Switzerland's startup ecosystem is highly advanced, with Zurich and Geneva being key hubs for innovation. As of 2023, Switzerland is home to around 5,000 startups. The Swiss government supports innovation through initiatives like Innosuisse and the Swiss National Science Foundation, which provide funding, resources, and mentorship for startups. In 2022, Swiss startups raised approximately €2 billion in venture capital. These factors collectively highlight Switzerland's dynamic and evolving startup landscape.
As of 2023, Switzerland's startup ecosystem includes around 5,000 startups. In 2022, these startups attracted approximately €2 billion in venture capital funding. This substantial investment underscores the ecosystem's growth potential and robust nature. The market's size and financial backing reflect its capacity to foster innovation and sustain a competitive edge within Europe and beyond.
Switzerland's startup ecosystem is characterized by several key strengths, including a highly educated workforce, a strong financial sector, and world-class research institutions. The country excels in sectors such as fintech, healthtech, and cleantech. These strengths are bolstered by Switzerland's robust industrial base and government support, positioning it as a leader in the European startup scene.
Zurich and Geneva are the primary hubs of Switzerland’s startup ecosystem. Zurich is known for its strengths in fintech, healthtech, and cleantech, attracting significant investments and producing notable startups like Climeworks and Nexthink. Geneva has a vibrant tech scene with strengths in biotech and international trade. These cities are instrumental in driving Switzerland's economic growth and technological advancements.
In addition to Zurich and Geneva, emerging hubs like Lausanne and Basel are gaining prominence in Switzerland’s startup ecosystem. Lausanne, home to EPFL, is strong in deep tech and medtech, while Basel is a hub for pharmaceuticals and life sciences. These emerging hubs are expanding the reach and diversity of Switzerland’s entrepreneurial landscape, offering new opportunities for innovation and growth.
Switzerland’s startup ecosystem benefits from a strong network of incubators, accelerators, and co-working spaces that provide essential support and resources for entrepreneurs. Initiatives like Venturelab and the Swiss Innovation Park have significantly boosted the ecosystem by offering mentorship, resources, and international exposure. This supportive infrastructure is crucial for nurturing early-stage companies and fostering a collaborative entrepreneurial environment.
Despite its strengths, the Swiss startup ecosystem faces challenges such as high living costs and regulatory complexities. Navigating these hurdles can be time-consuming and complex for startups. Addressing these issues requires strategic efforts and supportive policies to sustain growth and competitiveness in the global market.
Switzerland has significant opportunities for growth in sectors like fintech, healthtech, and cleantech. The country's strong focus on sustainability and green technology drives innovation in renewable energy and environmental technologies. Switzerland's strategic location in Europe and strong trade relationships provide startups with opportunities for international expansion. With continued investment and innovation, Switzerland's startup ecosystem is poised for further growth, contributing significantly to the European and global markets.
Switzerland's startup ecosystem demonstrates remarkable resilience and adaptability. The country's commitment to innovation, coupled with strong government and institutional support, enables startups to navigate challenges and capitalize on opportunities. The diverse talent pool and high level of digitalization attract entrepreneurs and investors alike, ensuring sustained growth and success in the face of global economic shifts and market dynamics.
Portland - Washington - Los Angeles - San Francisco Bay Area - Pittsburgh - Boston - New York - Seattle - Palo Alto, Switzerland
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • Businesses Solutions • Hardware (& Manufacturing) • Entertainment (& Sports) • A.I. (& Big Data) • Web Security (& Privacy) • Analytics • Cloud Services (& Infrastructure) • Developer tools • Payments • DeepTech • Woman Focused
Co-Founder and Managing Director
Co-Founder and Managing Director
Zürich - Kasnacht Switzerland - Vaduz Switzerland, Switzerland
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • IT (& TMT) • FinTech (& Financials services) • Hardware (& Manufacturing) • Insurance (& InsurTech) • Mobile
Owner, ARMADA Investment AG
Daniel Aegerter is the Founder and serves as Partner at Adurion. He established the company after the successful merger of his enterprise software company Tradex Technologies to Ariba for $5.6 billion dollars in March of 2000. Daniel's first business venture was Dynabit, which was founded in 1988 as an importer and distributor for high-end digital publishing peripherals. He had led the company through 12 years of steady growth and consistent profitability, growing its revenue from 0 to 30 million dollars. Tradex was spun off from DYNABIT in 1996, after Dynabit created its own digital market and decided to sell its software to other market makers. Daniel is credited as a visionary behind digital marketplaces, having recognized early on that the most powerful model to structure B2B Commerce over the internet is through digital marketplaces. He started his career at Swiss Bank Corporation as a management trainee and was involved in both commercial and investment banking. He serves on the Advisory Board of several private companies.
