More companies founded, new regulations, new accelerator

In 2025 ETH Zurich recognised the foundation of a total of 46 new ETH Ventures, compared to 37 ETH Spin-offs the previous year. The year also saw the entry into effect of the new Business Creation Regulations. New for 2025 is the ¡°ETH Start-up¡± label, which complements the well-established ¡°ETH Spin-off¡± label for companies whose business is based on research findings from ETH Zurich. The new ETH Start-up label is intended for ventures founded by ETH members with the aid of knowledge gained during studying or employment at ETH Zurich, but not reliant on ETH research findings. ¡°ETH Start-ups are particularly often founded by students and graduates. ETH Zurich provides them with support through a wide range of funding programmes,¡± explains Effy Vayena, the Vice President for Knowledge Transfer and Corporate Relations at ETH Zurich since the beginning of 2026. In fact, 9 of the 46 new ETH Ventures emerged from projects that originated at the ETH Student Project House. 

New funding programme for ETH Start-ups 

¡°UPortunity¡± is a business accelerator designed specifically for ETH Start-ups enabled by UBS. UPortunity Fellows receive a monthly salary, project budget, office and laboratory space, in addition to mentoring from experienced company founders and experts. One of the first start-ups to benefit from this programme has been Kalligo Medical AG (Softletics), the brainchild of an ETH graduate. Softletics is developing a prosthetic socket that automatically adjusts to changes in the user¡¯s limb volume throughout the day, thereby preventing pain and instability. 

Last year 24 new ETH Spin-offs and 22 ETH Start-ups were recognised. These figures cannot be directly compared to those from previous years because the new regulations for creating ETH Ventures have resulted in some companies that would have previously been recognised as ETH?Spin-offs falling into the category of ETH Start-up.

Mynerva AG is one of the new ETH Spin-offs. The company has developed an AI-powered sock for people with diabetic neuropathy. Not only does it give wearers more confidence when walking, but it also reduces pain and, in some cases, reduces the need for medication, thanks to electrical nerve stimulation. The ETH Spin-off Soverli AG, meanwhile, is bringing a new smartphone architecture to market that will allow users to set up isolated partitions on their devices ¨C for secure chats, crisis communication or sensitive data belonging to companies and public authorities, for example.  

Growth in investments continues

Technology & Software, including in particular Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning (AI & ML), continues to be the dominant industry sector, accounting for 26 percent of new ETH ventures, followed by Biotech & Pharmaceuticals, which makes up 15 percent. This surge in AI companies is also evident in the risk capital investment in ventures created at ETH Zurich. Across 41 financing rounds reported in 2025, companies created at ETH Zurich secured 540 million Swiss francs ¨C up 27 percent from the previous year. The capital raised by ETH ventures in 12 of those 41 financing rounds exceeded 10 million Swiss francs, with AI and robotics companies doing particularly well. Auterion AG, which develops software for drones, had the biggest success, raising 103 million Swiss francs, followed by Beekeeper AG and DeepJudge AG, which secured around 34 million and 33 million Swiss francs, respectively. Beekeeper AG later merged with LumApps SAS in July 2025, bringing the total value of the company to 860 million Swiss francs.

Women accounting for 17 percent of founders

The share of female founders has almost doubled over the past ten years, increasing to 17 percent. While all-male teams accounted for approximately two-thirds of ventures founded in recent years, mixed-gender and all-female teams together accounted for around a third.