The "SEF4KMU.High-Potential-KMU" is a quality label bestowed on startups and young SMEs with a robust growth strategy. The quality label allows startups to improve their presence on the market and increase acceptance amongst customers and investors and gives them access to growth modules provided by the organisation's partners such as UBS and IPI.
The newly added five startups make up the entire 2020 portfolio cohort. The selected startups are:
Dagsmejan, founded by Andreas Lenzhofer and Catarina Dahlin has been collaborating with sleep researchers, textile engineers and manufacturing experts across Europe since its start in 2016 to revolutionise the sleepwear market. The company combines the finest natural fibres with the most modern sleep and innovative textile technology to develop temperature-tailored, an approach that has long existed in the sportswear field. By introducing its innovative sleepwear, Dagsmejan helps a significant number of individuals with insomnia to enjoy a better night’s sleep by keeping within their ideal temperature comfort zone throughout the night. Dagsmejan now has five product lines available in its own online store and at selected partner stores. Each line is different and boasts distinctive features that address specific customer needs. Over the coming months, the company plans to extend its range with new product categories and expand its international sales network.
Anybotics was founded in 2016 as a spin-off from ETH Zurich by a team of leading robotics researchers and renowned industry representatives. The company develops autonomous four-legged robots capable of navigating complex environments for enhanced safety and productivity in industrial operations. With its flagship product ANYmal, which is already in the market, the company has won several awards including the SEF. Award in the high-tech and biotech category. More than 50 employees are working at ANYbotics currently.
Zippsafe introduced a new locker solution that uses up to 70% less space than traditional sheet metal lockers. At the core of the Zippsafe system are the textile locker bags, which adapt flexibly in size to the items stowed inside. Zippsafe can expand capacity or even free up hundreds of square metres. The system also boasts IoT functions, such as digital locker management, smart ventilation and live monitoring. The lockers ensure that clothes remain fresh, and wet jackets can dry out by the end of the working day. There are also extra compartments for hygienically storing shoes. In just four years since its foundation, the Zurich start-up has won international and national customers such as Cantonal Hospital Winterthur, Jelmoli, Swiss and Johnson & Johnson. It has already handled orders from international customers in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France, Latvia and the USA.
Neon revolutionises the banking sector with a new solution that aims to reduce bank- and credit card fees. Neon, also Switzerland’s first neo-bank, enables users to set up an account quickly using their mobile phones, free of charge and receive a free banking card that allows them to also conduct transactions in foreign currencies at no cost. Thanks to its collaboration with Hypothekarbank Lenzburg, the company complies with the Swiss banking system's requirements. The company entrepreneurial TV series “Die Höhle der Löwen Schweiz” in June 2019 and received investment from four of five lions. The consumer TV programme Kassensturz also ranked neon as the best digital bank with the best deal, incurring the lowest fees in all points compared.
Roomz offers a digital room planning solution to provide real-time information on room usage such that employees can book rooms and workstations more flexibly hence eliminating unused reservations. Roomz combines hardware developed in-house (sensors used to detect room occupancy) and software from the cloud (SaaS model) to offer an intelligent wireless solution for companies of any size.
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