The Unseen Potential of the Alpine Ecosystems of Europe (b2venture)

Summary

• ETH Zurich alone has spun out over 500 startups from its campus since 2000.§2
• Switzerland has attracted roughly EUR 1.2 billion of venture capital for Deep Tech, according to a Dealroom report.§2
• The Alpine region has shown an explosive amount of company creation over the last 25 years, much of it connected to campuses.§2
• Hundreds of companies were founded in connection with the HSG campus, including On Running and WeFox.§2
• Swiss Deep Tech investment is on par with the Oxford-Cambridge axis in the UK.§4
• Many research institutes lack ideal incentive structures for spin-offs, such as onerous share structures or complicated guidelines.§4

Key insights

1. The Alpine region has a dense network of universities and research centers that support the industrial base.§2
2. Onward Arc Therapy was paired with a wireless brain-computer interface to help a paralyzed 40-year-old man walk again.§1
3. The investor has been a partner to Onward since 2016.§1
4. Campus spin-offs are especially crucial for Deep Tech subject areas.§2
5. Munich's UnternehmerTum offers a good example of a hub between academia and entrepreneurship.§4