Powering up the future: Startup Champions Seed Night 2024 celebrates rising tech stars
The Startup Champions Seed Night's 13th edition was an outstanding success as it showcased 20 promising startups in a highly competitive pitch competition. With the attendance of more than 500 guests, in-person at EPFL and via live stream, the event brought together rising entrepreneurs from EPFL and the Canton of Vaud, along with angel investors, mentors, industry leaders, and scientists. It was undoubtedly a remarkable event that proved the high quality of innovation emerging in the region.
On Thursday, April 25, 2024, the Startup Champions Seed Night brought together over 500 attendees, both onsite and online. The event was held at the Rolex Forum in Lausanne, Switzerland, and was dedicated to supporting and celebrating the Swiss startup ecosystem. The audience included entrepreneurs, industry leaders, researchers, and investors, and EPFL students, researchers, and alumni were also invited to attend.
The Swiss startup ecosystem's aspiring entrepreneurs showcased their innovative ideas in a 90-second pitch competition, competing for the highest number of votes from the audience. The competition consisted of 4 rounds, each with 5 pitches. Yohan Hadji (R2Home), Sébastien Le Fouest (PitchMe), Andrada Muntean (NovoViz), and Maël Fabien (biped.ai) emerged as the finalists after multiple rounds of rigorous competition.
The 4 finalists from left to right: Andrada Muntean (NovoViz), Maël Fabien (biped.ai), Yohan Hadji (R2Home), and Sébastien Le Fouest (PitchMe)
"10 years ago, we had a vision of what we want to do with this company." "You need to set up a team ready to follow you through change." Keynote Speakers Diego Gabriel Dupouy CTO & Ata Tuna Ciftlik, VP of Lunaphore.
Ata Tuna Ciftlik and Diego Gabriel Dupouy, Co-Founders of Lunaphore, shared their journey from lab to exit in a keynote address. Following their insights, Nicolas Weber, Co-Founder of Voltiris, Team Captain of Venture Leaders Cleantech 2023, and great winner of the Startup Champions Seed Night's 12th edition, and Gaëtan Marti, board member and director, joined a panel discussion on entrepreneurship and innovation. Their diverse perspectives provided the aspiring entrepreneurs with helpful lessons.
"After winning the Startup Champions Seed Night last year, lots of things happened: From the inception of our idea togaining significant traction and growing our team to over 10 people," highlighted Nicolas.
"A good startup story, a cohesive team, and the potential for a scalable project are the key elements which, as an investor, I look at," added Gaëtan Marti.
"What would you achieve with unlimited funding?", "What is success to you?", "Why are you the best team to carry on your startup mission?", "Where do you see your startup 10 years from now?": These the questions posed to the 4 finalists. After the session, the jury deliberated and exceptionally chose two winners: biped.ai and R2Home.
There are 2 winners tonight at Startup Champions Seed Night 2024 @EPFL_en ! Congratulations to Mael Fabien, https://t.co/bCj3RQuKfo, and @YohanHadji, R2Home! #SUChamps #SwissStartups #EPFL #Lausanne pic.twitter.com/9KdZZ9Q6qD
— Venturelab (@venturelab_ch) April 25, 2024
Pictures Credits: ©Alain Herzog
Learn more about the 20 startups that pitched at the Startup Champions Seed Night 2024
Aerospec SA: Automated aerosol film creation and chemical analysis
Areospec empowers industries & governments to control aerosol deposition and obtain automated chemical composition. Aerospec's Aerosol seed printer (ASP) creates scalable thin films and Aerosol In... Read more
biped robotics SA: All-in-one navigation device for blind people
40 million people in the world are fully blind. biped is the world's first AI copilot for blind and visually impaired people. The device is worn on the shoulders, like a harness. It is equipped with ... 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
Consulto: A virtual clinic specialised in team-based care.
Our start-up builds the world's first clinic specialized in Virtual Team-Based Care. We host independent doctors, generalists, and specialists, who team up to deliver holistic care for their patients.... Read more
DemoSquare SA: Helping companies anticipate the future of regulation.
Few aspects impact businesses more than regulation. However, monitoring and reporting on public affairs is a tedious and costly process for companies. DemoSquare saves public-affairs managers up to 20... Read more
DPhi Space SA: Streamlining space access via satellite ridesharing.
DPhi Space is building and operating shared satellites to make access to space simpler, faster, and more affordable. Its multi-tenant platform allows service providers (such as telecom antennas or Ear... Read more
HepaVue Dx: Virtual liver biopsy technology
HepaVue has developed a virtual liver biopsy technology which aims to make diagnosis easier and safer. The team believe that changes in muscle tissue composition can be an indicator of early-stage MAS... Read more
Magnetfab: Enabling next-generation microsystems with micromagnets
Magnetfab's disruptive innovation consists in fabricating thousands of integrated magnets on wafers. Our micromagnets are as small as a grain of sand, and they are made of the most powerful existing m... Read more
MIROS Technology SA: Smart, adaptive workplaces with connected, bookable spaces.
MIROS Technology deploys a network of connected workpods to create a mesh of on-demand workspaces where people need them - in airport, train stations, hospitals, and public locations. The smart connec... Read more
NanThermix SA: Precision temperature control in living cells
NanThermix is a pioneer in nanoscale real-time temperature control in living systems. Our patented technology for the first time allows access to intracellular thermodynamics at the nanoscale, which... Read more
Navintis: The first flow-directed magnetically-steered microcatheter
Navintis is dedicated to saving lives by empowering clinicians with the world's smallest microcatheter and providing a new treatment modality for intracerebral hemorrhage: a devastating disease with n... Read more
Neosens Diagnostics Sagl: AI-Platform Diagnostic Assistant for early health assessment
NEOSENS is an AI-based technology that provides rapid and accurate health assessment from a single drop of blood. NEOSENS ensures newborns in LMICs receive the best possible start in life. Our tec... Read more
NovoViz SA: Single-photon processing detectors for computational imaging
NovoViz designs and manufactures in different technology nodes single-photon computational engines for applications that demand high sensitivity and high speed but cannot handle large amounts of data.... Read more
PhenomX Health SA: Precision nutrition for women
We empower women through personalized nutrition and wellness to take control of their menopause and healthy aging journey. The PhenomX woman benefits from the latest health science and molecular nutri... Read more
Protonica: Advancing Proton Therapy imaging for better Cancer Care
Protonica's business idea centers around revolutionizing cancer care through the advancement of proton therapy. Unlike conventional radiotherapy, proton therapy offers a targeted cure preventing shor... Read more
R2HOME: Using robotics to improve atmospheric data collection.
Every year, 600'000 radiosondes are launched around the world under weather balloons to collect atmospheric data used to produce weather forecasts. During the ascent, the balloon drifts with the wind ... Read more
TheraME! AG: Personalized cancer therapy
TheraMe! AG, a spin-off from EPFL, is a MedTech startup based in Lausanne that provides personalized cancer therapy recommendation before treatment starts. We employ proprietary microfluidic technolog... Read more
TofuPilot SA: The collaborative workspace for hardware product teams.
The world needs hardware innovation now more than ever, but bringing new products to market remains too slow. Hardware product teams looking to innovate quickly find traditional industrial approaches ... Read more
Windworks SA: Clean, affordable and reliable wind power, locally captured.
Windworks is an EPFL spin-off developing smart vertical-axis wind turbines for on-site electricity generation at farms, municipalities, and SMEs. Our turbines actively adapt to the wind: each blade co... Read more
