AIT India-Swiss Camp 2024/25: Sciencepreneurs discover the Swiss Innovation Ecosystem
Sixteen sciencepreneurs from India and Switzerland participated in the Academia-Industry Training India 2024/25 (AIT) program - they wrapped up their experience with a final camp in Switzerland which took place from February 4 to 7. During the week, they went on a deep-dive into the Swiss startup ecosystem through workshops, pitching events, networking sessions, and visits to innovative companies. Back in November, the group had already explored India's business landscape in Bangalore—a hub of India's technology—learning about market access, IP strategy, and engaging with local startups, while experiencing the culture firsthand.
The Leading House South Asia promotes and fosters scientific cooperations with key institutions in India, mandated by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI). Swissnex India and Venturelab co-organized the India Camp and Swiss Camp, enabling entrepreneurs to connect and get to know the vast opportunities that India and Swizerland offer to science-driven startups. The AIT India program is aimed at young researchers and founding members of science-based Swiss startups who are looking to discover the market potential of their applied research projects in India and develop their entrepreneurial skills.As part of the AIT Camp, the ten sciencepreneurs had already explored India's business landscape in Bangalore last November, gaining familiarity with market access, IP strategy, and engaging with local startups. From February 4 to 7, the week in Switzerland began with the presentation of the Swiss Venture Capital Report at the Startupticker networking brunch in Zurich, followed by an overview of the AIT Swiss Camp. The group was split into two dedicated teams to benefit from a customized program. The biotech and medtech startups visited the University of Zurich's Life Science Day at Irchel Campus where they engaged in pitches and talks with corporates. Meanwhile, the engineering startups visited Technopark Zurich where Head of Foundation Affairs Matthias Hölling led a guided tour to facilitate investor talks with QBIT Capital and visits to the startups irmos technologies, aCentauri Solar Racing, Solskin, Akina Health, and a-metal.
On the left: Stefan Kyora, Editor in Chief at Startupticker, presenting the 2025 Swiss VC Report
On the right: Entrepreneurs Alok Medikepura Anil of Next Big Innovation Labs and Kshitij Rishi of 4baseCare
On Wednesday, the sciencepreneurs attended an investor negotiation workshop led by Stefan Steiner, co-managing director of Venturelab, followed by guided visits to innovation hubs such as JED Innovation Campus, Zühlke Ventures and Zühlke Engineering, and Superlab. Later, they participated in a storytelling workshop led by Jyoti Guptara, managing director Europe of Momenta Group.
Thursday's agenda included a visit to Wyss Zurich Accelerator, with sessions for the life sciences and engineering groups at Tethys Robotics and Apersys' offices (former Venture Leader Medtech in 2024). Moving on, the delegation visited ETH Student Project House where they learned about infrastructure provided by ETH Zurich to help students and scientists develop their projects. After lunch at ETH Zurich, the group moved on for an investor workshop with David Studer, founder of Vengrow techventures. The Business Angel of the Year 2023 introduced the sciencepreneurs to strategies for preparing for investors. This led to dedicated time for refining their pitches, culminating in 3-minute presentations during the Swiss-Indian Entrepreneurship Day, hosted by ZHAW, Venturelab, Swissnex India, and the Swiss-Indian Chamber of Commerce Young Professional Network.
On the left: Amanda Strub (Manager Leading House South Asia)
On the right: Kshitij Rishi pitching (Co-Founder of 4baseCare)
"Switzerland was elected the most innovative country for the 14th consecutive time last year, a success driven by a clear strategy. The State Secretariat for Education, Research, and Innovation (SERI) builds a strong foundation in education, ensuring that industries have the skills and networks needed for innovation," commented Amanda Strub, Manager at Leading House South Asia. "The Leading Houses are a mosaique stone of SERI’s strategy contribuiting to Switzerland’s success in innovation. Through the AIT we aim to empower sciencepreneurs to make bold steps, to dare to try and we support them in their journey as young entrepreneurs."
