News
In this conference series, you will learn from B-Corps as they share their first-hand experiences and insights on Employee Ownership and uncover the potential of this innovative model.
News
Planted has received B Corp certification from B Lab, a network that measures a company’s overall social and environmental impact. The plant-based meat alternatives company received confirmation that its business model conserves resources to a significant degree.
Planted is allowed to use the Certified B Corporation title after a rigorous evaluation process. Companies certified as B Corp are leaders in the global movement for an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy. The certification process is conducted by B Lab, a non-profit global network that measures a company's overall social and environmental impact.
On its website, B Lab quotes former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright: "I often wonder to what extent business can help society achieve its goals of alleviating poverty, sustaining ecosystems, and building strong communities and institutions. B Lab has proven there is a way."
According to Planted, the company received more than 90 points in the certification process. It thus advanced to the "outstanding" category. It also received recognition that its business model conserves resources "to a significant degree." "We owe the certification to our exceptional commitment to sustainability," says Planted. But the journey as B Corp had only just begun. "We have a number of exciting projects in the pipeline that will further enhance our positive impact on the world."
Planted is committed to continuous improvement in all areas, he said. "And the mandatory re-certification in three years will help us ensure we are meeting our commitments."
News
At a time when digitalization is increasingly permeating our everyday lives, artificial intelligence (AI) is also playing an ever greater role. In healthcare in particular, AI opens up entirely new possibilities that can benefit both healthcare workers and patients. An exciting example of the use of AI is the text-based AI chatbot “ChatGPT” developed by OpenAI.
During the event, Sophie Hundertmark, chatbot expert and consultant, will give an overview of ChatGPT’s features. In particular, it highlights the potential and possible applications in hospitals, doctors’ offices and other healthcare facilities. In addition to the opportunities presented by AI, bots, and ChatGPT, Sophie will discuss the risks and challenges of these technologies and raise ethical questions. By the end of the event, you will have understood how to use ChatGPT and AI in your (professional) everyday life and what you should keep in mind.
Financial Support
KAPSLY Angels is a Swiss non-profit business angel club with the goal to finance healthtech innovation. The focus is on medical technology, diagnostics and digital health.
Business angels can already invest with small amounts, which are bundled. What is also special is the possibility of operational support from KAPSLY Ventures to bring the startups to market faster and minimize operational risk.
Goethestrasse 12
8001 Zürich
Universities
Computer science drives digitalisation and plays a major role in determining the future of our information society. The Institute for Applied Information Technology (InIT) stands for research and development in diverse subject areas of informatics and develops practical solutions for challenging problems in cooperation with company and university partners. Since 2005 we have been your flexible and efficient partner with around 85 employees from various departments and our modern research infrastructure.
Obere Kirchgasse 2
8401 Winterthur
The InIT is divided into five research groups that deal with current topics in computer science: Distributed Systems, Human-Centered Computing, Information Security, Intelligent Information Systems, Software Engineering
Support
Since 2004, Venturelab has been developing and running flagship startup programmes in Switzerland such as Venture Kick, Venture Leaders, TOP 100 Swiss Startup Award, Innosuisse Startup Trainings to nurture the best entrepreneurial talent. Together with successful founders, leading academic and industrial partners, we bring the best startups to success.
If you want to dive into the startup world, see how we can help you.
90% of emerging Swiss startups have been supported by Venturelab
Venturelab graduates have attracted over CHF 5 billion in investment
Created 9’000+ active jobs on a global scale
Wiesenstrasse 10a
8952 Schlieren
Start-ups, business growth, industry experts, academia-industry trainings, start-up matchmaking, venture capital, investor roadshows, networking, corporate venturing, accelerator.
Voices
Jannis Fischer and Max Ahnen are co-founders of Positrigo and firmly rooted in the medtech ecosystem. We asked them how they want to improve healthcare and how functional problems in the brain should be detected earlier.
Voices
Stefan Lienhard, CEO of the digital health centre Bülach, explains what Digital Health actually is, what applications and technologies are associated with the term and how the Zurich digital health ecosystem is doing.
Voices
Stefan Leuthold is the CEO and Co-Founder of Healthtechpark Schlieren-Zurich and firmly rooted in the medtech ecosystem. We asked him what medtech actually is and what opportunities and challenges are associated with it.
Voices
A combination of artificial intelligence and traditional methods is intended to make everyday school life easier for teachers and maximize the learning success of students. Herby wants to make it possible to correct a worksheet in seconds with the use of artificial intelligence.
The Innovation Sandbox for AI clarifies the legal basis for automated correction of handwritten learning content. Because these are often unclear to providers, teachers, and parents.
