Kickstart Innovation

Great to see our alumni sharing their experiences at Slush Today, join us at 3pm Swisstech Booth - you can hear from the Hamed Sattari Founder of CCRAFT, our alumni of the Intrapreneurship program of CSEM . Great to also see others like hypt, Legora, Watchibia AG, Sharpist and many others. Register here 👉 https://lnkd.in/d8HRP2Nm Katka Letzing, Anna Hakobyan, Bahaa R. Rolf Eckert Tobias Wegmüller Pascal Sollberger Max Junestrand Olga Nijpels-Tishurova Hendrik Schriefer

Join us at Slush, one of the world’s premier events for #startups and #tech #innovation, gathering 13,000+ top-tier founders, investors, and operators, with over $4 trillion AUM under one roof. We’re looking forward to contributing to the conversation during our panel discussion on 𝐒𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 & 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 at the swisstech pavillion! Together with a Swiss delegation of industry leaders, we’ll explore the latest #trends in open innovation and #investment opportunities. Whether you’re a startup, corporate leader, public institution, or investor, this is your chance to discover the potential of Swiss innovation! 📍 Panel Discussion: 𝐒𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 & 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 🗓️ Date: Thursday, November 20, 2025 ⏰ Time: 1:15 PM - 1:45 PM 📌 Location: swisstech Booth @ Slush 🎤 Speakers: • Patrick Barbey, CEO, Innovaud • Katka Letzing, CEO & Co-Founder, #KickstartInnovation and co-initiator Swiss {ai} Weeks • Raphael Fässler, Investment Director, Swiss Post Ventures • Linda Aerne, Innovation and Opportunity Manager, VNTR | Innovation & Venturing Moderation by: Anna Hakobyan, AI Lead Kickstart Innovation 👉 Find the full panel details here https://lnkd.in/dE8pZ-vC As the broader Slush program unfolds, we’re also looking forward to insights from global leaders such as: Max Junestrand, Co-founder & CEO, Legora, Markus Villig, Founder & CEO, Bolt, Hélène Huby, Founder & CEO, The Exploration Company, Ilya Fushman, General Partner, Kleiner Perkins, Thomas Wolf, Co-founder & Chief Science Officer, Hugging Face and more! Let us know if you’ll be there -- we’d love to connect! 🌟 #switzerland #deeptech #makeithappen #slush Franziska Steiner Yuliya Blaser

🙌🏼🚀 𝐀𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐲, 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 2025 𝐈𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 10𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲! Since our journey began in 2015, 𝐰𝐞’𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 400 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐬 in the form of  PoCs and commercial projects, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐫 500+ 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 3.1𝐁 𝐂𝐇𝐅 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞! 🎉 This achievement is a testament to the collaborative spirit, #innovation, and unwavering #dedication of our scaleups, partners, advisors and community — who have become part of our ever-growing Kickstart #family. This year we celebrated: 🌍 36 innovative scaleups and intrapreneurship teams from 14 countries including Australia and South Africa ⁠⁠💰 +245M CHF total funds raised by our startups this year (overall CHF 3.1B since 2015) 🤝 25+ deals, reaching the mark of 400+ deals total implementing AI & deeptech technologies ♻️ Solutions touching 15 out of 17 Sustainability Development Goals with many of the connected to circular economy solutions 🧠 Support from 100+ advisors and experts (overall 1000+ countries) 🌐 Engagement across 50+ countries (overall 80+ countries) 🙌🏼 300+ partners & ecosystem players (overall 500+) 🎤 100+ investors locally and globally (overall 350+) Special thanks to all 30 speakers that were engaged including: Andreas Schönenberger, CEO Sanitas Krankenversicherung, Thomas Dübendorfer, President of SICTIC, Katka Letzing, CEO of Kickstart Innovation, Lauren Lyons , Principle of vdot and former COO and Lead Starlink Development Engineer SpaceX ✨ We wrapped up the day with an unforgettable celebration alongside our #community -- the perfect way to close this special anniversary edition together. A heartfelt thank you to our incredible community for supporting us to #MakeItHappen And congratulations to our esteemed partners for driving innovation forward: AXA Switzerland, Stadt Zürich, Coop, die Mobiliar, MSD Switzerland, PostFinance VNTR | Innovation & Venturing, Swisscom, CSEM, Etat de Vaud ETH Zürich, IKEA Switzerland, Mondelēz International, Sanitas Krankenversicherung and others. Here's to continuing our journey of #innovation and #collaboration! 🌟 🚀 Read the press release on our Blog to know about the 2025 deals 👉 https://lnkd.in/dh6Yfms5 #kickstartinnovation #makeithappen

AI lessons from Switzerland are coming to London. So excited to do this with Filipe Mota da Silva. Harvard Business School connected us for lifelong friendship, lifelong learning and opportunities and I am grateful to it every day. Swiss {ai} Weeks Kickstart Innovation https://luma.com/7jisly7c