Estonia, Europe: Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Romania, Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Portugal, Sweden, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Slovakia, Norway, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Iceland, Monaco - U.K.
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • Hardware (& Manufacturing) • CleanTech • HealthTech (& Fitness) • Impact • Logistics (& Distribution) • Healthcare (& Wellness) • Music • Consumer • Woman Focused
Founder & CEO Salto Network * Angel investor * Co-founder Pipedrive CRM
Co-founder & CEO Salto X
Zurich - Berlin, Germany
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • Hospitality (& Events) • FinTech (& Financials services) • Hardware (& Manufacturing) • Retail (& E-Commerce) • A.I. (& Big Data) • Advertising • Analytics • Food & Beverage • Insurance (& InsurTech) • Payments • Mobile Apps • Real Estate (& Construction) • SaaS • Investment Management
business angel // entrepreneur // founder lieferando.de
Product Manager, MBA, data scientist & passionate technologist.
San Francisco Bay Area - California, U.S.A. - Global: U.S.A., Australia, Canada, Germany, U.K., Israel, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, Malta, Iceland
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • Businesses Solutions • Hardware (& Manufacturing) • Consumer • Productivity
Early stage investor. Early backer of Loom, Kettle and Fire, Compound Finance, and Board member of Pipefy.
Most Interested In
Entrepreneurs that will stop at nothing to accomplish their goals.
Zurich - Geneva, Switzerland
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • Businesses Solutions • FinTech (& Financials services) • Hardware (& Manufacturing) • CleanTech • HealthTech (& Fitness) • Material Science • Investment Management • Mobile
Swisscom Ventures is the venture capital arm of Swisscom AG, the leading telecommunications and IT provider in Switzerland. Since their inception in 2007, they have invested in over 50 IT, digital media and telecommunication companies from offices in Switzerland (Zurich and Lausanne) and the USA (Silicon Valley). As a strategic investor, they offer entrepreneurs access to Swisscom technical infrastructure and market channels in addition to financial support. They focus on sectors of domain expertise such as Telco & IT Cloud, DeepTech and Cybersecurity as well as Big Data & AI related new business models where they leverage access to Swisscom's technology and market experts.
, Switzerland
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • Education • Hardware (& Manufacturing) • Entertainment (& Sports) • Food & Beverage • Mobile Apps • SaaS • Pets • Consumer
Investor and former professional racing driver
Investor and former professional racing driver
Basel, France
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • Other • IT (& TMT) • Media • BioTech • FinTech (& Financials services) • Hardware (& Manufacturing) • Energy • Retail (& E-Commerce) • CleanTech • HealthTech (& Fitness) • Food & Beverage • Material Science • Medical Devices (& Hospital Services) • DeepTech • Healthcare (& Wellness) • Mobile • Consumer • Pharmaceutical (& Medicine)
Seventure Partners is a venture capital firm that seek to invest in the hardware and telecommunication, information technology and life sciences sectors. The firm was founded in 1997 and is based in Paris, France.
Berlin, Switzerland
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • PropTech • Media • BioTech • Businesses Solutions • FinTech (& Financials services) • Hardware (& Manufacturing) • Retail (& E-Commerce) • Sales (& Marketing) • Entertainment (& Sports) • IoT (& Wearables) • A.I. (& Big Data) • HealthTech (& Fitness) • Blockchain (& Cryptos) • Web Security (& Privacy) • Gaming (& eSports) • Advertising • Autonomous vehicles (& Cars) • Cloud Services (& Infrastructure) • Insurance (& InsurTech) • Logistics (& Distribution) • Medical Devices (& Hospital Services) • Aerospace (& Defense) • Real Estate (& Construction) • DeepTech • Healthcare (& Wellness) • Mobility • Nanotechnology • Online Social • Consumer • Woman Focused
Lakestar is a European venture capital firm investing in technology companies led by exceptional entrepreneurs. Lakestar helps companies identify new markets and expand rapidly, with a focus on the US and Europe. Lakestar advises and supports portfolio companies in business development, recruitment, technology and marketing. The firm's investments range from early stage companies to those in their growth stage. Lakestar has presence in Berlin, Zurich and London.