In the video, Marco Cocuzza and Raphael von Thiessen explain the lessons learned from the Innovation Sandbox project and how Herby will now evolve.
Voices
Due to rapid technological progress, the framework conditions of AI technologies are often unclear for companies, research and administration. For this reason, the Canton of Zurich's Division of Business and Economic Development, together with partners from the administration, research and business sectors, launched the "Innovation Sandbox".
This is a test environment for the implementation of AI projects. By working closely with the administration and participating organizations on regulatory issues and enabling the use of novel data sources, responsible innovation will be encouraged. The video with Ronovatec and Lonomy, which are developing autonomous farming systems, shows exactly what this can look like.
News
The Innovation Sandbox for Artificial Intelligence (AI) gives various organisations, including start-ups, SMEs, large companies and research institutions, access to regulatory know-how and new data sources. In return, all findings and results are shared publicly.
Different from many approaches adopted in other countries, the Innovation Sandbox for Artificial Intelligence (AI) goes a step further as the selected projects are not just being reviewed, but also being put into practice.
The goal is to promote responsible innovation based on legal and ethical criteria and to support the spread of AI in public administration, business and research.
Organisations specialised in AI had the opportunity to submit specific projects between March and June 2022. A total of 21 AI projects were submitted. The portfolio of project proposals reflects the high relevance of AI as a cross-cutting technology that transforms all sectors. The projects submitted were evaluated based on consistent and transparent criteria. Five projects were selected and are currently being implemented.
A growing number of autonomous systems such as self-driving tractors or lawn mowers will potentially be used in public spaces. In many cases, the general regulatory environment in areas such as standardization, admission to public roads or data protection are not clear to manufacturers. This project is focused on developing comprehensive guidelines that provide manufacturers with an overview of the most relevant factors.
Maintenance of infrastructure, such as bridges, roads or pylons, is often carried out by human staff. Many of the tasks involved are time-consuming and, in some cases, dangerous. This project is centred on creating high-resolution drone images to detect cracks and damage on airport runways.
Education is increasingly supported by AI, including at elementary level. The basic legal parameters , e.g. in the domain of data protection, are to some extent unclear to providers, teachers, parents and pupils. This project focuses on clarifying the legal bases for use of image recognition for the automated correction of handwritten schoolwork .
Parking management is a highly significant challenge for many cities and municipalities. Relevant data on utilization and occupancy of parking spaces is often lacking, which hinders informed decision-making on traffic planning or the introduction of parking guidance systems. AI-based image recognition can create the necessary data basis for this. In this project, privacy-by-design measures are being developed for the responsible use of camera systems in public spaces.
Many public administration offices deal with multiple languages in their daily work. The potential for machine translations is significant. As their work often involves sensitive information and use of specific technical terminology, the question arises as to whether generic and publicly accessible translation tools may and should be used. This project focuses oncoming up with recommendations for the use of machine translation. The case studies stem from the Commercial Register Office and the Integration Office.
The current pilot phase of the Innovation Sandbox for Artificial Intelligence (AI) will run until April 2024. The knowledge and insights gained from all of the selected AI projects will be made publicly available until then. The results will contribute to building competencies and facilitating knowledge transfer within public administration. The aim is to promote the innovation capabilities of AI organisations by clarifying regulatory questions and tapping into new data sources. Furthermore, suggestions for areas of action will be made if regulatory gaps are found within the specific projects.
Innovation Hubs
Switzerland Innovation Park Central - Connecting Great Minds
We promote cooperation between companies, start-ups and universities for innovations in the building and energy sector. Together with our partners, we create an ecosystem that accelerates the translation of research results into marketable products and services. We offer space in an inspiring environment, labs, project funding, innovation support, a digital co-creation platform and inspiring events within a strong community.
Suurstoffi 18b
6343 Rotkreuz
Innovation Hubs
The House of Lab Science is the community company for the laboratory industry, where innovation and business are at home.
We provide the laboratory technology sector in Switzerland with innovation clusters where large companies, SMEs, industry associations, startups and the best talents can be found under one roof.
The House of Lab Science is the perfect “home” for your company, startup or project, offering the best conditions and services, so that you can focus on and grow your business or idea:
• affordable and modular lab space (S-1 and S-2 standard)
• office space, meeting rooms and collaboration rooms
• lab management services
• facility and ICT services
• on-site, online, and hybrid events, networking and cooperation opportunities
Join us and be part of a highly diverse, innovation-friendly, yet business-driven lab tech cluster.
Garstligweg 8
8634 Hombrechtikon
Innovation Hubs
The Bluelion Foundation is a non-profit incubator and accelerator based in Zurich. We help entrepreneurs create fast-growing and sustainable businesses.
Sihlquai 125
8005 Zürich