New Deeptech Foundation promotes research-intensive innovations

With their newly established foundation called Deep Tech Nation Switzerland, UBS and Swisscom are seeking to play their part in improving the commercialization of innovations in this research-intensive field. In order to secure significantly more venture capital for this aim, the foundation intends to make marked improvements to the framework conditions, according to a press release.

The foundation has drawn up plans to create a Venture Hub Switzerland and a Unicorn Factory. Moreover, an information platform on the Swiss innovation ecosystem is to be put in place, offering investors an overview of this space, while the international visibility of Switzerland as a leading Deep Tech nation is to be enhanced.

The foundation will seek to mobilize 50 billion Swiss francs for Swiss start-ups and scale-ups over the next ten years. Through this, the aim is to create up to 100,000 jobs directly and indirectly across a period of several years. After all, Switzerland still only invests a fraction of the annual volumes seen in Sweden and Israel, for example.

“In order for more venture capital to be able to turn ingenious ideas into successful solutions, the Deep Tech Nation Switzerland Foundation is needed”, as Christoph Aeschlimann, CEO of Swisscom, puts it. “We are tackling global challenges by building a dynamic ecosystem for start-ups and scale-ups that focus on social issues”.

According to the press release, the founding partners UBS and Swisscom have already brought on board other companies and organizations such as Stadler Rail, SIX, Vaudoise Versicherungen, Rolex, Swiss, SICPA and the University of Zurich.

UBS Switzerland CEO Sabine Keller-Busse and Swisscom CEO Christoph Aeschlimann presented the foundation to the public at the Swiss Economic Forum SEF at the beginning of June. The SEF, which is Switzerland’s leading business conference, is an initiative of NZZ Connect. The Bern-based branch of the NZZ is committed to promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in Switzerland, including in the context of the Swiss Innovation Forum, which has been running for 17 years.

Its successor format, Open-i, has grown into a Swiss innovation community and dialogue platform for business and science. Here, NZZ Connect connects science with business and successful managers with the next generation. The conference will take place on 21 and 22 November in Zurich. Tickets are available now.

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