900 million francs for young tech companies
Innovative and fast-growing Swiss startups raised 909 million francs last year, 35 percent more than in the previous year. A good half of the money went to companies from the greater Lausanne area. The ICT sector developed particularly well. This is shown in the current Swiss Venture Capital Report, which the online news portal Startupticker.ch realized in cooperation with the investor association SECA.
Investments in new tech companies, i.e. knowledge and technology-based startups, have almost tripled in the last five years, according to the latest Swiss Venture Capital Report. According to the report, domestic and foreign investors provided 909 million in venture capital in 2016, 35 percent more than in the previous year. There was another 26 percent increase in the top 20 rounds, from CHF 561 million to now CHF 706 million, due to larger financing transactions taking place at a later stage of development. In addition, financing rounds of more than CHF 100 million took place for the first time. In both cases - ADC Therapeutics and Mindmaze - the money went to companies based in Vaud.
Largest increase in the ICT sector
In percentage terms, the strongest growth was in the area of information and communications technology (ICT), including fintech. The reported figure of 271 million is more than double that of the previous year. Responsible for this increase are, on the one hand, providers of B2B software such as Nexthink or SonarSource, and on the other hand, tech companies whose products are used in the digitization of traditional industries. Swiss fintech startups alone attracted just under CHF 50 million in 2016. In absolute terms, the most money went to biotech companies. This sector continued to grow in 2016. Around 400 million was raised in 25 financing rounds.
Focus Lausanne
What is remarkable - according to one finding of the report, which covers all published venture capital investments in Swiss startups - is the geographical distribution of investments. Vaud swung way up at the top in 2016. More than half of the total amount invested went to the innovation cluster around the ETH and the University of Lausanne. The canton in western Switzerland also attracted the most money in the ICT sector for the first time, it adds. The canton of Zurich, which for years was considered Switzerland's ICT stronghold, now leads only in the fintech sector.
Seven IPOs
Whether a startup's commitment pays off for the investors is decided at the time of the exit. The company is then either taken over by a strategic investor or remains independent and goes public. And 2016 also had a lot to offer in this respect. Including two reverse takeovers, seven venture capital-financed tech companies ventured onto the stock market last year. In addition, a number of startups were acquired by large companies such as Hewlett Packard Enterprise, 3M and TripAdvisor.
Source: www.startupticker.ch
