In 2024, Swiss start-ups have increased their announcements of significant financing in areas as varied as artificial intelligence, energy, robotics and even fintech. The technologies of these young shoots respond to complex challenges, whether it involves optimizing industrial processes, securing data, predicting weather phenomena, personalizing online experiences or even facilitating the energy transition.
Among the numerous financings recorded in 2024, that of Skycell stands out as the most important. The Swiss company has completed a $116 million Series D funding round. The young company, specializing in logistics solutions for maintaining the cold chain of sensitive products, particularly pharmaceuticals, offers connected hybrid containers and AI tools to monitor temperature and carbon emissions throughout the supply chain. ‘supply.
Artificial intelligence
In the field of artificial intelligence, several Swiss start-ups have convinced investors in 2024. Neural Concept, based in Lausanne, has mobilized $27 million for its platform leveraging deep-learning and 3D to guide designers throughout the product development process.
Spin-off of the ETHZ, EthonAI raised 15 million francs. It had already obtained 65.8 million in seed funds in 2023. Founded in 2021, the firm has developed a platform – Manufacturing Analysis System – capable of analyzing the vast amount of data produced by equipment and other sensors present in the chains of production.
For its part, DeepJudge, from Zurich, raised $10.7 million to develop its GenAI Knowledge Assistant intended for law firms. DeepJudge Knowledge Search software allows businesses to instantly locate relevant content across the entire enterprise, including document management systems, the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, and other tools.
The Swiss start-up Albatross has obtained 3 million euros to develop its AI platform, aimed at better personalizing recommendations on media, stores and online marketplaces.
While the young companies just mentioned are developing tools leveraging AI, Lakera stands out with its solutions that secure LLM-based models. The Zurich firm, which benefited from a capital injection of $20 million, is developing a proprietary AI that protects LLMs against prompt injection attacks. Its API provides a security layer compatible with any GenAI model.
Agritech
Innovation born in Switzerland is also illustrated in agritech. Like xFarm Technologies, it raised 36 million euros. The young company, originally from Ticino, publishes an agricultural management information system which promises to facilitate the management of the needs of farmers, machines and all players in the agri-food supply chain, by drawing on artificial intelligence for data analysis.
Note also the merger between the EPFL spin-off Gamaya and the Zurich start-up Terraview. The two companies are integrating their AI solutions. That of Gamaya is coupled with drones and targets sugar cane farmers. That of Terraview offers production, risk and irrigation forecasts for vineyards.
Autonomous robotics and logistics
The Swiss robotics sector is notably supported by Anybotics, which has consolidated a funding round of $110 million for its inspection robots, with funding of $60 million in 2024, complementing the $50 million obtained in 2023. Its ANYmal model stands out as a robust solution for inspection robots powered by AI.
Embotech, a Zurich autonomous technology company, has announced funding of 23.5 million francs, notably from BMW. This investment aims to deploy its autonomous vehicle solutions in new markets for automobile factories and port logistics activities.
Swiss-Mile, specializing in AI-powered robots, raised $22 million in a first funding round led, among others, by Jeff Bezos. Founded in April 2023 and based in Zurich, Swiss-Mile’s mission is to create truly autonomous robots to take on different tedious tasks.
Zurich-based Mimic has secured a capital contribution of $2.5 million to develop advanced technologies for robotic arms and hands integrating generative AI.
IT
Swiss innovations in the IT field have also attracted the interest of investors. Like Anapaya and the 10 million obtained to continue its growth and offer its technology to energy service providers. For appeal, Anapaya markets the SCION network architecture developed at ETH Zurich.
LocalStack has closed a $25 million Series A fundraising round. Its solution allows developers to create and test local AWS environments before deployment.
For its part, Synthara has raised more than $11 million for the development of its in-memory chip technology, designed for applications relying heavily on AI.
Meteorology
Swiss start-ups also stand out in tools for analyzing and managing climate phenomena. Zurich-based Jua, for example, raised $16 million to develop an innovative AI model intended to analyze and predict natural phenomena, starting with meteorological events.
Poncho, based in Morges, has completed a first round of financing of 550,000 francs. The young company has developed a weather insurance solution targeting online reservation platforms, which adjusts in real time, depending on the location, date and activity booked.
Fintech
The modernization of financial services continues to inspire young entrepreneurs in Switzerland. Founded by former Alpian executives and well-known tech specialists in French-speaking Switzerland, start-up Light Frame has closed $1.7 million in pre-seed funding to develop a solution that promises private banks and wealth management companies to modernize their operations.
Health
The health sector, too, could benefit from the rise of innovative start-ups. Particularly with Agora Care, which completed financing of 2.2 million francs. The Geneva start-up’s platform, now operational in multiple clinical environments, now serves more than 12,000 patients.
Energy
Finally, in the energy segment, two young companies stood out in 2024. Terralayr, based in Zug, raised 77 million euros. Its solution allows power producers, traders, network operators and large consumers such as data centers to access the benefits of battery storage without investing in physical equipment.
While Perovskia Solar, an Empa spin-off, benefited from $2.4 million in funding from international investors for its high-efficiency solar cells designed for IoT devices.
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