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Lorenz Keller
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1.7
Are especially popular with foreign investors: young companies from Switzerland. These were presented at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, among others.
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fresh focus
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2.7
Most of the venture capital flows into the canton of Zurich with its booming fintech scene.
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zvg
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3.7
Maurice Pedergnana from Seca, the investors’ association, sees the venture capital market as being in foreign hands.
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Ania Freindorf
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7.7
… raised almost half a billion francs in venture capital.
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The interest of venture capitalists in new business ideas and models in Switzerland remains high in 2019. But fundraising has reached a whole new dimension: never before have startups received as much risk capital as last year. The ICT sector collected the most funds. This means that tech companies in particular benefit from the money blessing.
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Specifically, 2.29 billion francs in venture capital investments – so-called venture capital – flowed into young Swiss companies last year. This corresponds to an impressive increase of 86 percent over the previous year, as can be seen in the eighth Swiss Venture Capital Report published on Tuesday. The online news portal Startupticker.ch created this in collaboration with the Seca investor association.
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The Swiss venture capital market reached a new dimension when it exceeded the 2 billion mark for the first time, said Thomas Heimann, co-author of the study, at a media event. For him, however, it is not only impressive to exceed this record mark, but also that since the survey began in 2012, the total investment has increased more than sevenfold.
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Growth thanks to large investments
A large proportion of the increase was accounted for by a few major investments. The largest three financing rounds alone accounted for CHF 823 million, more than tripling compared to the previous year. Half of the companies received capital of CHF 2 million or less from donors.
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In total, there were 266 financing rounds last year, 36 (+15.7 percent) more than in the previous year and 205 more than in 2012. Over 20 million francs flowed into 19 financing rounds. In five rounds, donors even shot over 100 million for the first time.
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The market was firmly in the hands of foreign investors. Only one of the eight largest financial rounds took place with Swiss participation. For Seca managing director Maurice Pedergnana, this is due to the fact that there are only a few large venture capital firms in Switzerland. On the other hand, European venture capital investments would yield a higher return than those in the United States.
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Most of the money went to the Canton of Zurich
Investments in information and communication technology (ICT) and fintech grew the most. Last year, the ICT division (including fintech) raised 1.2 billion from domestic and foreign donors after CHF 685 million in the previous year. The five largest financing rounds alone accounted for 822 million of these. Investments in the biotech sector also increased sharply by 147 percent to CHF 624.7 million.
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There was a clear focus on the geographical distribution: in the canton of Zurich, CHF 1.2 million was invested in startups last year, more than double that of the previous year. Almost 90 percent of the funds, around CHF 1 billion, went to ICT and fintech companies. Of the ICT investments made throughout Switzerland, around 85 percent of the funds went to companies domiciled in Zurich.
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In general, it can be said that the Swiss venture capital scene has matured further, said Pedergnana. Heimann assumes that the current trend will continue this year. (SDA / KOH)
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