Swissnex San Francisco reveals first cohorts for its sector-based bootcamps

Swissnex San Francisco enables Swiss startups to explore and prepare for their market entry in the US through the Innosuisse internationalization camps. Startups enrolled in the Innosuisse coaching, can apply year-long for this opportunity. On four occasions a year, so-called Bootcamps are held. The Bootcamps are 2-week programs full of toolbox sessions, fireside chats, networking events, and demo nights. Startups attending an internationalization camp are strongly encouraged to participate in these Bootcamps. Participation allows them to gain an overview of the local market quickly. At the same time, the Bootcamps enable peer-to-peer learning and unlock network effects, which further accelerate the internalization journey.

This year, each Bootcamp focuses on a different vertical: 1) Cleantech, 2) Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, and ICT, 3) Foodtech, Health and Well-being. The fourth Bootcamp will be industry agnostic, designed for startups that either do not fit into one of the three verticals or those that would have been a match topic-wise but could not make the timing work.

Explaining the decision to segregate the startups, Julia Bislin, program manager at Swissnex San Francisco, said: “We have chosen to offer vertical-specific bootcamps to bring in speakers, workshop leads, and conversation partners in specific verticals. We also want to organize in-person events that attract a local community interested and active in that field. This format will significantly increase the program’s value for our campers.”

Cleantech camp

The first camp organized from February 27 to March 10 was dedicated to cleantech. Four startups participated:

Gaia Tech offers a new approach to upcycle agricultural sidestreams into bio-compounds and added-value ingredients,

Regli Energy Systems develops uncompromising, highly efficient heat pumps (Nova heat pumps) to drive the heating transition

St. Gallen-based Eturnity is a B2B SaaS software solution supporting sales representatives in the renewable energy field.

Swistor is developing fast-charging sustainable batteries based on carbon-based supercapacitor technology.

ICT camp
Startups offering cybersecurity, data, and privacy solutions embarked on their market validation journey from April 17-28. The second week occurred during the RSA conference, allowing the startups to connect with local field experts.

The selected startups are:

Zitadel - developed an identity management platform based on its Go Programming language that allows developers to create, configure and operate complex authentication and authorization systems in a short time.

Altkimya - built the first affordable data factory platform for a unified vision of IT Security and IT Observability, from infrastructure layers to business metrics.

Elysium Lab - based in Lugano, Elysium is a Fintech/Blockchain offering a super wallet that allows for managing and visualizing crypto assets on multiple blockchains.

The Health and Well-being cohort will kick off the program on June 19 through June 30. While the selection committee finalizes the evaluation for this vertical, startups interested in the Industry Agnostic bootcamp from September 18-29 can submit their applications until July 7.

(RAN)