Venture Kick supports the founding of the 1000th company Startups

(CONNECT) Venture Kick draws on the foundation of its 1000th company. portfolio company a successful balance sheet. Since the launch of the philanthropic initiative in 2007, the early-stage start-up promoter has invested a total of CHF 103 million from private funds in start-up ideas and teams, according to its press release. Thanks to funding of between 150,000 and a maximum of just over 1 million Swiss francs per start-up, as well as coaching and networking with investors, over 1000 successful deep-tech companies have emerged. Today, they provide over 16,100 jobs.

According to Venture Kick's observations, diversity is increasing: 42 percent of the funded projects have at least one woman in the founding team. "This underlines the growing role of women in science-based entrepreneurship in Switzerland," the press release states.

The survival rate of companies founded with the help of Venture Kick is 84 percent. So far, they have reportedly attracted 10.2 billion in investments and represent 66 companies in the Top 100 Swiss Startups 2025. According to Venture Kick, these figures illustrate the strong leverage effect of early-stage financing.

"Who would have thought that a vision from 2007 to promote start-ups would lead to 1,000 companies," co-managing director Beat Schillig is quoted as saying. "Each of these companies shows how research can be translated into economic added value - by creating jobs, attracting international investment and making concrete contributions to the Swiss economy and society."

The number of start-ups supported by Venture Kick is expected to rise to 3,000 by 2035, which could enable up to 50 billion Swiss francs in follow-up investments. As early as 2026, 15 percent more start-ups are to be funded. ce/mm