On a record hunt

Dear reader

This week we presented the Swiss Venture Capital Report together with SECA in Zurich and Lausanne. The numbers are very encouraging. My co-author Thomas Heimann and I identified 230 financing rounds, and in total Swiss start-ups received CHF 1.23 billion. This is an increase of more than 30% both in the number of financing rounds and the total amount invested compared with 2017. The 76-page report can be downloaded free of charge at startupticker.ch.

The development of investment in ICT and fintech start-ups was particularly encouraging, a trend that seems set to continue in 2019. Loanboox, for example, concluded a financing round of CHF 22 million this week.

And an investor has pleasing news. Swisscom’s Digital Transformation Fund was named Fund of the Year at the Global Corporate Venturing & Innovation Summit in Monterey, California. Pension funds are significantly involved in the Digital Transformation Fund – you can read more about this, as well as about a dozen other new fund projects in the Swiss Venture Capital Report.

Innosuisse has been part of the start-up ecosystem for more than 20 years. In 2019, the innovation agency will support start-ups in the coaching process at, among other things, trade fair appearances. Start-ups can still apply for a place in the Swiss Pavilion of Research and Technology at the Hanover Fair, but interested parties must register immediately.

Venture Kick has also supported start-ups for more than a decade. This week, the initiative presented its impressive figures and announced the latest three start-ups that will each receive CHF 130,000.

Now the Tezos Foundation has joined the sponsors, with a grant for the crypto security project AirGap. And this week EPFL Innovation Park in collaboration with Startup Campus launched a matching platform for start-up boards. The database of suitable candidates with a matching algorithm helps to find members for boards of directors and advisory boards.

This week, I was asked if there are now more willing investors than start-ups, but this is certainly not the case; for example, our articles on the growth of VSHN and the fast start of hystrix medical show just how strong Swiss start-ups are.

Given the strength of start-ups, investors and supporters, the financing successes are not just a happy accident. And the chances are that 2019 will again be a record year for venture capital investment.

Have a good weekend.
Stefan Kyora

Editor in Chief, Startupticker.ch