Sino-Swiss Innovation Days 2026

Designed for a curated delegation of Swiss startups and key innovation stakeholders, this immersive journey goes to the heart of technological progress, featuring Hong Kong and Shenzhen. The program offers an inspiring mix of roundtables, co-hosted events, and interactive discussions with local founders, investors, policymakers, and research institutions along with visits to some of the region’s most innovative companies. It’s designed to foster open dialogue and mutual learning.

As a newly established initiative organized by Swissnex in China, the Sino-Swiss Innovation Days aim to promote ecosystem-to-ecosystem dialogue and advance cooperation in strategic areas with strong potential for collaboration. The platform connects innovation stakeholders including startups, researchers and industry representatives from both sides, providing a structured framework for engagement spanning research, industry, investment, and policy dialogue.

With a thematic focus on robotics, automation, and intelligent manufacturing, the 2026 edition will convene leading Swiss and Chinese actors across Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and other key cities in the Greater Bay Area, to foster meaningful dialogue, strategic connections and project-oriented collaboration.

Deep Dive into the Greater Bay Area: Featuring Hong Kong and Shenzhen

The first-ever Robot 6S Store opened in Shenzhen, adding on-demand robot leasing and fully customized solutions to the traditional model. In the Greater Bay Area (GBA), technology shapes the city’s identity.

Shenzhen has moved away from being just about factories and fast growth. Now, knowledge, creativity, and teamwork are the key drivers of its growth. The region has built a strong system for innovation based on years of technological development. Once a small manufacturing town, Shenzhen has evolved from mastering production to cultivating the capacity to innovate. Today, Shenzhen is known for its skilled workforce, advanced prototype development, flexible manufacturing, and a unique “government-guided + market-driven” capital model. This allows the city to move from the certainty of the industrial age to the creative possibilities of a post-industrial future, where innovation is actively pursued rather than waited for.

Hong Kong adds to this by providing international investments and top-notch research. The wider Greater Bay Area (GBA) connects these advantages through easy movement between cities and diverse industrial clusters, from 3C electronics to new energy vehicles, power batteries, and medical devices. These industries are growing rapidly alongside the trend of Industry 4.0. Together, they speed up the process of turning ideas into large-scale products.

A Few Facts

R&D Powerhouse: The GBA has developed a distinct enterprise-driven innovation model. In 2024, total regional R&D expenditure reached RMB 491.29 billion, representing 14.7% of China’s total.

Patents & IP: Shenzhen filed 171,000 invention patent applications and received 74,000 grants, representing around 45% of the entire GBA.

Global Robotics Leadership: Seven Shenzhen companies were included in Morgan Stanley’s Global Top 100 Humanoid Robotics Listed Companies, accounting for nearly one-quarter of all mainland China entries.

Humanoid Robotics Value Chain: China accounts for 63% of the global humanoid robotics value chain, including 45% of the companies involved in integrated “body” hardware systems.

The Objectives of the Program

Increase China Competencies: Facilitate deep learning about China’s technological advancement in smart manufacturing, robotics, AI, and Industry 4.0 through immersive experiences and open dialogue.
Immerse in China’s Tech Ecosystem: Gain strategic insights and engage directly with key players, startups, investors, policymakers, and research hubs.
Stronger Cross-Border Collaboration: Build meaningful Swiss-Chinese partnerships through curated events, roundtables, and site visits to pioneering companies.
Accelerate International Growth: International perspectives, market understanding, and partnership opportunities that can guide your next stage of expansion and innovation development.

Why Now?

Shenzhen is sometimes called China’s Silicon Valley. Engaging with the GBA now offers Switzerland the opportunity to explore complementarities. As innovation accelerates and new ecosystems are built, early engagement is key to how future collaborations take shape.

Swiss companies are getting involved too. Startups are starting conversations, and major companies like ABB have expanded their presence in the GBA, with seven hubs that combine R&D, manufacturing, and training. These developments reflect a broader trend, the GBA is becoming one of the most strategically important regions for global robotics development.

