The most promising startups in Switzerland 2018 awarded

Switzerland is a leader in high-tech manufacturing technologies, patents and IP, in promoting research and development, and in education. And Swiss startups are marking their presence around the globe.

Top 3 Swiss Startups: Ava Women, Bestmile and Lunaphore

There is certainly evidence of this: for the second time in a row, the femtech startup wins Ava Women, it has raised a total of $42.3 million in funding, created 70 jobs, opened an office in San Francisco, and earned co-founder Lea von Bidder a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Ava's sensor wristbands look simple but are super smart: the data it collects while women sleep is turned into highly accurate information about their fertility cycles and health. CEO and co-founder Pascal König says: "Winning the TOP 100 award in 2017 gave us the extra boost that has contributed substantially to our fantastic growth over the last 12 months."

Chaser Bestmile (ranked 7th last year) offers a platform for integrating autonomous and conventional vehicle fleets that is used by transportation providers ranging from PostAuto and SBB to California-based Robotaxis - earning it a spot on the World Economic Forum's Technology Pioneers list. The third-place startup Lunaphore (ranked 9th last year) has signed collaborations with multi-billion dollar global corporation PerkinsElmer and biomedical research company Vitro, both of which recognize the potential of the startup's technology to revolutionize tissue diagnostics. Lunaphores automated tissue staining solution uses microfluidics to significantly increase the speed and reliability of laboratory processes.

What is striking about the aforementioned top 3: all three of these startups have women in their founding team. Female founders can also be found at three other TOP 10 startups (Cutiss, Piavita and Versantis), while a total of 28 of the TOP 100 have women in their management team. The fact that women are underrepresented in the startup scene is still undeniable. But where women are present, they shine.

Swiss startups scale new heights

In its eight years, the TOP 100 Swiss Startup Award has honored a total of 371 startups, including 143 Venture Leaders and 124 Venture Kick Alumni. Together, these startups have created 5197 jobs and raised more than CHF 2.6 billion. So far, there have been 38 exits (including the sale of Faceshift to Apple, Lemoptix to Intel and Dacuda to Magic Leap) and two IPOs with Biocartis and Crispr. Who will make headlines in the financial pages next? Among others, the rapidly growing TOP 100 companies Bcomp, GetYourGuide, Qualysense or Trekksoft should certainly be watched more closely.

"The Swiss startup ecosystem is in excellent shape," says Stefan Steiner, co-managing director of TOP 100 Award organizer Venturelab. "These entrepreneurs have more than just good ideas - they have excellent business acumen and are taking the investor world by storm." And Jordi Montserrat, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Venturelab, confirms, "Growth capital is exploding in Switzerland right now. 2018 will be a record year for investments, with eight top startups alone raising over CHF 270 million in recent months. The arrival of capital of this magnitude will enable these young companies to compete globally and help drive the future of Swiss industry."

Focus on Deep Tech Nation

For the first time, the TOP 100 magazine is published in four languages: German, French, English and now Chinese. This shows what a reference value the list has established itself as in the global high-tech ecosystem. The focus is on the impact of the data revolution - the driving force behind many successful startups in medicine or materia research. In an interview with Beekeeper founder Cristian Grossmann, the magazine explores the challenges of running a fast-growing company.

TOP 100 2018 Magazine, as well as the complete 2018 rankings and more information about the TOP 100, are available on www.top100startup.ch to find.