SWITZERLAND Trends and Developments Contributed by: Karim Maizar, Nicolas Mosimann, Alexandre Gachet and Nicolai Nuber, Kellerhals Carrard
venturekick, and the Swiss government with agencies like Innosuisse, have strategically focused on deep tech sectors through funding programmes, technology transfer initiatives, and start-up incubation efforts. By combining top- notch research with entrepreneurial drive, Swit - zerland has become a natural hub for industries such as robotics, computer vision, AI, cleantech, biotech, foodtech, fintech and advanced manu - facturing. As such, it does not come as a surprise that Switzerland boasts a high density of deep tech start-ups, with a significant proportion of found - ers holding PhDs. Based on a recent report, the density of start-ups with patents is twice as high as in Sweden and five times higher than in Germany. This emphasis on deep tech and innovation positions Switzerland as a leader in innovative technologies, also reflecting that Switzerland has ranked first in the Global Inno - vation Index for over a decade. The presence of world-class research institu - tions has been instrumental in fostering such a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. These institutions, consistently ranked among the top in global academic rankings in fields such as engineering, computer science and biotechnology, provide a steady stream of talent and cutting-edge research, which are critical for the development of deep tech start-ups. ETH Zurich, for example, has been instrumen - tal in the development of numerous deep tech start-ups and has a long-standing tradition of creating successful spin-offs. Over the past 51 years, ETH Zurich has awarded the spin-off label to a total of 615 companies. Notably, the last few years have set the highest numbers in terms of spin-offs, with 43 spin-offs in 2023 and 37 in 2024, which globally is highly competitive. Its
strong emphasis on interdisciplinary research and collaboration has led to breakthroughs in areas such as AI, robotics, quantum comput - ing, biotech and advanced materials. EPFL, located in Lausanne, has similarly contributed to the deep tech ecosystem. ETH Zurich and EPFL both rank among the top four European universities which created most deep tech spin- off value according to the latest European Deep Tech Report 2025. Switzerland’s continued shift to a deep tech nation is also underlined by the recently inaugu - rated Deep Tech Nation Switzerland Foundation, a private initiative of Swisscom and UBS and sup - ported meanwhile by companies such as Swiss Re, Rolex, Julius Baer, SIX, Vaudoise Assur - ances, SICPA and the University of Zurich, with the aim to enhance the framework conditions for Swiss start-ups, scale-ups and investors in the deep tech sector, thereby strengthening Swit - zerland’s innovation and competitiveness in the long term. The foundation’s goal is to mobilise CHF5 billion in annual funding over ten years, with 50% coming from Swiss investors, poten - tially creating up to 100,000 new jobs indirectly. Continued dominance of foreign capital One of the key features of the Swiss VC ecosys - tem is its international orientation. Between 2014 and 2023, only 24% of the total venture capital came from Swiss investors, with US investors being the largest contributors, accounting for 35% of the capital. Conversely, Swiss investors also invest significantly abroad, with 37% of their funds going to US start-ups. This cross-border investment dynamic highlights the global inter - connectedness of the Swiss start-up ecosystem and its ability to attract foreign capital even dur - ing crises.
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