Organized by Swiss Economic Forum's startup program, SEF.Growth, the SEF.Growth High Potential Label is awarded to startups demonstrating robust growth strategies and high potential for significant market impact. This label serves as a seal of quality, enhancing startups' credibility and visibility among customers, suppliers, and financing partners. The following companies have been awarded during the past months.
Neustark – Johannes Tiefentaler and Valentin Gutknecht, co-founders of neustark have a bold ambition: to annually remove 1 million tons of CO2 by 2030 through approximately 1000 sites. They aim to achieve this by removing CO2 from the atmosphere and storing it permanently in demolition concrete, the world’s largest waste stream. Their innovative technology captures biogenic CO2 from biogas plants, injects it into concrete granules, and triggers a mineralization process that binds the CO2 permanently. The company has already established 20 operational plants, with over 40 under construction. Collaborating with industry partners and research institutions and securing a large funding round are some of their achievements, in addition to expanding operations to multiple European countries, with plans to enter the North American market. Read more about neustark’s story from idea, to vision to preparing to scale-uphere.
Emost – The scale-up startup stands out for electric mobile storage, making off-grid power available at the edge and beyond the grid without diesel generators. Founded in 2022 following a management buy-out from AXPO, emost built its flagship product, the Butler series, which replaces traditional diesel generators, providing a flexible, eco-friendly power supply for construction sites, events, and emergencies. With a focus on sustainability and efficiency, emost aims to revolutionize energy solutions by offering quiet, reliable power without emissions. The company has already deployed around 110 units across Europe. The cmopany secured a significant OEM partnership with a German construction machinery manufacturer generating two billion in revenues to distribute its products across Europe under its own brand. This strategic partnership is anticipated to substantially accelerate emost's growth trajectory. To support further expansion and international marketing efforts, the company plans to raise a 5 million CHF funding round. Read the full journey from idea to today’s achievementshere.
Teylor – The Zurich-based company digitizes lending processes to make capital more accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The founder, Patrick Stäuble and his team have established Teylor as a leading European SME lending platform which offers one of the fastest and most comfortable business loans in Germany, allowing SMEs to access financing within just 10 minutes. Teylor offers transparent terms and has expanded its services to include real estate loans and factoring. In addition to lending, Teylor licenses the technology platform to financial institutions throughout Europe. With significant funding and recognition as a leading startup, Teylor aims to transform SME financing across Europe.
Verity – Raffaello D'Andrea, CEO of Verity, had experienced a remarkable journey since he co-founded Verity in 2014 with Markus Hehn and Markus Waibel. What started as a scientific project for autonomous drone technology became the sought-after solution for warehouse management by global retailers and third-party logistics companies. Combining fully autonomous drone technology with advanced data analytics, Verity enables clients to benefit from real-time visibility and precise control over their inventory, driving operational efficiencies, cost savings, and reductions in CO2 emissions. In 2023, Verity exceeded the $10 million mark in revenue and is on the verge of celebrating surpassing the 100th client site milestone across three continents. Read their success storyhere.
C Wire – is a Zurich-based digital advertising company focusing on privacy-centric advertising solutions that do not rely on third-party cookies. Founded in 2020, the company has developed a proprietary contextual targeting engine powered by artificial intelligence and natural language processing, allowing advertisers to effectively reach audiences while respecting user privacy. With re renowned brands such as Miele on board, the company plans to increase its market traction in France and Germany and develop new product features to drive more scale and engagement. Co-founder Rui de Freitas shares the companystory and path to growth.
Drinkotec’s story is not that of a typical startup because the company has been around since 2002, providing beverage dispensing solutions in restaurants and hotels. With Franck-Eric Flegbo taking over the company as its successor, he repositioned the company to expand it beyond its original roots. Today, the company is specializing in automated beverage dispensing systems, enhancing efficiency, reducing waste, and integrating with POS solutions. Read the full storyhere.
H55's origins can be traced back to the groundbreaking Solar Impulse project, but Solar Impulse was never the endpoint of the plans. “We always knew we were working towards something bigger”, say co-founder Gregory Blatt and CEO Martin Larose. Founded by André Borschberg, Sebastien Demont and Gregory Blatt, H55 provides certified electric propulsion and battery management systems tailored to a diverse range of aircraft to achieve sustainable air travel. The recently established production facility in Canada is one of the many achievements besides closing its CHF 65 million series C round this year. In the following success story, the funders shared theirstory and plans for promoting sustainable air travel.
ENOVEAS, based in Neuchatel, was founded in 2022 as part of b-next group, specializing in the development of smart, compact eco-responsible microfactories. This solution aims to address a major issue in the industry – traditional manufacturing systems that are bulky, expensive, and less dynamic. The company’s flagship product, Silex, is a micro-machine that offers increased production speed, high precision, reduced footprint, maximum flexibility, and minimal energy consumption.With a modular approach that allows for diversification while maintaining core competencies, the company has successfully disrupted traditional industries, including watchmaking, and is now expanding into aerospace and medical microtechnology. Founder Martin Böni shares the story behind the company’s success.
Tide Ocean – known as #tide, was founded five years ago with the goal of recycling ocean-bound plastic waste. Tide Ocean evolved from a watch supplier's project into a full-fledged business due to high demand. #tide has established a global sourcing network, with a central hub in Thailand and partnerships in the Philippines, Mexico, and Malaysia, collecting and upcycling ocean-bound plastic waste.The company's approach includes setting up collection points in coastal areas, compensating collectors, and transforming waste into granulates for sustainable product manufacturing. #tide has implemented a transparent supply chain, crucial for high-quality industries like Swiss watchmaking, collaborating with institutions such as IWK for quality assurance. To this date, 80 brands have used #tide ocean material in over 120 products. The company just obtained a growth loan by UBS Switzerland. More about the company’s success story.
(RAN)