartered company meeting at least one of three criteria: CHF 20 million in cumulative equity raised over the past ten years, 30 or more employees worldwide, or CHF 5 million in annual revenue with year-over-year growth of at least 20%. The definition is deliberately broad so that companies that scaled on revenue alone are counted alongside venture-backed ones.
Who wrote the Swiss Scale-Up Report 2026?
Deep Tech Nation Switzerland and startupticker.ch produced the report, with Swisscom Ventures and SIX Swiss Exchange as publishing partners and contributions from Swisspreneur and the Swiss Startup Association. Lead Editor: Alexandre Meldem (Deep Tech Nation Switzerland). Lead Analysis: Stefan Kyora (startupticker.ch). Co-authors: Gustave Angéloz and Amara Cespedes (Deep Tech Nation Switzerland) and Silvan Krähenbühl (Swisspreneur). Twelve external experts contributed signed pieces, including European Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva, National Councillor Simon Michel and EPFL Vice President Edouard Bugnion.
Can I reuse the charts and data?
Yes, with attribution to “Swiss Scale-Up Report 2026”.