Swiss startups across industries in the global spotlight

Last Week, a delegation of startups participated in SLUSH, one of the largest European startup conferences, held in Helsinki, Finland. One of the highlights was the pitching competition Global Deep Tech Battle, powered by Swisstech and Deep Tech Nation Switzerland, offering startups the chance to pitch to an international audience, win a cash prize of €3000 in different categories and in-kind prizes. Three Swiss startups have collected prizes. 

Floating Robotics, which develops assistant robots for greenhouses to support harvesting and de-leafing plants, won a prize in the category Best in AI/Robotics. Enantios won the HealthTech category. The startup utilizes a new measurement technology to accelerate drug development and discovery and enable complete quality testing in the manufacturing stage. Their device provides chiral and structural analysis of complex molecules. PAVE Space won the Frontier Tech category. The startup provides efficient orbital logistics solutions, offering a Satellite Life Extension (LEX) service, aiming to extend the lifespan of satellites by offering refueling, repositioning, and maintenance. 

REA Diagnostics, the startup developing a novel vaginal-discharge diagnostic platform. Their first product, PremaSure, is the world’s first self-test to monitor the risk of a preterm birth. The startup won the pitching competition at Y Science, the official life-science side event of Slush, securing an €5000.  

HeroSupport wins two prizes at Swiss-Italian Award
HeroSupport SA, the startup which developed VENUS SHELL, a patient-specific 3D-printed, immobilization shell for breast radiotherapy in a prone position, collected two awards at the Swiss-Italian Startup Award 2025; the Allianz Award and the Jury award for the most investable startup. The Swiss-Italian Startup Award 2025 is organised to spotlight Italian tech startups and foster their integration into the Swiss innovation ecosystem.

Crimagno and Aspivix awarded by the Swiss American Chamber of Commerce Southern California
The Avantgard Award and the Stewardship Award were presented to outstanding startups during the Swiss American Chamber of Commerce Southern California to celebrate leadership, innovation, and impactful contributions within the Swiss-American business community, particularly in Southern California. This year’s winners are Crimagno, a Ticino-based footwear startup that develops sustainable, high-end footwear that ensure comfort, longevity, and timeless design. Their flagship product is KOBI shoe. Medtech startup Aspivix was also awarded for their innovative solution, Carevix, a soft-suction cervical device designed as a modern and gentler alternative to a cervical tenaculum.

Jua wins Cititec Commodities and Energy Technology Award
A panel of nine senior leaders from across the global energy and commodities trading ecosystem, with experience at industries such as Shell, bp, and Trafigura, selected Jua as this year’s winner of the Cititec Commodities and Energy Technology Awards. Jua convinced the panel with their advanced Earth and weather simulation powered by AI-powered. Their proprietary Large Physics Model that was trained on petabytes of raw environmental data, enabling previously unattainable levels of accuracy and detail in weather and energy forecasting for critical industries, especially energy trading and renewable power generation.

Energy Startup Day presents multiple Awards 
Several startups were awarded during this year’s Energy startup Day, the annual event connecting energy and cleantech startups with corporates, investors, and public institutions. The following startups were awarded: The public award went to Voltiris, developer of solar modules that are compatible with greenhouse agriculture and their crops. The expert award went to Borobotics for their innovative drilling robot for geothermal energy drilling in tight spaces; the Investor award was bestowed onto SensorX Solutions in recognition of their innovative sensing solution designed ​​to detect and repair natural gas leaks for GHG monitoring markets. SmartHelio, which developed algorithms to enhance the sustainability and profitability of solar assets, won the Swissolar Award.   

Avientus awarded in Germany
Avientus secured second place at the European Defense Tech Hub (EDTH) Hackathon in Berlin, won a Special Award from the Cyber Innovation Hub of the German Armed Forces. Additionally, Avientus was selected to enter phase 1 of the SPRIN-D Challenge “Fully Autonomous Flight 2.0”.  The company is developing a fully electric, fixed-wing drones with vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capabilities to autonomously transport a wide range of payloads, from parcels and food to medical supplies and spare parts, across both urban and rural environments.

(RAN)