9th Kickstart Innovation Program: Start of applications in 60 countries
Kickstart Innovation, one of the leading open innovation platforms in Europe, launched its ninth program. Each year, Kickstart has been able to attract some of the world's best start-ups to develop solutions to society's biggest challenges. This is done in collaboration with key industry players such as AXA, Coop, Swisscom, Mobiliar, PostFinance, Sanitas, the City of Zurich, the Canton of Vaud and MSD. This year, Ikea Switzerland and Romande Energie are also participating on the corporate side for the first time.
Kickstart has already supported more than 450 start-ups and facilitated over 310 deals (see Collaboration Map above) in the form of pilot and commercial projects. Participants to date come from over 80 countries and have mobilized more than CHF 2.5 billion in investment, including Planted, KernTec, Neustark, AAAcell and more. "Start-ups increasingly need support to grow successfully," explains Katka Letzing, co-founder and CEO of Kickstart Innovation. "Rising interest rates, increasing regulatory requirements and the shortage of skilled workers are challenges that need to be overcome. Partnerships and expert know-how on strategy and further development can be helpful and create new business opportunities. We also support organizations from the public and private sectors to avoid working in silos and create innovations that matter."
The aim of the Kickstart program is to promote business deals in the form of pilot projects or commercial collaborations between later-stage start-ups and established institutions that want to scale their products and services, tap into new sources of revenue and invest in forward-looking models and practices. The program has been held annually since 2016. The topics of digitalization and sustainability are strong drivers of innovation across all industries. "Start-ups offer a wide range of solutions for companies that are looking for new technologies and other innovative solutions for their further development. At the same time, these partnerships promote the growth of start-ups through access to pools of experts and investment opportunities," explains Katka Letzing.
The search for tomorrow's solutions is taking place in six areas: Health & Wellbeing, Finance & Insurance, Food & Retail, New Work & Learning, Smart Cities and Intrapreneurship. Each area focuses on specific innovation trends and the needs of the individual Kickstart partners. In addition to building partnerships, Kickstart also provides access to a broad-based investor network for start-ups and alumni conducting financing rounds. Partners with corporate venture arms are actively involved, including Swisscom Ventures, Axa Strategic Venturing and others.
"In recent years, we have been able to get in touch with great start-ups and win both collaborations and investments, including companies such as Labster and PriceHubble. I look forward to more such collaborations this year," comments Alexander Schlaepfer, Partner at Swisscom Ventures.
Source: www.kickstart-innovation.com
