The startup scene across Switzerland

WIPO’s 2025 profile ranks GitHub commits per million population aged 15–69, ICT access, and intellectual-property receipts as first among the listed Swiss indicators. It lists Zurich Medical Technology as a top innovation cluster, ranked 40th in its cluster table.

As of Oct 2, 2026. Official information. Source: Switzerland ranking in the Global Innovation Index 2025

Innovaud lists foodtech, sporttech, trusttech, healthcare, digital technology, drones and space systems among Vaud’s fields. Basel Area reports more than 33,000 life-sciences experts in its region.

As of Oct 2, 2026. Official information. Source: Innovaud - Vaud's innovation and economic promotion agency; Driving Innovation – Accelerating Growth in the Trinational Region

SECA’s 2024 investment comparison places Zurich, Vaud, Geneva and Basel-Landschaft among the leading cantons. Bern recorded 24 rounds totaling CHF 117.85 million that year.

As of Oct 2, 2026. Official information. Source: 13th edition of Swiss Venture Capital Report: CHF 2.4 billion for Swiss start-ups

Innovaud describes itself as Vaud’s innovation and investment promotion agency and says its services are free. It reports more than 2,000 technology companies and about 50,000 skilled professionals in its region. Basel Area describes its region as trinational, where Switzerland, France and Germany meet.

As of Oct 2, 2026. Official information. Source: Innovaud - Vaud's innovation and economic promotion agency; Driving Innovation – Accelerating Growth in the Trinational Region

Geneva’s OCEI Business Portal covers business creation, soft landing and business development. FONGIT specifies Geneva as its base or relocation requirement for eligible deep-tech applicants; its named fields are ICT, advanced engineering and life sciences.

As of Oct 2, 2026. Official information. Source: Obtain aid to start your business; Frequently asked questions

ETH reports that Beekeeper AG merged with LumApps SAS in July 2025 and gives the resulting total company value as CHF 860 million; the source does not specify the valuation basis.

As of Oct 2, 2026. Official information. Source: Mehr Neugründungen, neue Regeln, neues Förderprogramm

SECA reports that about 30 Swiss startups were sold to foreign buyers and 11 to domestic buyers in 2024.

As of Oct 2, 2026. Official information. Source: 13th edition of Swiss Venture Capital Report: CHF 2.4 billion for Swiss start-ups

SICTIC is a nonprofit association with offices in Zurich, Lausanne and Ticino. It says investor groups invest directly in Swiss-based technology startups in groups of CHF 200,000 to CHF 2 million; SICTIC itself does not invest or hold shares, and offers first-time seed-pitch services free.

As of Oct 2, 2026. Official information. Source: SICTIC Startups; About SICTIC

SICTIC’s stated intake criteria include a core team based in Switzerland and working on the startup as its main activity, Swiss or Liechtenstein AG incorporation, company age no greater than five years, valuation no greater than CHF 8 million, and a current round no greater than CHF 2 million.

As of Oct 2, 2026. Official information. Source: SICTIC Startups

Innosuisse Start-up Coaching lists three voucher tiers: Initial, up to CHF 10,000 over up to 12 months; Core, up to CHF 50,000 over up to 36 months; and Scale-up, up to CHF 75,000 over up to 24 months. Application status was not established.

As of Oct 2, 2026. Application availability not verified. Official information. Source: Start-up Coaching

FIT lists FIT Tech, FIT Digital and FIT Impact, with stage-dependent loans and grants from CHF 10,000 to CHF 500,000 for Vaud and Romandy startups. Application status was not established.

As of Oct 2, 2026. Application availability not verified. Official information. Source: Fondation pour l'innovation et la technologie (FIT)

Basel Area advertises BaseLaunch access up to CHF 500,000 for biotech ventures; DayOne offers up to CHF 50,000 equity-free for early-stage healthtech; Digital Accelerator Basel has four focused places a year; and VentureConnect operates without cohorts or waitlists. These descriptions do not establish current application windows or funding availability.

As of Oct 2, 2026. Application availability not verified. Official information. Source: Startups and scaleups - Basel Area Business & Innovation

UPortunity targets recent ETH graduates, final-year ETH students and their teams with an innovative knowledge-based idea and functional prototype. It lists CHF 10,000 per fellow and CHF 5,000 per team for project expenses; the November 2026 cohort was closed as checked October 2, 2026, and applications for cohort four were scheduled to open in January 2027.

As of Oct 2, 2026. Historical program information. Official information. Source: UPortunity - the ETH Start-up Accelerator

EPFL identifies UBS as Innogrants’ main program partner and lists 11 approved grants in 2025 and 13 in 2024. These are past cohort results; application status was not established.

As of Oct 2, 2026. Historical program information. Official information. Source: Innogrants List

For national coaching, compare the Initial, Core and Scale-up voucher ceilings and durations with the company’s needs; the published terms do not establish current application availability. For regional support, check geography and sector fit: FONGIT requires Geneva base or relocation and defined deep-tech fields, while FIT describes stage-dependent support for Vaud and Romandy startups.

As of Oct 2, 2026. Official information. Source: Fondation pour l'innovation et la technologie (FIT); Frequently asked questions; Start-up Coaching

For Basel-area applicants, distinguish the advertised offers by sector and instrument: BaseLaunch for biotech, DayOne for early-stage healthtech, Digital Accelerator Basel’s limited annual places, and VentureConnect’s no-cohort model. Check current terms and application timing with the program owner.

As of Oct 2, 2026. Official information. Source: Startups and scaleups - Basel Area Business & Innovation

Use SECA’s 2024 figures as a dated snapshot: overall startup investment was CHF 2.4 billion across 357 rounds, while biotech investment grew and knowledge-based startup investment declined year over year. SICTIC offers a potential seed-stage route for Swiss-based technology startups, subject to its stated team, incorporation, age, valuation and round-size criteria.

As of Oct 2, 2026. Official information. Source: 13th edition of Swiss Venture Capital Report: CHF 2.4 billion for Swiss start-ups; SICTIC Startups

WIPO flags one missing and nine outdated indicators in Switzerland’s 2025 profile. SECA’s 2024 figures show a decline in knowledge-based startup investment alongside substantial biotechnology growth.

As of Oct 2, 2026. Official information. Source: Switzerland ranking in the Global Innovation Index 2025; 13th edition of Swiss Venture Capital Report: CHF 2.4 billion for Swiss start-ups

ETH reports 661 ventures awarded its Spin-off or Start-up label between 1973 and 2025, while its 2025 classification counted 24 Spin-offs and 22 Start-ups. These are ETH’s reported label categories and counts.

As of Oct 2, 2026. Official information. Source: ETH Spin-offs and Start-ups; Mehr Neugründungen, neue Regeln, neues Förderprogramm

The Swiss Startup Association’s February 2026 position paper advocates faster digitized work permits and venture-capital reforms, including tax incentives and simpler fund approvals. These are proposals, not evidence of enacted changes.

As of Oct 2, 2026. Official information. Source: Startup-Agenda Switzerland