February 6, 2025 | Boston & New York

In January 2025, a cohort of US investors traveled to Switzerland as part of the inaugural Deep Tech Investor Roadshow, a new program run by Swissnex in Boston and New York with the goal of introducing US-based VCs to Switzerland’s leading deep tech scene. The week-long program took them from Zurich to Lausanne to explore how the Swiss ecosystem brings cutting-edge technologies from lab to market across a range of sectors.

The tour began in Zurich, where the participants joined the DeepTech Investor Summit hosted by ETH Zurich and UBS. Major topics of conversation included the differences between the Swiss, US, and European investment ecosystems, and how to bridge the gap. The two-day summit also highlighted the integral role that Switzerland’s universities play in the Swiss innovation ecosystem, from conducting fundamental research to facilitating entrepreneurship. ETH Zurich is a notable leader in this domain, producing the most spin-offs of any university in Europe. During the summit, the participants were able to connect with more than 70 ETH spin-offs in sectors ranging from biotech and medtech to climatetech, robotics, and more.

“I am absolutely blown away by the ecosystem here in Switzerland,” said David Dix, Partner at SRF Capital, one of the program participants. “Their ability to use universities to identify top talent and then encourage that top talent to roll off with business ideas is really one that should be emulated in the United States.”

Following the summit, the investors spent a day connecting with stakeholders in the Zurich ecosystem including the region’s investment promotion agency Greater Zurich Area, law firms Kellerhals Carrard and Allegra Law, and a select group of Swiss investors in a session co-organized with Deep Tech Nation Switzerland Swisscom Ventures.

The program then proceeded to Lausanne, the innovation hub of French-speaking Switzerland, where they were welcomed by representatives from Innovaud, the innovation and investment promotion agency of the canton of Vaud. The following day, they visited two major innovation parks in the region. At the unlimitrust campus, they learned about Trust Valley, a center of excellence focused on digital trust and cybersecurity in the Lake Geneva region, and heard pitches from startups participating in their Tech4Trust accelerator. Afterwards, they moved to the EPFL Innovation Park, where they met with deeptech spin-offs of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), including renewable hydrogen company SoHHytec and hyperloop innovators Swisspod.

“The highlight of the week was meeting the companies and hearing their pitches, speaking with the entrepreneurs, and listening to the technical problems they’re solving,” said James De Vellis of Foley & Lardner LLP,. “The level of sophistication of the companies was the biggest surprise, and also the state of the technology – this is remarkably advanced technology that requires a very unique and extensive skillset to be able to develop and bring to market.”

“The program has been a validator,” said Dix. “It’s validated that Switzerland is the place that we need to open our international expansion as a firm, and that there are incredible opportunities here to be had.”

The Deep Tech Investor Roadshow was organized by Swissnex with the support of ETH Entrepreneurship, Innovaud, Greater Zurich Area, Deep Tech Nation Switzerland, and Foley & Lardner LLP.