Much interest in Swiss start-ups

Dear reader

The QualySense robots are used worldwide today to sort seeds, grain and beans piece by piece according to quality criteria. Now investors are financing further growth of the company with CHF14 million in order to develop the next generation of robots to raise efficiency in the food and cereal industry worldwide to a new level.

The QualySense funding round is one of five investments we reported on this week. In addition to the diverse ambitions of the start-ups, the differences between the donors are also noticeable. Among them are two large companies: the corporate venture arm of German lighting manufacturer OSRAM has taken a stake in beaconsmind, and PostFinance has joined the fintech start-up Sentifi. PostFinance has strengthened its corporate venturing activities since 2016 and has already invested in two other Swiss young companies this year.

The digital health start-up Pryv has completed a financing round of CHF1.1 million with Cosa Trade, a company that supports mainly SMEs. And a British serial entrepreneur has joined Sobu, a spin-off of Swiss Post active in the field of referral marketing, as a partner and consultant.

On the one hand, start-ups are gaining both qualitatively and quantitatively, and at the same time interest in them increases. This is demonstrated by Swiss Startup Days, which takes place in Bern next Tuesday and Wednesday. There will be a record number of visitors, with more than 720 participants already registered, including 100 investors. Registration for the event is still open.

The CTI will have a large presence at Swiss Startup Days, including a masterclass and a keynote by Trudi Haemmerli, board member of Innosuisse. The names of the new bearers of the CTI Startup Label were announced this week – four very promising young companies that are pushing for digitalisation in various sectors.

Like the CTI and Swiss Startup Days, the WA de Vigier Foundation’s award has a long tradition. For the past 28 years, start-ups have been supported by CHF100,000 seed money and access to an excellent network. The invitation to apply for the current award is now open.

The deadline is approaching at other start-up awards: you can apply for the ETH Entrepreneur Club’s prizes until 27 October. The application period for Prix Strategis will end on 31 October and that of the Swiss Fintech Awards on 3 November. And also until 3 November, start-ups with a connection to astronautics can apply for the current tender at ESA BIC Switzerland.

Have a creative weekend.
Stefan Kyora

Editor in Chief, Startupticker.ch