May 1, 2015
Millions for start-ups
Dear reader
Start-up matchmaking is a new platform that brings together large companies and innovative start-ups. Insurance companies AXA and Mobiliar, Swiss Post, SBB, SRG and Zurich energy provider ewz are all involved. Interested young companies have the opportunity to submit projects and will receive a qualified answer within 30 days. Projects that help companies find answers to the digital transformation are those particularly in demand.
There is barely a sector left untouched by the internet. The latest example is wine sales: the platform Schweizer Weine bypasses the traditional wine trade and gives the consumer the opportunity to buy Swiss wine directly from the wine maker.
Financings of the week: EPFL spin-offs L.E.S.S. and Lunaphore have generated fresh capital to the tune of CHF2 million (Lunaphore) and CHF3 million (L.E.S.S.).
There were also three rounds of financing of transnational projects. Swiss-British biotech company CRISPR Therapeutics collected a further $64 million, fintech firm ayondo, which operates in Switzerland, Germany and the UK, generated CHF6 million, and the Swiss-Belgian medtech firm Biocartis pulled in €100 million from its IPO on Euronext Brussels.
Finally, as always, the event notifications from startupticker.ch: the Digital Economic Forum and the Finance 2.0 conference take place next Tuesday in Zurich, and also in Downtown Switzerland another Startupbootcamp event is scheduled for 8 May. Last-minute registrations from excellent fintech start-ups are possible.
Have a good weekend.
Jost Dubacher
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". 