The Program

DACH Pitch Night in Hong Kong (15 April): A platform to showcase your startup to a global audience and engage with investors and industry stakeholders from Switzerland, Germany, and Austria.
Inside the GBA Innovation Cluster: On-the-ground access to high-density innovation zones, including flagship innovation hubs, top robotics labs, and fast-scaling tech companies, paired with founder-to-founder and researcher exchanges.
FAIR Plus | Robotics, Machine Vision & Logistics (22–24 April): Showcase your products from the Swissnex booth, scout opportunities, and connect at one of the region’s most influential robotics fairs, alongside leading Chinese companies such as UBTECH, Han’s Robot, Seeed Studio, and hundreds more.
Ecosystem-to-Ecosystem Exchange: Direct dialogue between Swiss and Chinese innovators on scaling, industrialization, and future innovation pathways.

The Swiss Delegation

Anca Rusu

Anca Rusu
Community manager at EPFL Robotics and Swiss Robotics Association
Anca Rusu is a Community manager at EPFL Robotics, and Executive Director of Swiss Robotics. As EPFL’s focal point for robotics, she leads initiatives to build a strong Swiss robotics ecosystem, including the Innovation Booster on Robotics and the creation of the Swiss Robotics Association, while coordinating lab visits, international research promotion, outreach activities, fundraising, and major robotics events in Switzerland.
Alisa Rupenyan

Alisa Rupenyan
Rieter-endowed Professor for Industrial AI at the ZHAW School of Engineering
Prof. Dr. Alisa Rupenyan-Vasileva holds the Rieter Endowed Professorship in Industrial AI at the ZHAW School of Engineering, Zurich University of Applied Sciences. Her research focuses on AI and control methods for automation and process optimization in robotics and advanced manufacturing. Before joining ZHAW, she held senior scientific and leadership roles at ETH Zurich. She holds a PhD in Physics from VU Amsterdam and is a recognised expert in AI-based optimization for manufacturing.
Joëlle Ziegler

Joëlle Ziegler
Senior Project Manager, Dir. China Business Development at the Bern Economic Development Agency
Joëlle Ziegler serves as Director of China Business Development at the Bern Economic Development Agency (BEDA). With extensive experience across industrial sectors, entrepreneurship, and international business development, she supports companies and startups establishing or expanding in the Canton of Bern. Her work focuses on investment promotion, cross-border partnerships, and connecting businesses with Bern’s strong industrial and innovation ecosystem.
Simon Enderli

Simon Enderli
Director at the Bern Economic Development Agency
Simon Enderli is an experienced executive with over 20 years of experience in economic development, business growth, and stakeholder engagement in both the private and public sectors. He currently leads the Bern Economic Development Agency, where he strengthens regional competitiveness, fosters innovation, and promotes investment. Previously, he led the Swiss Entrepreneurs Foundation and served as President of the Swiss Entrepreneurs & Startup Association, supporting the Swiss startup ecosystem.
Rolf Pfister

Rolf Pfister
Director of Research at Lab42
Dr. Rolf Pfister is the Director of Research at Lab42, specializing in creating AI models that move beyond statistical deep learning to reason and understand the world. He is co-organizing the Davos Tech Summit, a conference taking place this July in Switzerland focused on the application of humanoid robotics. An experienced entrepreneur, university lecturer, and speaker, Dr. Pfister bridges the gap between complex theoretical research and its practical application in business environments.
Olivier Pajot

Olivier Pajot
Innovation Cell Manager - Robotics R&D Lead at Sonceboz SA
Innovation Cell Manager at Sonceboz SA, leading advanced R&D initiatives with a strong technological focus.
Specialized in mechatronic systems, robotics, and innovative actuation concepts.
Passionate about turning exploratory ideas into concrete, industrial-ready solutions.
Working at the interface between research, engineering, and product innovation.
Gael Andrieux

