swiss deep tech investment leader
Up next
Author
Tags
Share article
The post has been shared by 0 people.
Facebook 0
Twitter 0
Pinterest 0
Mail 0

While most countries talk big about innovation, Switzerland is actually putting its money where its mouth is. The Alpine nation has allocated a staggering 60% of its total venture capital to Deep Tech from 2019 to 2025—the highest share anywhere on the planet. Not just a little higher. The highest. Period.

This isn’t some fluke. Swiss Deep Tech investment has exploded six-fold over a decade, hitting $1.9 billion in 2024 with projections of $2.3 billion for 2025. Meanwhile, other so-called “innovation hubs” like Silicon Valley, Berlin, and Paris are eating Swiss dust when it comes to prioritizing science-based startups.

The secret sauce? Elite universities. ETH Zurich and EPFL rank among Europe’s top five institutions for Deep Tech spinout value, trailing only Oxford and Cambridge. These academic powerhouses have helped Swiss Deep Tech companies generate over $100 billion in combined enterprise value. Not bad for a country smaller than some American states. The integration of deep learning techniques is revolutionizing how these institutions approach drug discovery and scientific research.

But here’s the twist: Swiss investors are only part of the story. A whopping 85% of funding comes from international sources. Local investors show up for the early rounds but practically disappear later—providing just 4% of late-stage funding. Switzerland proudly ranks first in Europe and third worldwide for Deep Tech venture capital funding per capita. Americans and Europeans swoop in to grab the good stuff, with US investors alone supplying nearly half of late-stage capital.

The ecosystem is evolving, too. Gone are the days when Swiss startups meant just another BioTech company. AI and machine learning startups now make up 23% of Deep Tech ventures founded since 2021—nearly double their previous share. Climate tech, robotics, and TechBio are surging too.

With over 1,500 Deep Tech startups mapped in the last five years, Switzerland has built an innovation factory that actually delivers results. Switzerland’s position as the world’s most innovative economy according to the Global Innovation Index further validates its impressive Deep Tech achievements. The numbers don’t lie. When it comes to turning scientific breakthroughs into ventures worth betting on, the Swiss aren’t just participating—they’re showing everyone else how it’s done.

References