"India has now become the fifth-largest economy in the world, with the highest growth rate among the top 10. This growth parallels the excellence seen in Switzerland, where access to leading institutions drives innovation. Venturelab has been active in this environment for the past 20 years," added Raffael Kellner, Program Manager at Venturelab. "Given the rapid global economic changes, we must look beyond traditional markets. Emerging economies are increasingly shaping the future, which is why the AIT program is essential for helping startups engage with these opportunities."
A keynote by Arunima Sengupta, Indian-born entrepreneur who built her biotech company Alexis Technologies in Bern, inspired the audience about the possibilities of cross-national innovation. The public voted on the best evening pitch, awarding the honor to Kshitij Rishi, Co-Founder of 4baseCare, as the 'Swiss-Indian Ambassador of Innovation 2025'. The evening ended with a networking apéro, providing further opportunities for connection.
On the final day, the sciencepreneurs pitched in front of experts and held individual meetings before the program concluded with a ceremony at the startup space.
The Swiss startups Azure Cell Therapies and SaisiR were awarded CHF 10,000 AIT Grant, recognized for their potential to create cross-border impact.
Mandated by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation SERI, the ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences is the Leading House for research collaboration with partner institutions in South Asia.
Learn more about the startups and entrepreneurs who participated in the AIT India-Swiss Camp 2024/25:
4 Basecare: transforming precision oncology in Asia & Middle East, using advanced genomic solutions & nextgen digital technology. Read more
AI Health Highway: AiSteth is a next-gen smart stethoscope that helps you see the sound - on your smartphone - & detect anomalies with Ai/ML integration. Read more
Doto Health: Simplifying pregnancy and new born monitoring. Read more
Genomiki: Unlock the potential of your genomics data with our advanced genome-informatics solutions and get actionable insights. Read more
Next Big Innovation Labs: advance your discoveries with customised bioprinting solutions. Read more
Rechargion: Sustainable next-generation Na-ion and Li-S rechargeable batteries. Read more
AZURECELL SA: Engineering Hope. Restoring the brain. One cell at a time.
AzureCell is a Swiss regenerative cell therapy company born from two decades of pioneering neuroscience and cell-engineering research at the University of Geneva. We are scientists and innovators u... Read more
BCellOne: We democratize cell therapies using nanotechnology
BCellOne addresses a key problem in cell and gene therapy: the high cost, safety risks, and inefficiencies of traditional viral vectors and standard electroporation methods, which can cause significan... Read more
Brightank SA: Ammonia catalyst for cleaner energy.
As demand for renewable energy continues to grow, meeting this demand in remote or mobile settings remains challenging. Current solutions, such as batteries, often fall short in supporting heavy indus... Read more
Impli AG: Impli is developing a hormone monitoring implant for IVF
Impli is a biotech company working on subdermal hormone monitoring platforms. The first product identified for market launch as a medical device in 2027 in the U.S. will be for women undergoing IVF... Read more
Inveel GmbH: High-resolution printed robotic skin.
Inveel specializes in the development of high-resolution sensory skins that provide robots with a sense of touch. They have innovated a groundbreaking technology that integrates nanometer-precise sens... Read more
Onescope SA: Digital stethoscope powered by AI for automated diagnosis.
OneScope SA is developing a unique autonomous multi-parameter stethoscope called Pneumoscope using artificial intelligence (AI) for lung sounds classification, disease severity grading, and clinical o... Read more
Phorest: Manufacturing pharma ingredients from renewable feedstock.
The project aims to bring about a transformation for pharmaceutical, agrochemical and flavors/fragrances production by replacing petroleum-based feedstocks with widespread and currently underutilized ... Read more
SaisiR: Neurotechnologies to help patients regain independence.
Stroke is a major cause of disability worldwide, leaving 25 million people with severe impairments and unable to perform activities of daily living. SaisiR introduces a revolutionary therapy based on ... Read more
SEPARATIC Sarl: Porous graphene membranes for efficient CO2 capture
SEPARATIC is a Swiss deep-tech startup disrupting the carbon capture industry through its patent-pending Porous Graphene Membranes (PGM), which utilize a "templated plasma etching" breakthrough to cre... Read more
