Over the past decade the Swiss ecosystem has become one of Europe’s most exciting tech hubs and Deep Tech has been the driver of this development. A small country with a domestic market too small to build big businesses around it, exempt from EIF/EU funding, Switzerland is punching above its weight with the highest per capita Deep Tech venture funding on the continent. Economically and politically as stable as few other countries globally and arguably with the highest quality of living, particularly Zurich and Lausanne manage to attract world-class researchers, engineers and founders to build what could be the next wave of globally leading tech firms.
Key Takeaways
World-leading Deep Tech capital intensity
Deep tech absorbs 60 percent of all Swiss VC, the highest national share worldwide, and delivers Europe’s number-one per-capita funding. Investment rose 6x in ten years to 1.9 billion USD in 2024 and is pacing for 2.3 billion USD in 2025. ETH and EPFL are among the top 5 institutes in Europe for Deep Tech spinout value creation.
Swiss Deep Tech is a hotspot for international Deep Tech investors
More than 85% of VC funding in Swiss Deep Tech comes from international investors looking for Deep Tech opportunities. Swiss investors account for one-third of the capital for early-stage investments, but drop to 4% in late-stage. US investors account for nearly half of the funding for late-stage capital. This represents a strength for international expansion, but also an area of improvement for Switzerland, which needs more domestic capital to support late-stage growth.
Next-gen Deep Tech mix, with AI/ML on the rise, and Robotics and TechBio growing fast
Switzerland’s startup pipeline has rapidly diversified beyond its BioTech roots. AI/ML already accounts for 23 percent of companies founded since 2021, almost double its previous share. Climate & Energy, Robotics and TechBio have each expanded at speed. BioTech remains a leading Deep Tech sector in Switzerland, with the largest number of VC-backed startups and greatest historical contribution to enterprise value creation, but it no longer dominates the landscape.
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