Artificial intelligence is now embedded in many business processes, with new tools, solutions and AI agents emerging on the market every day. Women have played an equally important role in driving this trend. A recent “Top 100+ Women in AI + Data + Robotics in Switzerland 2026” report by ETH AI Center and the Greater Zurich Area AG (GZA) sheds light on around 100 women making recent, demonstrable contributions to Switzerland’s AI, data science and robotics ecosystem. The list features twenty female founders representing Switzerland across various sectors. The Top 100 Swiss Startups ranking was also revealed in early September. Several women made it onto the list, with DeepJudge and Pave Space ranking second and third, respectively.
Despite having several female founders in the spotlight for investors, there is still a major funding gap in the ecosystem. The recently published FE+MALE Think Tank report found that some of the current challenges women-led businesses face are rather systematic, and argues that changing how investors, accelerators and funding institutions evaluate, connect with, and allocate capital to founders could help narrow the gap.
The relevance of such reports is immense because they not only celebrate female entrepreneurship but also point to underlying challenges in the ecosystem. The lack of visibility is one of the commonly highlighted challenges, and this is what platforms such as Female Founders News aim to address. In this month’s edition, we showcase the milestones and successes of women-led companies.
Market traction and scientific progress
Several companies have evidenced that products and technologies are moving beyond development and into the market Lyght, a Basel-based company, offers furniture rental services to businesses and handles the entire process, from planning to return. Since its establishment in 2023, and now under the leadership of Saskia Petz, Lyght has continuously expanded its business in Switzerland, completing approximately 100 furnishing projects for clients such as Emirates Airline and Manor. Food Brewer is also advancing its sustainable cocoa project. It has launched YODEL BITES, a snack bar made from upcycled yellow peas. The cocoa-free chocolate bar is now available in SBB trains. Behind Food Brewer are several female leaders, including co-founder Corinne John, as well as Mathilde Dupin and Barbara Darwich in the C-suite.
In the life sciences space, TOLREMO has completed a Phase I study of monotherapy TT125-802, an orally available, selective small-molecule inhibitor that targets the bromodomain of the transcriptional co-activators CBP/p300. WindWard Bio, where Claudia D’Agusta serves as CTO, has also made clinical progress in developing ultra-long-acting antibodies for patients with serious respiratory and dermatologic diseases. The company has recently published positive interim results from the Phase 2 portion of the POLARIS-1 clinical trial, evaluating twice-yearly dosing of WIN378 in asthma.
FluoSphera has entered into a license agreement with Debiopharm and Leica Microsystems. The partnership allows the startup to use AbYlink, Debiopharm’s proprietary antibody conjugation technology, and the Viventis Deep light-sheet fluorescence microscope from Leica Microsystems to visualize and quantify antibody distribution throughout intact tumour spheroids.
Funding to accelerate expansion and growth
Investment news was also plentiful in September. Swiss-Italian startup Ferm Labs AG has announced the largest round of €3M invested in the company. Cofounded by Stephanie Lüpold and Mattia Baroni, the company uses precision fermentation to upcycle low-value sidestreams into potent kokumi peptide profiles. It delivers natural, salt-free flavour enhancers, enabling food manufacturers to cut sodium and eliminate synthetic additives such as MSG and yeast extract without sacrificing savoury, umami-rich taste.
Studyond—which recently qualified as both an HSG spin-off and an ETH startup—completed a CHF 2 million funding round with investors including prominent entrepreneurs from the ETH and HSG communities. It is the first company to have ever received an investment from HSG alumni. The startup was also recently accepted into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)’s MITdesignX Startup Accelerator Program.
Bee People, producer of Bee dietary supplement capsules as well as organic propolis and honey products, is thriving in Switzerland and Asia. The company has completed a seed funding round of CHF 1.3 million to support its expansion into new markets, including Germany. Cleantech startup SurfACE, cofounded by Saoirse Kathryn McConnel, also secured CHF 250,000 to advance its patent-pending coating technology for compostable flexible packaging. Proptech company Vzyn (Romana Rust, co-founder and CTO) has also finalised its seed round, supported by impact investor buildify.earth. The ETH spinoff developed an AI-powered software that enables buildings to be comprehensively analysed and optimised as early as the initial planning stages. A small angel round of CHF 120,000 was closed by Sanetella. The Geneva-based femtech startup has launched a two-month pilot under Galenica’s “Consultation Plus” framework with 15 Swiss pharmacies for its CE-marked vaginal infection self-test and companion app.
Three startups have each secured CHF 150k from Venture Kick after reaching the third stage of the competition. Scait has developed an AI platform for construction tendering that turns thousands of pages of project documents into a structured tender workflow, identifies contractual risks, and automates bid preparation. RheoCarti, founded by Xiaoyu Du, is developing a new generation of joint implants designed to mimic the properties of natural cartilage, while Panda Therapeutics, founded by Hui Zhang, is working on a new therapy for Alzheimer’s disease.
More startups on the winners’ podium
As well as securing funding, winning awards can significantly boost startups’ visibility and, in several cases, also allow them to secure cash prizes. CC Cardio, led byMaria Alexandra Cetățoiu, is advancing UniFlow, a minimally invasive heart pump for people with only one functioning ventricle. The company secured €160k from the Tech Europe Foundation to further develop its single-ventricle pump.
Woofy was chosen for the GENILEM acceleration program, which offers three years of support. The company will benefit from personalised support to consolidate its model, develop its sales, and accelerate its presence in the market. Enerdrape secured a place in Morgan Stanley’s Inclusive & Sustainable Ventures program. The cleantech startup developed the world’s first prefabricated geothermal panel system to provide renewable heating and cooling for buildings without drilling or major excavation.
Neatle Circle, cofounded by Cornelia Bamert, is one of the finalists in the “Zukunftspreis” competition by the Luzerner Kantonalbank in the Technologie & Innovation category. It turns Himalayan nettle into a high-performance textile fibre, HILAYA®. Julia Carpenter’s startup Apheros is one of the finalists in the Swiss Technology Award. Also in the cleantech space is Veritan, cofounded by Imogen Amelia Binelli. The company is currently advancing its solution with the Bluelion Accelerator, a three-month programme for early-stage startups. Veritan is developing an AI-native eTMF that files, checks and keeps clinical trials inspection-ready, citing the exact regulation behind every decision. The Energy and Environment Accelerator run by Startup Campus is supporting 8 startups, among them three female-led startups. Freesuns develops and installs integrated photovoltaic roof tiles that can be adapted to different roof shapes and architectural styles; REEcover is advancing a patented technology that enables critical metals to be recovered from electronic waste and separated from one another; and Sunaxer, cofounded by Anna Krammer, is advancing its high-performance receivers for concentrating solar thermal systems.
Upcoming events
Founders looking for inspiration from other women entrepreneurs and wanting to make new connections should look no further. The annual Female Innovation Forum, which takes place on 21 October at blue Cinema Abaton in Zurich, provides a platform for exactly that. Secure your ticket and let us connect.
During the 10th edition of Startup Nights which takes place on 5 and 6 November in Winterthur, founders will also have the opportunity to learn and explore opportunities. Register to be part of more than 9,500 expected guests and benefit from the rich programme.
Visit the Startupticker Calendar to find more events and training opportunities.
