>>venture>> Competition Concludes with Eight Winners

(CONNECT) This year's >>venture>> competition came to an end with the finals in Lausanne. According to a press release, EDWATEC of Lausanne won the Grand Prize. As the overall winner of the startup competition, the company will receive 150,000 Swiss francs. EDWATEC develops optical amplifiers that enable photonic systems for communications and artificial intelligence (AI) applications. In addition to the Grand Prize, EDWATEC was also named the winner in the Industrials & Engineering category.

TruLux from Wettswil and Baxiva from Schlieren are two more category winners from the canton of Zurich. TruLux won in the Consumer Solutions category with its AI tool for identifying high-quality products via smartphone. Baxiva develops vaccines to prevent severe infections and was the winner in the Pharma & Biotech category. Noemon AG, based in Opfikon, Canton of Zurich, also won the Spotlight Award for its AI that learns on its own.

CINDER AG won the audience award, worth 10,000 Swiss francs, in the vote held on the final day. The Bern-based startup is developing therapeutic wearables for the treatment of pelvic pain. And Actival, based in Neuchâtel—a spin-off from CSEM—has patented active dental care products that enable the slow, controlled release of liquids to improve oral health. As a result, the startup won in the Medtech & Healthcare category.

Softreg GmbH, based in Wohlen, Aargau, was successful in the Business & Finance category with its RegCheck offering. It uses AI to simulate regulatory audits in order to prevent compliance gaps. In the Social & Environmental category, Botana AI GmbH from Oberägeri, ZG, came out on top. It helps farmers manage their land efficiently.

>>venture>> was launched in 1997 and is organized by the Venture Foundation, based in Windisch. To date, the award winners have founded more than 1,500 companies and created more than 15,000 jobs. ce/jh