Five startups win the W.A. de Vigier sponsorship award

In the meantime, there are many awards for startups in Switzerland. The oldest and the most highly endowed is the W.A. de Vigier Promotion Prize: every year, it distributes CHF 500,000 in prize money (5 times CHF 100,000) to young entrepreneurs in Switzerland. Since its 29-year existence, the W.A. de Vigier Foundation has distributed a total of over CHF 11 million in start-up capital. To date, this has resulted in around 84 successful startups, several IPOs, profitable company sales and, above all, numerous new jobs. The foundation is the legacy of William A. de Vigier, a Solothurn native who died in 2003 and whose private initiative laid the foundation for this form of startup promotion.

Promotional award also gives strong weighting to personality of CEO

From over 220 projects submitted, the jury selected its top 16 in February. These went through an assessment and presented their ideas to the Foundation Board, which then selected the top 10. In addition to groundbreaking products, the personality of the CEO played a major role in choosing the winners. "We don't just want to support groundbreaking products, we also want to invest in outstanding people who will play a decisive role in shaping a new generation of Swiss entrepreneurs," explains Regula Buob, Managing Director of the W.A. de Vigier Foundation. The Top 16 undergo an assessment and put their own leadership style under the microscope in a confidential validation interview. With this approach, the W.A. de Vigier Foundation is one of the few sponsors that systematically consider the human factor.

The five award winners (alphabetical order)

• AUDATIC GmbH from Zurich (ZH) - Better performance of hearing aids in noisy environments: Hearing aids often let their wearers down in noisy situations. AUDATIC uses the latest artificial intelligence methods to filter out distracting background noise and significantly improve the listening experience. Whether in a restaurant, on the road or at a business meeting: Hearing aid users can once again take part in conversations with more pleasure and confidence thanks to AUDATIC's technology.
• inVoli from Renens (VD) - Safe integration of drones into air traffic: Collisions between drones and aircraft are increasingly becoming a hazard. inVoli provides the infrastructure for safely integrating unmanned aerial objects into existing air traffic. The Vaud-based startup's technology aims to make air traffic situation data accessible and equip stakeholders as well as the flying objects themselves with the necessary tools to use the skies more safely and efficiently.
• Myoswiss AG from Zurich (ZH) - Wearable muscles for people with movement restrictions: Myoswiss develops the Myosuit: A layer of clothing made of wearable muscles that supports everyday activities. The solution combines robotics and functional textiles in a comfortable product that weighs less than five kilograms. Novel algorithms coupled with sensors and actuators control the supporting forces during the user's movements.
• nanoleq GmbH from Zurich (ZH) - A new generation of cables: Cables are vulnerable. This is a problem with medical devices or factory robots, for example. nanoleq developed a fundamentally new type of cable technology. Under mechanical stress, the Zurich-based startup's FlexOne cable has a service life up to a hundred times longer than a standard cable and retains its high flexibility. nanoleq's target markets are in medical technology, high-end audio applications and robotics.
• SUN bioscience from Lausanne (VD) - 3D cell cultures for more effective treatment decisions: SUN bioscience launches a platform for standardized organoid 3D cell cultures that allow patient-specific testing for direct efficacy of treatments. Current methods based on biomarkers are often insufficiently reliable. SUN bioscience's solution optimizes medication decisions and avoids ineffective therapies. This enables billions of dollars in healthcare savings.

Other startups in the top 10

Five more startups made it into the top 10 in the "final selection" for the funding award. These are (alphabetically):

• ACUBE Technology AG from Nidau (BE) - access via smartphone instead of tickets and badges: The handling of tickets, badges and garage door hand-held transmitters is tedious and time-consuming for both the user and the technical service. ACUBE uses the smartphone for easier access and automatic payment. Thanks to the combination of a patented location system with an app, misplaced tickets and embarrassing arm-extension maneuvers in front of the parking garage barrier will soon be a thing of the past.
• AgroSustain GmbH (VD) - Organic fungicides for sustainable agriculture: Producers of agricultural products are under pressure. To avoid harvest and storage losses, chemical fungicides are used, which have a negative impact on biodiversity as well as our health. AgroSustain develops ecological prevention and treatment products against a wide range of fungal pathogens. These are interesting for storage, for the timber industry, gardeners and farmers.
• hemotune AG from Zurich (ZH) - Revolutionary blood purification process for sepsis: hemotune's process can remove hard-to-reach toxins from the blood. Specially developed magnetic nanoparticles bind to the toxins and can then be magnetically separated. In an add-on device to the dialysis machine, these nanoparticles are mixed with the blood and removed along with the toxins. The first application is being developed for the removal of endotoxins in acute blood poisoning.
• Sensoryx AG from Zurich (ZH) - Sensory immersion in the virtual world: Until now, users have had to hold distracting controls in their hands instead of being able to interact directly with the virtual world. VRfree is a mobile 3D tracking system that fully maps hands and fingers in cyberspace and enables a literally tangible immersion in the virtual world. This solution combines different sensor types and provides reality-identical mobile motion capture without delay.
• Touchless Automation GmbH from Biel (BE) - Contactless handling of micro components: Touchless Automation offers innovative solutions for any industry that processes microcomponents. As soon as the sensitive microcomponents are touched, there is a risk of scratching, contamination or other damage. The Biel-based startup's solution can move components of all materials - completely contact-free.

Vibrant entrepreneurial spirit in Switzerland

There is no lack of entrepreneurial spirit in Switzerland - and the W.A. de Vigier Foundation is suitably pleased about it. "Last year, 43,000 new companies were founded in Switzerland. As the W.A. Foundation, we are allowed to take a closer look at a fraction of the best companies. It is a real privilege and at the same time almost impossible to select the top 10 or five winners, because there are simply more than ten of them on Mount Olympus," says Alain Nicod, member of the Board of Trustees of the W.A. de Vigier Foundation.

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