May 25, 2023 (Renens, Switzerland) – MassChallenge Switzerland, part of MassChallenge’s global network of innovators, today announces the 112 early-stage startups invited to join the 2023 Accelerator Program.
The selected startups represent the top 9% of applications we received from around the world. They were judged by over 300 independent experts from the MassChallenge Switzerland Community, who gave feedback to each of the startups to help them improve their propositions.
The selected early-stage startups come from 36 countries spanning 4 continents and have all committed to sustainability.
Startups from many different industries compose the 2023 cohort, which will now attend a 4 month acceleration program split into 4 industry tracks.
The different sectors and respective tracks:
Since 2016, MassChallenge Switzerland has been a leader in helping startups across Europe grow their businesses, with 610 alumni raising $985M in funding. In 2022, we accelerated 106 early-stage startups, taking no equity or fees, and connected them to our corporate partners and broad group of expert mentors.
For our 2023 program we are staying true to our mission of bringing startups together with the people and resources they need to launch and grow, so we have designed an online/on-site hybrid accelerator program. Operating this way, we’ll enable startups from anywhere in the world to take part in the accelerator
Matt Lashmar, Managing Director of MassChallenge Switzerland says:
“I’m pleased to welcome this outstanding group of startups to the 2023 early-stage accelerator. They were individually selected by our independent judges and represent the top 9% of all applicants. They are also all “climate responsible” and want to make an impact that will add value back to society. Congratulations to them all and I’m looking forward to connecting them to our partners and mentors, so that together the MassChallenge Community can help them grow their businesses”
During the 4 months of acceleration, the selected 112 startups will engage with industry experts, corporates, and investors, while receiving world-class mentoring, tailored programming, free co-working space, and numerous key networking opportunities. The accelerator program will culminate on October 26th at the MassChallenge Switzerland Awards Ceremony, when the best startups will be rewarded with up to CHF 500k in zero-equity prize money, as well as several other in-kind prizes.
Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, and register here for the MassChallenge Switzerland newsletter to stay up-to-date on the 2023 program.
2023 MassChallenge Switzerland Startups
General & High Tech
CRIMAGNO (Switzerland) – We apply the latest technologies and ergonomic studies to create the best walking conditions for a fully sustainable high-end hybrid shoe.
Globout (Switzerland) – Globout tackles problems of social isolation & loneliness by optimizing & increasing in-person, authentic interactions within a few clicks.
Holloid (Austria) – Our 24/7, real-time, image-based inline monitoring helps producers of food, pharma, and energy reduce costs, improve quality, and raise safety.
Impossible Materials (Switzerland) – We enable businesses sustainable products by providing them with plant-based ingredients. Our first product is a cellulose white pigment.
irmos technologies (Switzerland) – We maximize the safe life of buildings and bridges based on data. Owners reduce risks, maintenance cost, and the carbon footprint of their assets.
Mozaiq Switzerland (Switzerland) – Sustainable security printing solution.
Nuniq (Switzerland) – A clean, high-end beauty brand, without plastic waste because your beauty routines shouldn’t compromise your health and values.
Popping (South Africa) – Popping is an online pop-up shop platform. We help SMEs find pop-up space and market their pop-up shop online.
RefresherBoxx (Germany) – RefresherBoxx is a washing machine that works without any water or chemicals.
Rightbot Technologies (United States) – Our robotic platform can handle cartons and parcels autonomously. Use cases are dead pile unloading, case picking, and multi-SKU (de) palletization.
Tethys Robotics (Switzerland) – Tethys Robotics builds the world’s only underwater drone that can operate autonomously in strong water flows with poor visibility.
ubiMaster (Germany) – ubiMaster simplifies and democratizes access to private tutoring to enable “education for all” regardless of socio-economic background.
Zario (Switzerland) – Zario is a digital well-being platform that helps people lead healthier, happier, and more productive lifestyles. Would you like to hear more?
HealthTech
.lumen (Romania) – .lumen offers a solution that mimics the benefits of a guide dog without the drawbacks that make it a non-scalable solution.
ArcoScreen (Switzerland) – ArcoScreen has developed a ground-breaking automated assay allowing early-stage GPCR drug testing against patient cells.
biped.ai (Switzerland) – biped is a smart copilot for blind people that detects obstacles using artificial intelligence.
