August 8, 2014
Good money and opportunities
Dear reader
So much for a summer break: we can report on five rounds of financing and an exit over the past two weeks. The most spectacular case was the investment in GetYourGuide: the Zurich internet company has generated an additional $25 million. Not only is the amount is remarkable, but so is the investor: venture capitalist Spark Capital has already funded start-ups such as Twitter and Tumblr.
The start-ups and investors of the other financing rounds are striking in their differences. The US-Swiss IT company ProtonMail set a new record for software start-up financing on the crowdfounding platform Indiegogo, and Swiss Cloud Computing has secured more than CHF200,000 per crowdfunding with the help of the Swiss platform c-crowd.
In addition, Agile Wind Power has reported CHF1 million of new capital and Andrew Alliance, which provides pipetting robots, has entered into a Series B round of financing.
The exit of Sensima Technology is particularly pleasing; it shows that investors can earn money with Swiss start-ups. An American firm will pay up to $20 million for the young Swiss semiconductor company.
Much has been going on in the past two weeks not only for Swiss start-ups, but also for supporters – with the result that many opportunities are out there for entrepreneurs.
The tender for the Young Entrepreneur Award from the WA de Vigier Foundation has started. Once again, five start-ups have the opportunity to win CHF 100,000 each. (Article in German and in French)
At the Swisscom Startup Challenge, however, it’s the public that makes the running. Currently, one can choose one’s favourite from among the 10 finalists and with a little luck win an iPad.
I would also like to highlight several events for potential entrepreneurs with business ideas. A two-day Creathon will take place in Lucerne at the end of August, and in October consecutive Startup Weekends in Neuchâtel and Basel. Also in October, the first Startup Weekend in Zurich will focus on the creative industries. Last but not least, the Hackathon in Zurich is worth mentioning – more than 300 students and IT professionals meet from all over Europe.
A much wider audience will be in attendance at the computer fair CeBIT, which takes place in March 2015. Registration for the Swiss Pavilion is now open.
Have a relaxing weekend.
Stefan Kyora
Managing Editor, startupticker.ch
News
The new Swiss Venture Capital Report was published on 26 January. It analyses 304 financing rounds closed in 2020 and includes further article such as an interview with Michael Hengartner, President of the ETH Board, and a list of Swiss "soonicorns". 
