Fighting the fight against the world's leading cause of death: Swiss startups innovating #cancer therapy. Meet the visionary founders and learn about new approaches to save human lives: #SwissStartups #Cancer #VentureKick

BioVersys (@Bioversys) has officially gone public on the @sixgroup Swiss Exchange! With a successful CHF 90 million IPO, this biotech pioneer is set to accelerate the fight against antimicrobial resistance, a major global health challenge. This milestone proves that Swiss startups can scale, raise capital, and thrive globally!🌎 From an idea at @ETH_en in 2007 to a globally recognized biotech innovator, BioVersys' journey has been fueled by support from organizations Venture Kick, culminating in participation in the SIX IPO Academy. "This IPO is a huge step in our growth strategy. The strong investor interest enables us to push ahead full speed with our mission to bring urgently needed antibiotics to patients worldwide." commented Marc Gitzinger, CEO of BioVersys. 💰 With fresh capital, BioVersysis set to: - Advance BV100 into Phase 3 clinical trials - Expand alpibectir into additional Phase 2 trials with @GSK - Drive forward its early-stage pipeline Congratulations to Marc Gitzinger and the entire BioVersys team! About: BioVersys AG is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for life-threatening MDR bacterial infections. Its TRIC and Ansamycin Chemistry platforms target resistance, virulence, and harmful bacteria. Key programs include BV100 (Phase 2) for A. baumannii and alpibectir (Phase 2a, with @GSK and the University of Lille 1 Sciences and Technology) for tuberculosis. #SwissStartups #VentureKick

SAEKI raises USD 6.7 million to redefine large-scale manufacturing with digital solutions. Backed by a USD 6.7 million Seed round led by Lightbird, @ETH_en -founded SAEKI is advancing digital manufacturing to boost efficiency in aerospace, automotive, and construction. Its technology reduces waste, shortens lead times, and brings production closer to home. #VentureKick #SwissStartups #Fundraising #ETHSpinOff

Sylvester Stallone joins USD 7.5 million Series A round for AI analytics platform and Venture Kick alumni, @LargoAI! Read more details: "Venture Kick was our first supporter, transforming our idea from paper to reality and laying the foundation for our journey. This backing played a crucial role in taking the initial steps to turn our vision into the venture we have today," commented @samiarpa, CEO of @LargoAI. @LargoAI, founded in 2018 as an @EPFL spin-off and based at the @EPFL_Park in Lausanne with offices in L.A., London, and Istanbul, has secured funding co-led by TI Capital and QBIT Capital. Investors include Atreides Management, Thomas Tippl, DAA Capital, and Sylvester Stallone as a strategic partner. The investment supports @LargoAI’s expansion, including the launch of Version 3 and enhancements to its AI-driven Brands Suite for ad testing. @LargoAI’s AI has analyzed over 400,000 films and TV series, 950,000 talents, and 200,000 ads. #Fundraising #VentureKick #EPFLSpinOff #SwissStartups

CHF 10’000 for AITHON Robotics, Arklem AI, Iron Energy, neurodAIgnostics and PaperCheck. These five projects were selected at Venture Kick's first financial and entrepreneurial support stage. Meet the 5 successful projects: Clémence Marcaillou (CEO) and Harshdeep Singh (CTO) | @ArklemAI - Making geospatial data easy. AITHON Robotics - Rapid Access for Hazardous Tasks Samuel Heiniger (CEO), Daniel Bloch (CFO), Prof. Dr. Wendelin Stark (advisor) and Prof. Dr. Robert Grass (advisor) | Iron Energy - Sustainable solutions for seasonal energy storage. Perrine Lhuillier (Co-Founder) and Prof. Dr. Nicolas Langer (Co-Founder) | neurodAIgnostics - AI-Powered scoring solutions for cognitive tests. Yves Zumbühl (Co-Founder) | PaperCheck - Making education accessible for all. #VentureKick #SwissStartups

Meet Alpina Sana's CEO, Dr. Robert Schreiber; CTO, Raban Iten; and CSO, Jotam Bergfreund. The startup, which won Venture Kick Stage 3 in April 2024, utilizes a novel proprietary solution with innovative 3D imaging technology to make daily scans of the elderly's food intake and identify their specific nutritional needs. It then develops personalized nutritional supplements in delicious forms such as meal drinks, ice creams, and cookies. Alpina Sana’s first production is already sold out, and the startup has secured multiple pilots with hospitals and clinics. #VentureKick #SwissStartups

Proud to take the stage once again this afternoon at the Swiss Venture Capital Report presentation, organized by @startuptickerCH and @Innovaud in Lausanne! As Ricardo Gago (Senior Program Manager at Venture Kick) presented the Venture Kick Annual Report to the Romande audience, some interesting facts emerged. Key highlights from 2024: - Venture Kick reviewed 880 startup applications. - CHF 6.7 million have been invested in 97 new startup projects. - There has been a 13% year-on-year growth in applications (up from 781 in 2023). Breaking down the numbers: - 37% of applications came from French-speaking Switzerland. - 46% of supported projects originated from @ETH_en and @EPFL. Throughout the event, we had the pleasure of hearing great perspectives from Venture Kick alumni Zoé Berry (Co-Founder & Co-CEO at Ex Nunc Intelligence) and Siew-Veena Sahi (CEO & Co-Founder at Testmate Heal), as well as Christoph Falk (Head of Startup Coaching at @Innosuisse). Their perspectives added great value to the discussion! A special thanks also to Patrick Barbey (Director at @Innovaud) and Stefan Kyora (Editor in Chief at @startuptickerCH). About: Venture Kick is an initiative by the Kick Foundation, launched and supported by a private consortium, operated by @venturelab_ch. The supporting foundations and private philanthropic partners include @grstiftung_ch, Ernst Göhner Stiftung, Fondation ALCEA, Hauser-Stiftung, André Hoffmann, Hansjörg Wyss, Martin Haefner, Fondation ProTechno, @esaBICch, @Swisscom, Lichtsteiner Foundation, and Deep Tech Nation Switzerland. #SwissStartups #StartupTicker #Innovaud

