Appreciation close to home

Dear reader

We reported four exits this week: German pharma company Grünenthal took over Swiss biotech start-up Mestex. Italy’s largest multinational staffing company acquired the Ticino online job aggregator Jobtome, Basel IT company Codeflair went to a global Eastern European group, and in New York VectivBio ventured on to the trading floor – the IPO gave the start-up almost USD 150 million.

It is not unusual for buyers of Swiss start-ups to come from abroad and the companies abroad to then go public. But gratifying as it is that Swiss teams and innovations are in demand abroad, sometimes I have the impression that there is greater appreciation there than in this country.

However, it is all the more gratifying when established companies in Switzerland work together with start-ups. A good example is the collaboration between construction company Marti Construction from western Switzerland and Oxara, a spin-off from ETH Zurich. Together, they want to further develop Oxara’s sustainable, cement-free concrete and bring it to market.

The Solar Impulse Foundation, initiated by Bertrand Piccard, also finds what it is looking for in Switzerland when it comes to sustainable technology. Our article introduces the 11 start-ups that have been awarded the Solar Impulse Efficient Solutions Label since the beginning of the year.

And Swissquote Bank did not have to look far to find a new, innovative supplier. The Swiss online bank will use the product suite from young Geneva-based crypto company Taurus to expand its services in the digital assets sector.

CeQur is a ‘born global’ that has been active in several locations in Europe and the US since it was founded. The medical technology company, which has its head office in Horw, canton Lucerne, has now closed a spectacular USD 115 million financing round – with lead investors Credit Suisse Entrepreneur Capital and Endeavor Vision from Switzerland.

A lot is going on with Venturelab’s Venture Leaders programmes. This week, the 10 start-ups that have qualified for the Venture Leaders Mobile, and which will take part in the Mobile World Congress, were announced. Applications for Venture Leaders Biotech (China) are open until 25 April and until 2 May for Venture Leaders Medtech (Boston).

I would also like to point out the opening event of the femtech accelerator programme Tech4Eva next Wednesday, which will include presentation of the 30 projects that have qualified for the accelerator. Speaking of accelerators, start-ups can apply for Kickstart’s 2021 programme with immediate effect – the deadline is 17 May.

Have a good weekend.
Stefan Kyora

Editor in Chief, Startupticker.ch