The Swiss Innovation Days is a program organized by Swissnex in China, designed not just to observe, but to actively connect, learn, and bring valuable insights back to Switzerland.

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. 

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.

• 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.

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.

Participants will benefit from:

• 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 full agenda will be released soon.