Precious connections forged at TOP 100 Swiss Investor Summit 2018

10.09.2018 16:05, Robynn Weldon

Even before the TOP 100 awards 2018 were handed out, some of our TOP 100 startups were already winners.

On Tuesday evening Swiss and international investors met at ETH Zurich for the Deep Tech Investor Dinner, co-organized by ETH, digitalswitzerland and Venturelab. And before the TOP 100 Swiss Startup Award ceremony on Wednesday, 100 international investors gathered at an invitation-only event to meet Switzerland’s most promising startups and find their next great investment opportunity.

We are amazed to experience the interetst of so many #investors at the #DeepTechInvestorDinner tonight @ETH and we are looking forward to our connected #Top100 Startup Event tomorrow

_________________________#innovation #startups #dinner #digitalswitzerland @venturelab_ch @ETH pic.twitter.com/GQiTWF2rJ4

— digitalswitzerland (@dgt_switzerland) September 4, 2018

The TOP 100 Swiss Investor Summit, co-organized by digitalswitzerland, brought 13 fundraising health and technology entrepreneurs together for intensive pitching, one-to-one meetings and networking. Karim Maizar from Kellerhals Carrard and Patrick Griss from Zühlke introduced the international investors to the Swiss startup ecosystem, comparing it to other tech hubs, before the 13 startups started pitching for funding.

What would be the impact of 1 billion growth money for Swiss Startups? #top100ssu #vc #panel #kcstartupdesk @venturelab_ch @dgt_switzerland pic.twitter.com/UTx6U5LrgG

— Kellerhals Carrard (@kellerhals_ch) September 5, 2018

“The interest of so many investors reflects the impressive quality of Swiss startups and showcases Switzerland as a truly deep tech nation that can keep pace with Silicon Valley, London or Tel Aviv,” said Stefan Steiner, Co-Managing Director of Venturelab.

“Innovation is in our genes” ?@nicolasburer? ?@dgt_switzerland? #TOP100SSU pic.twitter.com/mDzK44UhIT

— Michael Lütolf (@michael_luetolf) September 4, 2018

 
Investors themselves confirmed this. “The Swiss ecosystem is building up nicely,” said Christian G. Nagel of Earlybird Venture Captial. “I see a great technology base coming out of Swiss universities. For us the thing is to see what’s coming up next, so I’m here to learn about the next technologies and find investment opportunities.”

Start of the Investor Summit with 100 investors! Look at our driving forces: blockchain, robotics, computer science, life sciences and big US tech expanding in CH! @KarimMaizar @venturelab_ch @blogstone @startuptickerCH @dgt_switzerland pic.twitter.com/5hzmhIRlY9

— nicolasburer (@nicolasburer) September 5, 2018

 
Andrew Casey of Fidelity Investments said: “Switzerland is very strong when it comes to bioscience and machine learning. The ecosystem is burgeoning. There are a lot of bright minds here and it’s going to be very interesting to see what happens over the next five years.”
 
A number of investors also highlighted the international nature of our local entrepreneurship scene. “There is a lot of international talent in startups here,” said Christian Siegele of Capnamic Ventures. “It’s a good foundation for starting a company. We’re looking to invest in Swiss startups more and more.”
 
“This is where we come in,” said Partech’s Olivier Schuepbach. “We see new clusters, more and more deep tech coming out of universities and more entrepreneurs being surrounded by local people to help. We’re here to help with globalization – not only to market big tech, but to build global players out of it.”
  
These were the 13 startups invited to represent the best of Swiss tech:
 
Adello
Patented big data analysis drives this media-buying platform for mobile advertising. The intelligent real-time targeting strategies are updated 100,000 times a second, self-optimizing for maximum marketing impact, and have already convinced large agency networks such as GroupM and leading mobile SSPs such as Smaato.
 
Cellestia Biotech
Cellestia’s targeted cancer therapy is a small molecule that inhibits the NOTCH signaling pathway –a key factor in certain cancers, and in resistance to standard treatments. Development of this candidate is combined with development of a biomarker program to identify patients with NOTCH-driven cancers as suitable for treatment.
 
Dotphoton
The size and number of images taken every year is growing so fast that storage and network technologies can’t keep up. Dotphoton™ is an image compression solution for professional applications: it makes RAW images up to 10 times smaller without compromising quality, saving a corresponding amount of time and money and enabling the next generation of high-quality imaging solutions in photography, cinema, AI, biomedical and aerospace.
 
Gamaya
Hyperspectral imaging and artificial intelligence are harnessed to improve the efficiency and sustainability of farming businesses through decision support and automation services. The results? Savings in water, chemicals, fuel and labor, lower environmental impact and improved quality and yield.
 
InterAx Biotech
This ETHZ spinoff has built a unique discovery platform for identification of superior drug candidates for the largest class of drug targets. This platform will dramatically reduce costs for the development of novel GPCR drugs with reduced side effects.
 
Nanolive
Nanolive has developed a disruptive proprietary technology, making it possible for the very first time to explore a living cell in 3D without damaging it instantly. Since the cell is the basis of all life on earth, this is a major milestone in the history of microscopy, which may change all the rules in the fields of education, fundamental research, medical research, clinical trial, diagnostic, healthcare, etc.
 
Mirrakoi
Mirrakoi provides augmented CAD software that simulates real-world physical contact during the 3D digital modeling process. It enables unprecedented efficiency, precision, and the acceleration of the interactive design process for CAD and computer-aided engineering (CAE).
 
RealLook(Selfnation)
Online 3D visualization technologies and highly automated production processes combine to offer customers perfectly fitted jeans, made with high-quality materials to their exact specifications, through a simple online order. 

RetinIAI
RetinAI’s tools to collect, analyze and organize health data using machine learning promote efficient, accurate early screening and monitoring of eye diseases, saving time and supporting healthcare professionals to prevent vision loss in their patients.
 
SamanTree Medical
SamanTree’s innovative device to acquire tissue images during surgical cancer interventions has the potential to greatly reduce the recurrence of tumors and repeat operations. That means higher patient quality of life, and a better chance of a complete cure.
 
Topadur Pharma
Topadur provides specialized drugs for the treatment of severe wound healing in diabetic patients. The priority development product TOP-N53 addresses the cause of the impaired blood flow that causes chronic foot ulcers by targeting two key enzymes, leading to increased blood flow and oxygen to the wound tissue, which is expected to result in significant improvement in wound healing.

Versantis
Versantis is a pharmaceutical company revolutionizing the care of liver disease patients with a new generation of medicines and diagnostics. Its lead candidate, VS-01, has the potential to be the first drug for acute liver disease that simultaneously supports multiple failing organs. In addition, with a diagnostic test and a therapy for chronic patients, Versantis’ pipeline promises to answer other needs in liver diseases.
 
Winterthur Instruments
The Winterthur CoatMaster measures coating thicknesses without contact, facilitating full automation of industrial processes, reducing waste and saving energy and costs. The CoatMaster works with all types of coating and substrate materials, opening a wide range of applications.