With revenues growing over 500% year-over-year, DeepJudge continues to establish itself as the go-to AI platform for legal professionals worldwide. It offers a suite of AI agents and applications that provide firms with instant, accurate access to all internal firm data. Besides the growing customer base, the startup has raised $41.2M in a Series A round to accelerate product development and scale market adoption in the US and UK.
Another impressive round was concluded by plant whisperer, Vivent, which raised €7.5 million to support commercial activities. Led by Carrol Plummer, the company uses AI to interpret plants’ own bio-signals, enabling growers to detect stress from pests, disease, drought and nutrient imbalances days, weeks or even months before visual symptoms appear. Also leveraging AI is Forgis. Co-founded by Camilla Mazzolena, the startup is bringing AI-powered intelligence directly to factory floors, making factories smarter, more efficient and adaptive by connecting and optimizing machines and production lines using advanced automation and intelligence. The startup secured $4.5M in a pre-seed funding round and CHF 150K from Venture Kick. The Zurich-based startup also secured a spot at BüroZüri. Jessica Droujko, co-founder and CEO of Riverkin also obtained funding of CHF 1.7 million to scale their ultra-low power sensors and predictive software designed to monitor freshwater systems in real time.
Propfy by Anouck Reber is a digital platform comprising an all-in-one CRM, a field SmartApp, and an integrated scraping engine designed to simplify, centralize, and automate tasks for real estate brokers. With already nearly 70 licenses signed with agencies in French-speaking Switzerland, the company has obtained half a million Swiss francs to support its developments.
Alongside investors, support organisations also play a key role in driving innovation. One such example is Biopôle SA, which recently unveiled the Biopôle Investment Programme (BIP), with its new recipients including Switchkine, which was the first company selected for the Pre-Clinical Top-Up. Led by serial entrepreneur Madiha Derouazi, Switchkine is harnessing the potential of immune-cytokines to modulate the immune system in oncology or restore the balance in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. SurfAce Cleantech, which develops compostable packaging, has been awarded a CHF 100,000 Tech Seed loan from FIT. co-founded by Saoirse Kathryn McConnell, the startup’s technology is based on a coating that increases the strength of compostable packaging films by 40%, while maintaining their performance and without hindering their compostability.
Awards and support to fast-track startup growth
Sports apparel for women remains a tricky business especially when it comes to the fitting and comfort of sports bras. Claudia Glass has taken on the challenge to provide high-performance, comfortable sports bras with an innovative breast stabilization system that ensures that the bust remains stable even during intense movement. Her company Swijin was awarded USD 250,000 in the category ‘Early Stage’ at the Entrepreneurship World Cup 2025 in Riyadh. Also in the bra business is MYNE, founded by Linda and Mathias Durisch. The company was awarded CHF 3,000 during the Founders-Night in Graubünden their AI-based bra sizing system that relies on smartphone scans to provide custom made bras made from sustainable materials such as ECONYL, a recycled nylon made from old fishing nets, carpets and fabric scraps.
Navignostics, Swiss precision oncology company that uses spatial single-cell proteomics to analyse tumour and immune cells directly in tissue, was awarded the Startup/Rising start category prize at the Swiss Technology Award ceremony in recognition of its role in enabling personalised cancer therapy. Universität-Basel-Spin-off Qualitheke, which was founded by Esther Spinatsch, won the audience award at the inaugural Innovation Award Pharmazie. The company convinced the public with its digital consultation tool “pharMe” which supports pharmacy teams with medical histories, drug selection, and documentation, currently with a particular focus on emergency contraception. The Innovation Award for Pharmacy went to Sandra Köppel for her project, which brings pharmacies and doctors‘ offices together to work closely under one roof. HeroSupport, with their VENUS SHELL, a patient-specific 3D-printed, immobilization shell for breast radiotherapy in a prone position, collected two prizes at the Swiss-Italian Award.
Trade shows like Slush in Helsinki are a great platform to showcase startup’s innovative solutions, secure potential deals, gain visibility and win prizes. This year, several female-led startups, including Enerdrape, Identic AI, Swistor, and Enantios were invited to attend the SLUSH conference, with Enantios, which developed a device that provides chiral and structural analysis of complex molecules, bringing home a prize from one of the pitching competitions.
Arcalignum has been selected to join the Genilem accelerator program to further advance its solution. Founded by Esther Bonté and Maxime Calderaro, Arcalignum is developing a modular construction system for lightweight, workable, reversible, and short timber structures. Implementation is fast and reduces costs, deadlines, and access restrictions, while guaranteeing performance and durability.
Meanwhile, three founders are still in the race for the of the 6th edition of the SEF.WomenAward – Lara Gervaise, co-founder of Virtuosis AI, Siria Berli, co-founder and COO of equipe, and Deana Mohr, Co-founder and CEO of MUVON Therapeutics will further be evaluated by an expert jury and the winner will be announced during the award ceremony in March 2026.
Check out our calendar for upcoming events and workshops, and the Swiss Ecosystem Directory to find relevant players to support your business growth.
This is the final edition of the year. I will be back in January with fresh insights and stories to share. Wishing you a joyful Christmas and a prosperous New Year ahead.