Proud to present the 2024 Venture Kick Annual Report at the Brunch 2025, as we celebrate an incredible milestone with 1,111 projects kicked off and over CHF 58 million allocated since 2007! 🚀 Joining the panel with: Pascale Vonmont (Director at Gebert Rüf Stiftung) Joanne Sieber (CEO at Deep Tech Nation Switzerland), Maria Anselmi (Head of Startups and Next Generation Innovations at Innosuisse), Stefan Steiner (Co-Managing Director at Venturelab), Jordi Montserrat (Co-Managing Director at Venture Kick), Stefan Kyora (from , Thomas Heimann, MSc (from SECA - Swiss Private Equity & Corporate Finance Association). "Swiss startups rely on extremely solid foundations, with real deeptech innovations often combining hardware and software and bringing value in markets that are here to last, such as Healthcare or Cleantech. We see this every day in the startups we support at Venture Kick. I am therefore very confident in our ability to thrive even in challenging conditions. Now we need to keep our game up in a globally competitive environment and bring startups all the way to successful growth and exits." commented @JordiMontserrat, Co-Managing Director at Venture Kick #VentureKick #SwissStartups #StartupTicker

CHF 2.8 million to expand AI-powered physiotherapy: TOP 100 Swiss startup Akina - a spin-off of ETH Zürich and ETH AI Center - secures seed funding from Freigeist Capital. Congratulations to the ambitious team of founders Florian Haufe and Michele Xiloyannis! With Akina, Freigeist Capital, the Deep Tech VC founded by @frank_thelen, makes its first health-tech investment. The Swiss ETH Zürich & ETH AI Center spin-off has developed AI-powered medical software to support physiotherapy at home. The software enables a hybrid treatment approach, combining digital home therapy with in-person physiotherapy sessions. The focus is on musculoskeletal disorders like back and joint pain, among the most common and costly conditions globally. Effective treatment relies on active movement therapy, but logistical challenges, limited professionals, and poor home exercise tracking hinder implementation, leading to billions in avoidable healthcare costs. Akina Cloud helps physiotherapists delegate repetitive tasks via digital training plans, allowing them to focus on core therapy aspects during patient sessions. The medtech startup was ranked in the TOP 100 Swiss Startups in 2023 and won Venture Kick in 2022. #TOP100SSU #SwissStartups #VentureKick

RT @venturelab_ch: Dear startup community in #Basel - last call for sign-ups for our event at @UniBasel_en this Thursday, February 6: get r…

CHF 150'000 to shape the future of photonic device manufacturing: Lightium gets selected for final stage of Venture Kick. Congratulations to the team of founders Amir H. Ghadimi, Frédéric Loizeau and Dirk Englund! About: Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) are rapidly transforming industries such as telecom, AI, datacom, and space—just as silicon chips revolutionized computing decades ago. However, the industry faces a major bottleneck: conventional semiconductor-based PICs have reached their performance limits, struggling to keep up with growing demands for speed and energy efficiency. The rise of AI-driven tools has further intensified this challenge, placing immense pressure on data centers to handle skyrocketing data volumes while minimizing power consumption—something existing solutions are failing to achieve. Lightium, a Swiss startup founded in 2023, is pioneering a solution with its proprietary Thin-Film Lithium Niobate (TFLN) platform. By offering production-grade PIC foundry services, Lightium empowers photonic device manufacturers to streamline production, reduce costs, and scale seamlessly. TFLN, a glass-like material, significantly enhances data transmission rates while dramatically lowering power consumption. With its scalable platform, Lightium eliminates the need for complex, multi-step integrations, making high-performance photonic devices more accessible and efficient to produce. #VentureKick #SwissStartups

CHF 40,000 each for safe gene delivery into the retina, innovative prosthetic sockets, and wheelchairs with steering-by-leaning: EVis Bioscience, SoftSocket, and Versive qualify for next stage of Venture Kick. Congrats to the teams of innovators Gianfranco Vento, Elita Montanari, Tommaso Caselli, Cara Ammann, Lisa-Marie Frühauf, Reto Togni and Stefan Villiger! About: EVis Bioscience AG: Next-gen safe gene delivery into the retina SoftSocket: Creating innovative, adaptable prosthetic sockets designed for sports and children's growth Versive: Moving Paradigms in Wheelchairs with Steering-by-Leaning #VentureKick #SwissStartups

CHF 150,000 to develop the first commercial soft robot: EPFL spin-off Helix Robotics convinced the jury once more and receives Venture Kick funding. Congratulations to the team of founders Francesco Stella, Josie Hughes, and Cosimo Della Santina! About: Addressing the need for human-friendly and reliable robotics, Helix Robotics is developing the first commercial soft robot manipulator. By combining the safety of soft robotics with industrial precision, the EPFL spin-off aims to enhance automation in food handling and lab automation. #SwissStartups #VentureKick