March 27, 2015
Lighthouses in sight
Dear reader
The lively and successful Swiss start-up scene is demonstrated by startupticker every day. But for that performance to be perceived by the wider public, it needs sensational success. Intel has sent such a message with its second take-over this year of a Swiss start-up. After its acquisition of Composyt Light Labs, the technology group has now acquired Lemoptix – and it is also working with other Swiss start-ups, FaceShift and Dacuda. The keen interest shows that these start-ups not only have unique technologies, but also have a strong voice in the fight for the attention of US corporations. They are the beacons that are needed in Switzerland.
Composyt Light Labs, Lemoptix, FaceShift and Dacuda have been promoted by various Swiss support organisations and all four took part in the venture leaders programme, which took the young companies for an intensive 10 days in the US. A good reason to take a close look at the 20 members of this year’s Swiss national start-up team, the names of which were announced on Wednesday.
With the exception of the very young Composyt Light Labs, all these companies carry the CTI Start-up Label. And there has been a recent addition: medtech company Biovotion, which focuses on wearables, has also been awarded the label.
True Wealth is also among the winners of the week. The fintech start-up won an award at the prestigious Best of Swiss Web competition. Furthermore, several start-up companies have qualified for the final of the Export Award 2015.
Start-ups may be a new phenomenon at the Export Award, but at CTI Invest they have been the focus for more than 10 years. At the last Swiss Venture Day, nine companies with lighthouse potential presented themselves. And there was news also of the organisation itself: it intends to contribute to improved connections between large companies and start-ups, and is planning relevant events.
Two companies finalised financing rounds in the millions this week: IT company xtendx and biotech start-up NBE Therapeutics.
Next week, as it is Easter, the newsletter will take a holiday. The next issue will appear on 10 April. Have a good weekend and a happy Easter.
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". 