Breathe (Switzerland)
CancerFree Biotech (Taiwan) – We transform cancer drug testing using innovative organoid technology. Revolutionize your fight against cancer with us.
Healiva SA (Switzerland) – Clean chronic wounds with fish enzyme spray.
Kresko RNAtech (Argentina) – Next-gen dietary supplements that teach body cells how to deal with stressful and changing conditions to overcome lifestyle-related disorders.
NIB biotec (Italy) – ScreeNIB is a smart biosensor that can rapidly provide at patient site information about the probability of prostate cancer.
Ommo Technologies (United States) – Ommo’s permanent magnet-based precision tracking system provides 6DOF tracking for sensors as small as 0.8mm with precision as low as 0.2mm.
Raytreat Technologies (Nigeria) – Raytreat is a medical tech startup that produces affordable medical devices for health infrastructural advancement on the African continent.
UNTECH (United States) – Untech: The cure for chronic wounds.
Climate Solutions
3AWater (Finland) – 3AWater offers fast water quality monitoring for industries to improve their water management and treatment for reduced environmental impact.
4QT (Switzerland) – 4QT builds electric powertrains for Heavy Equipment with Swiss proprietary technology ParisHybrid™.
Brown Reed Agri Waste Innovations (India) – Sunbird Straws is the world’s first drinking straws & writing pen made from dried fallen coconut leaves while empowering women in rural India.
Liquid Ammonia Sustainable Technologies (Switzerland) – LAST (Liquid Ammonia Sustainable Technologies) aims to retrofit diesel ships’ engines to run on ammonia to reduce shipping’s CO2 emissions.
MycoFutures North Atlantic (Canada) – MycoFutures is cultivating mycelium, the roots of fungi, to create a circular and plastic-free leather alternative for the fashion industry.
Openversum (Switzerland) – We empower micro-entrepreneurs with tools and know-how to assemble and sell cutting-edge drinking water filters to under-served populations.
Perovskia Solar (Switzerland) – Digitally printed custom design solar cells making everyday devices energy self-sufficient by enabling solar cells on every device.
Plentify (South Africa) – Plentify connects home appliances to cheaper, cleaner energy, while enabling a more reliable energy system for all.
Qaptis (Switzerland) – Qaptis is a EPFL spin-off that builds a CO2 capture solution to retrofit heavy vehicles in order to reach climate goals in 2050.
Saathi (India) – 100% Biodegradable and compostable all natural sanitary pads made from banana fiber.
SmartEnds (Belgium) – Smart sensors and software for optimized waste collection routes, saving costs, increasing efficiency, and reducing emissions.
Sun-Ways (Switzerland) – Sun-Ways is a patented technical device that permits to install removable solar power plant between the rails of a railway.
Restor (Switzerland) – Restor provides nature projects with data, funding, and know-how to unlock their potential to sequester 30% of atmospheric carbon.
Up Circle (Switzerland) – UpCircle provides AI-driven recycling analytics for a circular economy. We are pioneering the digitization of the recycling ecosystem.
Vuna Nexus (Switzerland) – We use a patented technology that transforms urine into a locally produced fertilizer free of all pollutants.
Sustainable Industry
Algreen (UK) – Everywhere people need glue. We break the recycling barrier caused by petrol-based glue by using our novel fully biobased polyurethane glue.
Aquagenuity Inc. (United States) – Aquagenuity® is the “Google Search” for water quality data, helping you check your water and environment as easily as you check the weather.
AtlasVR (Switzerland) – We provide a scalable solution for workforce training that can be easily customized, revolutionizing the way companies train their staff.
Chapa Financial Technologies (Ethiopia) – APIs and payment tools for Ethiopian businesses.
ChemTech AI (United States) – AI software for factories that maximizes profit and minimizes environmental toll.
Climatenza Solar (India) – Accelerating Industrial Decarbonization to achieve Net-Zero targets of Industries by scaling Solar heat for Industrial processes.
GaussML (Germany) – We provide an AI assistant for manufacturing companies that boosts productivity by up to 20%, unlocking €10b in untapped market potential.
Magnetfab (Switzerland) – We propose a groundbreaking technology for mass-producing integrated micromagnets that will allow making revolutionary miniaturized machines.