Gael Andrieux
CTIO at Sonceboz SA
Gaël Andrieux is a French–Swiss engineer, SUPMICROTECH–ENSMM graduate and IESE Executive MBA. He has worked 4 years in France, 12 in Switzerland, and 8 in Germany, and is now based in Munich. He built his career in R&D, product development, and innovation within the Swiss group Sonceboz SA. Inventor or co‑inventor of 25 patents, he is currently Group CTO, with responsibility for the French and German entities.
Laurent Klopfenstein

Laurent Klopfenstein
Division Director for Industries & MedTech at Sonceboz SA
Division Director for Industries & MedTech, where he leads advanced mechatronic solutions for industrial, MedTech, mobility, and robotics applications. He has over 14 years of leadership experience at Sonceboz, including managing business units focused on smart actuators. He holds an engineering degree in mechatronics and an Executive MBA jointly awarded by the Universities of Rochester and Bern. Driven by innovation, he has contributed to several patented developments throughout his career.

Anca Rusu
Community manager at EPFL Robotics and Swiss Robotics Association
Alisa Rupenyan
Rieter-endowed Professor for Industrial AI at the ZHAW School of Engineering
Joëlle Ziegler
Senior Project Manager, Dir. China Business Development at the Bern Economic Development Agency
Simon Enderli
Director at the Bern Economic Development Agency
Rolf Pfister
Director of Research at Lab42
Olivier Pajot
Innovation Cell Manager - Robotics R&D Lead at Sonceboz SA
Gael Andrieux
CTIO at Sonceboz SA
Laurent Klopfenstein
Division Director for Industries & MedTech at Sonceboz SA

The Swiss Startups

Sergej Ruppel

Sergej Ruppel
Owner and CEO at QxTec
As the founder of QxTec and an engineer with deep roots in large scale pharmaceutical environments, I bridge the gap between complex aseptic requirements and cutting edge automation. I leverage an extensive industry network and unique technical insight to lead the integration of robotics, AI, and intelligent vision into high stakes production. My focus is on fundamentally transforming operational efficiency and reliability where precision and compliance is non negotiable.
Qi Lu

Qi Lu
AI Product Manager at WolkenVision
Qi is an AI Product Manager at Wolkenvision AG, a startup focused on 3D AI. Bridging deep tech and project management, Qi helps translate research into functional tools through algorithm development.
Shaohu Zhou

Shaohu Zhou
Strategy Manager at WolkenVision
Shaohu holds a Master in Management (Grande Ecole) degree from ESCP Business School, and Bachelor in Architecture degree from Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. He has built a strong European-focused background through hands-on experience at Bosch Ventures in Stuttgart, at a Germany-based food-tech unicorn called Infinity Roots, and at a a French-headquartered USD fund called Ventech. After that, Shaohu joined at WolkenVision, and has led seed-stage fundraising and GTM strategy at WolkenVision.
Gabriel Liguori

Gabriel Liguori
CEO and founder at TissueLabs
Dr. Gabriel Liguori, founder and CEO of TissueLabs, a physician–scientist–entrepreneur developing a biofabrication platform that integrates bioprinters, biomaterials, and tissue-engineering workflows to advance lab-grown organs. He was named Forbes Under 30 (2018) and MIT Innovator Under 35 (2020). His work is driven by a personal mission: to pioneer technologies for functional human tissues and ultimately create the world’s first transplantable bioartificial heart.
Carin Lightner

Carin Lightner
CEO, Co-Founder at ENANTIOS
Carin Lightner is CEO and co-founder of Enantios, a Swiss deep-tech company developing advanced instruments for molecular structure analysis. The company commercializes Raman Optical Activity technology originating from ETH Zurich to enable rapid characterization of complex molecules. Enantios aims to close a critical measurement gap in pharmaceutical development and manufacturing. Carin focuses on translating scientific innovation into industrial applications and building global partnerships.