Cleantech startup DePoly made headlines in June after announcing its CHF 12.3 million seed financing round with several investors and industry players. Founded in 2021 by Samantha Anderson (CEO), Bardiya Valizadeh (CTO), and Christopher Ireland (CSO), DePoly addresses the entire waste plastic problem with its chemical recycling technology. It converts all PET plastics and polyester textiles—originally sourced from fossil fuels—back into their main raw chemical components. The components are then sold back to the industry to make new virgin-quality plastic items, creating a sustainable circular economy for the plastic market.
The 2021 ETH Spinoff DuraMon also secured an investment to advance its solution. Headed by Yurena Seguí Femenias, the startup is developing the world’s first precise and reliable structural health corrosion monitoring solutions for the construction industry. Noriware by Jessica Farda finalised its pre-seed round to accelerate the development of its algae-based packaging material.
Enterprise Bot, co-founded by Ravina Mutha, is shaking up the IT field with its artificial intelligence-based solution. The company built an AI platform that utilises machine learning to power conversational chatbots, email and voice bots to manage customer service queries and provide efficient, responsive client support. The startup has integrated ChatGTP into its patent-pending DocBrain to enhance customer experience while creating new benchmarks in terms of both speed and costs. Using the new funding acquired as a credit from UBS, the startup can now expand its footprint in the DACH region and grow its team.
HoliYou, with Eugénie Vellieux, CEO and co-founder, is one of the FIT Digital Seed loan recipients. The startup offers a 360 smart digital platform offering personalised AI solutions and high-quality self-care programs to improve medical performance and reduce user stress, a high factor of AMP failure.
Just as funding supports startups’ growth, so do exits enable their continued expansion, especially if they win the right partner. Last month Lunaphore, Co-founder Déborah Heintze ended its startup journey after being acquired by Bio-Techne. The medtech startup medtech startup developed technology to enable spatial biology in every laboratory. For some startups, the journey has just begun. The relationship between Lunaphore and Bio-Techne started with a strategic partnership to develop the first fully automated spatial multi-omic workflow.
Our detailed article about Abilect, the startup offering a platform for facilitating property management, provides deep insights into how the proptech startup has grown and plans to expand across Europe. On the other hand, some startups have just embarked on their journey. Larix Foods, for instance, has launched its direct-to-consumer online shop offering small Swiss producers and food artisans a platform to access a broader network of customers across Switzerland. Positive Impact, founded by professional football player Ana Maria Marković, launched a new vegan protein water brand – Reloadz.
Startup competitions are also important for the startup community to recognise the hard work that startups invest in their solutions. Winning the prizes pushes them even further. Two award categories of the Seif Awards went to two female founders from Switzerland and Sweden. Lausanne-based startup Vivent, led by Carrol Plummer, won the Julius Bär Award for Future Impact Trend for her innovative IoT real-time diagnostic tool designed to decode the plant language to help growers understand their plants’ health for better yield.
Biosimo swept away the grand prize in the >>Venture>> competition. Co-founded by Sortiria Mostrou, the startup is developing low-cost bio-based chemicals to advance the transition to a fossil-free chemical industry. Kuori, which Upcycles banana peels or nutshells to manufacture sustainable and biodegradable materials such as shoe soles to help prevent microplastics, won Renewable Material Award. And Health Yourself co-founded and led by Anna Rosenkranz, impressed the jury at the Startfeld Diamant with its digital health platform. Finally, two Swiss startups won important customers. Fintech startup Yokoy with co-founder Melanie Gabriel, joined forces with the Erste Group in an exclusive partnership, while Exnaton, led by Liliane Ableitner as CEO, won Germany’s largest sustainable energy provider as a customer.
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