MEDFOX HEALTHCARE (Uganda) – Making healthcare facilities more profitable and protecting the environment from pharmaceutical waste, is why MEDFOX HEALTHCARE exists.
Neology Hydrogen (Switzerland) – Cutting the cost of hydrogen by 25% and increasing the density of its storage by 3.5 times, through efficient and mobile ammonia cracking.
PLAEX Building Systems (Canada) – PLAEXTM products are no-cut, mortarless, modular, construction block systems, made from over 90% recycled composite.
Rematter (Switzerland) – Earth-timber floor slabs; combining unmatched ecology (CO2, circularity, embodied energy) with high performance and price competitiveness.
UP Catalyst (Estonia) – Leading the world to sustainable carbon!UP Catalyst gives CO2 a green purpose and transforms it into valuable carbon materials for batteries.
WeavAir (Canada) – WeavAir offers advanced sensors & predictive analytics solutions to save energy & reduce the costs of high-value air distribution systems.
Sustainable Food
Adamo Foods (United Kingdom) – A FoodTech company making delicious, healthy & sustainable alternatives to meat whole-cuts, launching Europe’s first ultra-realistic “steak”.
AgriTech Analytics (Kenya) – Combining AI-powered satellite analytics driven by ML algorithms and data from our solar-powered IoT sensor to end hunger in Africa.
AgroGrIN Tech (Portugal) – AgroGrIN Tech upcycles any type and form of fruit & vegetable wastes and losses, into new, sustainable, and clean-label industry ingredients.
AllCup (Germany) – We invented the first delicious edible coffee cup with a patented heat- and water-resistant coating like plastic, but edible.
Alt Atlas (United Kingdom) – Developing an AI digital manufacturing platform to unlock the potential of cell cultivation. Alt Atlas is a technology enabler.
APOLO Biotech (Argentina) – Making plants smarter using RNA-based technologies.
Beakbook (United Kingdom) – Beakbook is an AI tool to predict the future weight of poultry. We help farmers plan ahead, reduce waste, and improve bird wellbeing.
Bioeutectics (Argentina)
BioMixing (Spain) – Biomixing has developed a new agitator system for bioreactors that reduce damage to cells and mixing times (for new & extant bioreactors).
Biopols (Turkey) – Biopols is a new generation food storage technology with antibacterial & antioxidant properties that reduces concerns about food safety & shelf life.
Biosimo AG (Switzerland)
Bread Free (Spain) – We generate gluten-free wheat flour. We aim to achieve no difference between gluten-free and traditional products.
Bubble It Drinks (France) – BUBBLe iT!, the greenest sparkling water – 100% do it yourself, without machine nor plastic.
Carbonaught (Australia) – Carbonaught generates premium offsets that are also upgrading global food security.
Clean Valley (Canada) – Clean Valley is Nova Scotia-based community interest company developing products that bring nature-based efficiency to industry problems.
Colipi (Switzerland) -Our CCU bio-platform turns CO2 into edible oils with a patented unique gas fermentation bio-reactor enabling world’s record CO2 bacteria.
Correntics (Switzerland) – Our predictive climate-risk analytics make supply chains more resilient and future-proof and help our clients gain a competitive advantage.
databaum (Switzerland) – databaum provides Swiss grapevine farmers a decision support system for plant disease management. Precision agtech for smarter farming.
ekolive (Slovakia) – ekolive turns low-quality raw materials/wastes by ecological bioleaching into new generation biostimulants reviving degraded soil.
Ergo Bioscience (Argentina) – Ergo is a biotech-based startup focused on the production of animal proteins by using plant cell culture for plant-based food applications.
Farmerce Africa (Kenya) – Farmerce is leveraging the power of big data technology to attract agrifinance for smallholder farmers.
Fermentful (Latvia) – Fermentful produces functional plant-based drinks from green buckwheat to improve people’s mental and physical health wellbeing.
GeoPard (Germany) – GeoPard Agriculture is an unbiased automated geospatial data analytics platform for sustainable agriculture.
Graze-it (United Arab Emirates) – Grow sustainable & nutritious livestock feed in arid areas, through smart distributed vertical farming.
Happy Ocean Foods (Switzerland) – Fish and seafood made from plants. We bring back the ecological balance into the oceans. Happy Ocean, Happy You!
