“Have you ever participated a program that takes you to the moon and pays for the ticket? This is my feeling after our journey with MassChallenge. Through a great spirit and motivating atmosphere, in an entrepreneurial co-working space, MassChallenge provides constant pitch training, access to broad network and strong expert-mentoring. For ASPIVIX, this is through and thanks to MassChallenge, that we won several grants & prizes, got access to potential first customers, recruited brilliant board members and closed our first financing round.” –
ASPIVIX, Mathieu Horras, CEO/Co-Founder
Founded in 2016, MassChallenge Switzerland has quickly become a leading driver of innovation and entrepreneurship in Europe. MassChallenge Switzerland has accelerated 208 startups, has distributed CHF 1.3M in equity-free cash awards, and provided over CHF 500K of in-kind awards. From addressing major healthcare challenges, to redefining the sharing economy and producing products that make our planet and lives better, our startups are solving, disrupting and creating change worldwide. In addition, MassChallenge Switzerland has grown to include 20 corporate partners, and has launched more than 80 partnerships between startups and corporate partners.
“We were very impressed by the efficiency and professionalism of the MassChallenge staff and program. The team was always looking out for our interests, connecting us with the right corporate partners and had a good feeling for the stage and needs of each start up. We have filled our 2019 pipeline with the best multinationals we could ask for, right at our doorstep. The years of experience running a global accelerator were clear and much appreciated. ”- FlavorWiki, Daniel Protz, CEO
Now entering its fourth cycle, MassChallenge Switzerland will support early stage, high-impact startups across all industries through access to top corporates, world class mentoring from industry experts, curated resources, tailored programming, free office space, and up to CHF 1M in equity-free prizes.
But the program is continuing to expand. In 2019, MassChallenge Switzerland will focus on preparing our startups and our partners for the world of tomorrow.
Two new verticals will help startups accelerate their growth with industry-specific programming, mentorship, and connections:
- An agri-food tech vertical in partnership with EIT-FOOD, an EU-backed consortium of the most important agro-food companies and universities.
- A mobility/smart cities vertical in partnership with the Federation International de l’Automobile (FIA).
Additionally, MassChallenge Switzerland has worked with its corporate partners to identify some of the biggest challenges that they are facing. These challenges center on one simple questions: when our population reaches 10 billion by 2050, how will we meet global citzens’ needs in a sustainable way?
These MassChallenge Switzerland partners are looking to collaborate with early-stage startups on innovative topics like:
- Sustainability: food, packaging, carbon/greenhouse gas/methane reduction or capture, mobility
- Healthcare: respiratory pollution-related care, pain relief, dietary supplements, human performance enhancement, cosmetics, neurostimulation
- The future of food: safety, transparency, alternative proteins, flavors, sugar reduction, coffee, chocolate challenger brands
- Tomorrow’s industry: supply chain, ML and AI technologies to increase efficiency and sustainability of food value chains, modelling pharma solutions, non-chemical cleaning & decontamination, fragrances, publishing-linked technologies
Startups selected for our 4-month accelerator program will benefit from an unrivaled access to our corporate partners, get access to unique industry-specific demo days, receive industry specific mentorship, and participate in tailored programing.
Startups interested in applying to the 2019 MassChallenge Switzerland Accelerator can visit: https://masschallenge.org/about-apply to get started on their application. The deadline to submit is February 13th ( Early Bird) and March 13th (Final Deadline)