This year's edition marked a very special evolution for the >>venture>> startup competition: the introduction of the nonprofit track for impact-driven startups.
On June 26, we celebrated the 2023 Award Ceremony which served as the grand finale to an exhilarating journey that began several months ago. Throughout the startup competition, aspiring entrepreneurs from various industries showcased their groundbreaking ideas and entrepreneurial spirit. The level of talent, passion, and dedication displayed by all participants was truly remarkable. Out of the 336 applications received this year, only 18 startups took home the >>venture>> winner title. This also includes the winners from our inaugural NPO Track.
The evening was filled with anticipation as the participants eagerly awaited the announcement of the competition results. The esteemed Advisory Board, made up of C-suite executives, had the challenging task of evaluating the startups based on their innovation, feasibility, market potential, and scalability.
The big winner of the evening was ETH-Spinoff, Biosimo, who earned the title 2023 Grand Prize Winner!
The energy at the Swiss Tech Convention Center at EPFL was electric as the winners were ranked and acknowledged for their exceptional ideas and their potential to make a significant impact in their respective industries.
We are delighted to announce the winners of the 2023 Venture Startup Competition, whose extraordinary ideas stood out among a highly competitive field. These startups have shown immense promise and have the potential.
The >>venture>> competition also celebrated its inaugural NPO Track winners as well as its first NPO Audience Award by RTS won by Openversum and GirlsCodeToo, respectively.
The evening's keynote speaker was Peter Maurer, ex-President of the Red Cross Foundation who highlighted the need for more impact-driven startups given the state of our society and environment.
This was only underlined by the success of the Audience Award by RTS winners, Zizania, a Swiss beauty brand that upcycles plant waste into natural and organic cosmetics that's good for you and the environment. As well as GirlsCodeToo, which supports and encourages young girls to learn coding and explore a career in STEM. These two winners underpin the importance of developing sustainable solutions and empowering diversity.
A special congratulations to Bearmind and Viatu who both won first place in their verticals. They were both >>venture>> finalists in past editions but didn't make it to the final round until this year. Their triumph only demonstrates that true success comes with perseverance.
Below are a few highlights of evening:
ADVISORY BOARD PITCHES
ON STAGE AT THE AWARD CEREMONY
ABOUT THE 2023 >>venture>> WINNERS
FINANCE & INSURANCE
1st place: Frigg (Zug, ZG): Streamlining sustainable finance processes for small to mid-sized renewable energy developers, reducing manual efforts and costs.
2nd place: Grape (Zurich, ZH): Providing fully digital employee insurance that prioritizes physical and mental well-being, investing in preventive services for healthier teams.
3rd place: Ascentys (Courroux, JU): Automation of ESG assessment and reporting for companies, simplifying the process and enabling actionable reports.
HEALTH & NUTRITION
1st place: Diatheris (Geneva, GE): Developing improved therapeutic solutions for type 1 diabetes management, offering an alternative to insulin therapy.
2nd place: metaLead (Zurich, ZH): Developing cutting-edge treatments against toxic metal poisoning, starting with lead, to provide effective treatment options.
3rd place: Lighthouse Tech Sagl (Morbio Inferiore, TI): Creating a fashionable eyewear frame as a wearable device to enhance safe mobility for blind and vision-impaired individuals.
ICT
1st place: Bearmind (Lausanne, VD): Innovating helmet-worn sensors and software for brain injury prevention and cognitive performance monitoring in sports.
2nd place: ClearSky (Lausanne, VD): Augmenting confidential conversations with privacy-focused AI assistance, ensuring data remains secure.
3rd place: EM Path (Yverdon-les-Bains, VD): Offering a plug-and-play over-the-air test solution for wireless systems, ensuring safety and performance.
INDUSTRIALS & ENGINEERING
1st place: Biosimo (Zurich, ZH): Introducing low-cost bio-based chemicals, reducing CO2 emissions, and advancing the transition to a fossil-free chemical industry.
2nd place: Perovskia (Aubonne, VD): Providing digitally printed perovskite solar cells for customized integration into electronic devices, sensors, and low-light conditions.
3rd place: Voltiris (Lausanne, VD): Empowering greenhouse growers with solar modules that enable energy independence without impacting crop growth.
RETAIL & CONSUMER SERVICES
1st place: Viatu (Zug, ZG): Facilitating sustainable travel by providing a platform for booking connected trips and promoting sustainable tourism partners.
2nd place: Clever Forever (St. Gallen, SG): Offering a math and literacy app for preschoolers, leveraging AI to create interactive educational games.
3rd place: NOW CARE (Aubonne, VD): Revolutionizing personal care with a powdered formula that transforms into liquid, foaming soap, promoting conscious soap consumption.
NPO TRACK
1st place: Openversum (Schlieren, ZH): Training local entrepreneurs in Colombia and Ecuador to provide safe drinking water to underserved communities through the manufacture and distribution of household-level filters.
2nd place: HEMLATA (Zurich, ZH): Empowering young women from India's lower socio-economic strata through quality education to achieve gender equality.
3rd place: Adaire Academy (Winterthur, ZH): Enabling qualified African adults to pursue rewarding tech careers remotely, filling the demand for technologists in Switzerland.