Hexem (Switzerland) – Hexem makes high performance biogas systems that treat industrial wastewater.
Humati.co (Poland) – Humati.co one-stop shop reactor turns any available organic waste into fully functional and standardized humic acid and NPK fertilizer.
imPASTA! Foods (United States) – Already Spaghetti is the first ever RTE spaghetti squash, and it is 100% upcycled. More veg and less waste for healthier people and planet.
InspCorp (Kenya) – InspCorp is a research-based technology transfer startup devoted to creating inspired tech in Energy, Environment, and Economic sectors.
Kadeya (United States) – Kadeya is the world’s first closed loop beverage vending system. With Kadeya, health and sustainability are not only for the wealthy 1%.
KIANA (Netherlands) – Biofertilizers with enzymes and phytohormones to decrease chemical fertilizer & pesticide use while increasing the yields SIGNIFICANTLY.
LiveGrow Bio (United States) – LiveGrow™ is a patented fermentation & formulation technology capable of manufacturing microbes as products with 2 year shelf life & low COG.
Lupinta (Sweden) – Lupinta is a food tech startup, R&D driven challenging the alt protein market by developing food products using locally farmed lupin beans.
Lwanda Biotech (Kenya) – Through materials science, Lwanda Biotech has developed “Biotic;” a biobased, biodegradable bioplastic alternative to plastic packaging.
M4Life (Argentina) – We develop Microbiological Solutions for agricultural and environmental problems such as crops suffering abiotic stress and soil degradation.
Moree (United Kingdom) – Moree makes it easy for food companies to ditch single-use packaging by offering Reusable Packaging as a Service.
More Than 3 (Chile) – We transform food loss into the next and revolutionary generation of food packaging and single-use product that leaves no trace.
NUCAPS Nanotechnology (Spain) – NextGen functional ingredients: Protein Microcapsules with improved functionalities in terms of efficacy and cost to get real health impact.
Pacifico Biolabs (Germany) – We are developing fermentation biotechnology, leveraging mycelium and algae to redefine seafood.
Pearlita Foods (United States) – Pearlita Foods uses plant-based & cell-based technologies to develop alternatives to premium seafood.
Prefer (Singapore) – We sell bean-free coffee to retailers to mitigate the inconsistent supply and deteriorating quality of coffee beans.
Proofminder (Hungary) – Proofminder extracts insights from drone images by AI to provide growers with valuable information about every cm2 of field across the seasons.
Qzense Labs (India) – Transforming fresh food supply chain with Data
Rethink Food (Italy) – We reinvent chocolate w/o cacao, using innovative ingredients and fermentation & extrusion tech, and valuing the potential of Italian carob.
Retü Foods (Singapore) – Patented processes transform inexpensive grains into dairy-inspired nutrient-dense products that restore your health, farmers, and the planet.
sallea (Switzerland) – sallea is a B2B scaffold provider company for cellular agriculture focusing on scaffolds for whole cut meat and fish fillets.
SeaStock (Australia) – Sustainably growing and value-adding natural Asparagopsis seaweed to supply the global beef/dairy feed industry to reduce methane emissions.
Solinatra USA (United States) – Solinatra replaces plastic with a patented 100% plant-based bio-resin that is fully biodegradable and compostable.
SomaTech (Ireland) – Enabling Technology for Side Steam Valorization using solid-state fermentation and mushroom mycelium to produce protein-rich ingredients.
Sun Bear Bioworks (United Kingdom) – Sun Bear Bioworks are producing an alternative to palm oil through synthetic biology, precision fermentation and machine learning.
Syocin (Argentina) – We are revolutionizing the way in which plant bacterial diseases are treated and cured to improve world food availability.
Terra Preta (Colombia) – Decentralized biochar production to generate carbon removal credits for global corporates and to improve smallholder farmers’ livelihoods.
The Mushroom Meat Co. (United States) – We’re a B2B startup that combines mushrooms and upcycled seeds with our patent-pending technology to make clean label, mushroom-based meats.
Typcal (Brazilian) – We are a food tech based in Brazil, focused on developing healthier products. We are now focused on fermentation technology.
Viva la Faba (Germany) – Our mission is to revolutionize 5000 years of cheese making, by crafting cheese from organic beans and pulses.
Vetsark (Nigeria) – We help farms and agribusinesses fundraise money from banks.