Los Angeles - California, U.S.A. - Germany - Europe: Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Romania, Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Portugal, Sweden, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Slovakia, Norway, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Icela
PropTech • Hardware (& Manufacturing) • Energy • CleanTech • A.I. (& Big Data) • Robotics • Real Estate (& Construction) • DeepTech • Mobility • Woman Focused
Most Interested In
We're interested in teams re-imagining cities in 3 areas - GHG reduction, climate adaptation and solving problems associated with high density (like traffic or public safety). Cities are complex, so founders continue inspire and amaze us by identifying new systemic issues and solutions. If you're re-imagining city life, we'd love to hear from you.
Not Interested In
We don't invest in edtech or healthtech. Certainly not a vote on whether we want to see these categories succeed, we just think they need additional focus/skills which we don't have. That said public health is a growing area of interesting.
Shaun Abrahamson is a Founder and serves as Managing Partner at Urban Us. Shaun is a Member of the Investment Committee, and he leads investment selection and communications with portfolio companies, members of the Network, and limited partners in Fund II. Before founding Fund I, Shaun was an active angel investor, investing in more than 20 firms between 2007 and 2013 in his personal capacity. Early-stage investing and advising is informed by his experiences building MediaSentry (acquired by SafeNet in 2005), Starmedia Network (acquired by France Telecom) and Oculus Technologies (MIT CADLab spin-out). In 1999, he was an early employee at govWorks, one of the earliest startups focused on serving local government. govWorks was ahead of the market and failed during the dot-com bust, becoming the subject of the documentary Startup.com in 2001. Shaun has written for organizations such as The Economist Intelligence Unit, The Huffington Post, and CNNMoney. Crowdstorm, published by Wiley, was his first book and is a guide to working with large online crowds to find and evaluate ideas. The book is based on Shaun's experience working with Starbucks, Omnicom Group, $300 House, and Life Edited. Shaun has an MSc from MIT; an MBA from the Berlin School of Creative Leadership; and a BSc from the University of Cape Town. He is also an Angel Investor.
Austin Texas, U.S.A. - Europe: Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Romania, Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Portugal, Sweden, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Slovakia, Norway, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Iceland, Monaco
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • IT (& TMT) • Education • Businesses Solutions • Hardware (& Manufacturing) • Retail (& E-Commerce) • Analytics • SaaS • Healthcare (& Wellness)
Joel Trammell serves as President and Chief Executive Officer at Black Box. He is also the Founder & serves as the Chief Executive Officer at Khorus Software. He also has been a Managing Partner of Lone Rock Technology Group, a private equity firm, since 2011, and a Managing Partner of Lake Austin Advisors, a hedge fund, since 2013. He was a founder and the Chief Executive Officer of CacheIQ, Inc., a network computing company, from June 2010 until it was acquired by NetApp, Inc. in November 2012. Previously, he was a founder and served as the Chief Executive Officer of NetQoS, Inc., a network management software and services company, from June 2000 to November 2009. Trammell has significant experience in the technology and computer networking sphere and served as the chief executive officer for two (2) startup technology companies which grew to significant size prior to successful exit transactions. He brings to the Board broad experience in management, operations, strategic growth and sales. His service on the boards of other technology-based companies and his experience in the industry allows him to provide valuable insight to Black Box Board with respect to industry practices and the challenges and risks facing the Company. He also serves as Board Member at CM First Group, iGrafx and Packet Design.
Palo Alto California - United Kingdom; Switzerland; Lausanne Switzerland; Moscow Russia; London United Kingdom; San Francisco California United State, Singapore
Software (Web Marketplace Saas..) • IT (& TMT) • Media • Education • BioTech • Businesses Solutions • Hardware (& Manufacturing) • Energy • Retail (& E-Commerce) • CleanTech • A.I. (& Big Data) • HealthTech (& Fitness) • Gaming (& eSports) • Autonomous vehicles (& Cars) • Robotics • Healthcare (& Wellness) • Mobile • Consumer
Daydreamer Fund, Partner
Alexander Elenskiy serves as Board Member and Investor at Zingaya. Elenskiy is an Angel Investor and is an Investor in Wheely's Cafe International, Ambronite and Faraday Bicycles. He received his Master's degree in Law from Lomonosov Moscow State University.