✨ 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗵𝘂𝗿 - 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲! Today and tomorrow Kickstart Innovation joins one of Switzerland’s biggest startup gatherings to connect with founders, intrapreneurs, and curious minds shaping what’s next. 🚀 We are excited to have the joined booth with our family Impact Hub Zürich - find us at booth 65! Beyond open innovation, we’re also bringing along something new - 𝗞𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝘆 💡 Our learning platform helps teams and individuals stay ahead of the curve with:  ⚙️ 𝗔𝗜 𝗨𝗽𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝘀 – practical sessions for future-ready teams  📈 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀 – from product–market fit to scaling smarter  🤝 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀-𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆𝘀 – bridging startups and corporates to drive real impact If you’re around, come say hi - meet the team, explore how we help turn ideas into impact, and maybe even find your next learning path. 🌍 📍 Eulachhallen Winterthur | 6-7 Nov 2025 🔗 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/dNeVe4sD Anikó Ivanics Katka Letzing Sara Piva Anna Hakobyan Katerina Klezlova Raimund Philip Neubauer Oana Ria Sara Fedele Tiziano Luccarelli Andrea Bianchi Blanka Skacelova Elisabetta Maria Chiarantoni Sabina Kalamujić 🦙 Fritz Seidel Jürg Stuker Markus Geissler Oender Boyman Franziska Legoupil Georgios Kontoleon Christoph Birkholz Startup Nights Panter Simone Uster Bettina Marie Mitter Héloïse Le Masne Arthur Germe Heron Mochny Eva Aschwanden Magdalena Auer Felix Schwander Karime Brecailo Abib Roberto De Bonis Dr Vladas Snieckus Michael Volkart Martin Mächler Beat Seeliger Norbert Kremer Flurin Capaul #KickstartInnovation #StartupNights #KickstartAcademy #OpenInnovation #AIUpskilling #FutureOfWork #LearningEcosystem

💰 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 💰 Big congratulations to our startup at the Food & Retail Vertical - Pacifico Biolabs for securing €680k in public funding to revolutionize the future of meat! 🚀 With their pioneering mycelium fermentation biotechnology, Pacifico Biolabs is creating the next generation of meat: 100% animal-free Packed with up to 30% protein 99% lower environmental impact We’re proud to support #Pacifico on their journey at Kickstart and can’t wait to see how they shape the future of sustainable food. The future of meat is grown, not raised. 🌍 Please check out the following post for more information: https://lnkd.in/dwdaj-eD Zac Austin Julian Hernichel Morrow Collective Tiziano Luccarelli Sara Piva Katka Letzing Markus Geissler Emil Virag ☑ #KickstartAlumni #FoodTech #AlternativeProtein #Biotechnology #ClimateAction #SustainableFood #DeepTech #Seafoodalternatives

🌟 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 – 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗛𝗲𝗶𝗻, 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿 & 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿, 𝗖𝗛 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘆 Today, we’re shining a light on Christian Hein, Executive Advisor & Board Director at CH Health Tech Advisory and valued member of the 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 & 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 of the 𝗞𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺. Christian brings together 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽, 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀. His background spans biotech, AI-driven health solutions, and senior roles at Novartis, with a strong focus on making healthcare more 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗳𝘂𝗹. 💬 “𝘐𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘒𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘶𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦.” – Christian Hein As a Vertical Board Member, Christian supports our community in advancing innovation across mental health, prevention, chronic care, workplace wellbeing, AI in healthcare, and beyond. 👉 Learn more about our Health & Wellbeing Vertical: https://lnkd.in/eENyZBsZ Sascha Wischek Brigitte Bieri Alain Bindels Josephine Ritzel Katerina Klezlova Katka Letzing Elisabetta Maria Chiarantoni Sabina Kalamujić Sara Fedele #HealthInnovation #DigitalHealth #HealthAILeader #makeithappen

🎉 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗻𝗶 hypt 𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗛𝗙 𝟭.𝟲𝟱𝗠 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱! 🚀 Founded in 2022, hypt is reshaping marketing by turning word-of-mouth into the authentic growth channel of the future – already trusted by leading brands across banking, insurance, FMCG and beyond. We’re proud to have been part of their journey at Kickstart including pilots with companies such as die Mobiliar, AXA Schweiz, PostFinance, Sanitas Krankenversicherung, Swisscom Ventures and can’t wait to see the next chapter of their growth! ✨ Great to see the investors that supported this round like VENPACE, SixThirty Ventures, COREangels, Gateway Ventures, NCA including our partner SICTIC. Pascal Sollberger Tobias Wegmüller Katka Letzing Markus Geissler Elisabetta Maria Chiarantoni #KickstartAlumni #SeedFunding #SwissStartup #StartupGrowth #ScaleUp

🌉 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗦𝗮𝗻 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼! 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸? 𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁. We’re proud to be represented by Katka Letzing, CEO & Co-Founder of Kickstart Innovation as well as Co-Initiator of Swiss {ai} Weeks, who is joining the community of global innovators and investors to exchange on the future of technology and impact. Topics will include #AI #DeepTech #Sustainability and more. 📩 Reach out to connect. TECH WEEK by a16z #SwissAI #SwissInnovation #Switzerland #USA #TechWeek #GlobalInnovation #VentureCapital #Startups #ScaleUp #Technology #ImpactInnovation